Advertisement
Advertisement
Kenny Reed: We have an application for kids to fill out with their parents. It includes general safety information but also asks them to explain in a paragraph or two why they are interested in this camp. Our project is about youth empowerment, so we want to hear directly from them. Mohammed, who is running the application process, will review the applications with me, and in late July we'll be making a final decision on who attends the camp.
Advertisement
We are accepting up to 20 youth from ages 12 through 16. We expect more boys than girls because it is a sports camp and Qalqilya is a very traditional and conservative city. However, we have already signed up a few girls, so we are certain there will be a mix.
Adam Abel: Kenny will be leading the skate curriculum. This includes teaching skateboarding on the ramp and on the streets. We will be also leading them on field trips to other skateparks and skate communities in the West Bank. Due to the decades of occupation, Palestinian communities have been systematically cut off from each other. One of our goals is to use skateboarding as one more connection tool to help foster meaningful relationships across the West Bank. Kenny and I are also putting together a skateboarding film series to show during the camp, including more traditional documentaries like Dogtown and Z-Boys, as well as classic skater videos like Kenny's own 7 Year Glitch. We will show our campers a wide gamut of skate culture.
Advertisement
Skateboarding is only a container for the program. Mohammed, who has a background as a youth coordinator for NGOs in Palestine, will be leading workshops on leadership and community building. Working with the Qalqilya Municipality, we will be engaging the students every day with community service activities, and, in coordination with the local Red Crescent, lead them through safety and responsibility clinics.In addition, I will be leading the art and social media component to the program. Skateboarding is about creativity and expression, so we want to offer tools with which our campers can communicate to the world. The only problem is that because of a lack of funding, we will have to cut back on purchasing equipment for this part of our curriculum. Cameras are essential to lead photography and video courses because not everyone will have a smartphone, and Palestine is still waiting to get 3G. Therefore, sharing content on-site at the ramp will be a challenge unless we have actual cameras.What is the end end goal of the camp on a global level as well as locally?
Our goal is to inspire creativity, leadership, and community building in Qalqilya. Through the process of making our film and building the ramp in Qalqilya, we have witnessed how play can be a catalyst for imagination, community spirit, and perseverance. So we are trying to take it to the next level. With proper infrastructure and programming that is sustainable, we can use skateboarding to show these kids how to learn to fly both in their minds and on a board. And what better place to do it than in a city suffocated by a wall.Skateboarding is not only a sport, but an art form and language. With the tools we are providing them, these kids can learn to communicate not only within their own community in an exciting and alternative way, but also with the rest of the world. At a time where xenophobia and fear is creating walls thicker than perhaps what surrounds Qalqilya, we are helping these future leaders of Palestine learn how to be ambassadors.Help keep SkateQilya's dream alive by visiting their website and donating here.Follow Taji on Twitter