This U.S. Sports Envoy Is Bridging Communities With Skateboarding

from NBC NEWS ASIA:

Neftalie Williams was 16 when he met two pro skateboarders outside of a summer camp he wasn't able to attend. It was after hours, and the pair skated with him. They taught Williams that the sport wasn't out of reach to anyone.

“Even though I didn't have the chance to attend the camp, they still made sure to provide me the opportunity to skate with them," Williams told NBC News. "Their gesture taught me that skateboarding was an activity 'by the people and for the people.' It has been my goal to return the favor to the next generation of skaters ever since then.”

Now 37 years old, Williams is a skateboarding envoy with the U.S. State Department and is spreading his love for the sport, recently completing a cultural diplomacy mission in Cambodia, where he highlighted skateboarding's benefits to young people.

“It’s a bridge between people all over the world,” Williams said. “For me, I’ve always been focused on what it was that made skateboarding special.”

“It’s been built into the ethos and the DNA of skateboarding culture to explore new spaces, to build community, and to always have fun in a non-competitive way while you’re skateboarding,” he added.

William’s program in Cambodia was a first in the country for the State Department, according to Williams, who had previously hosted a program in the Netherlands working with Syrian refugees who had just been granted asylum.

During the multi-day series, he discussed skateboarding culture and how it can be a positive pathway for academics and physical activity. Clinics and demonstrations were also held for the kids, some of whom had never been on a skateboard before, according to Williams.

“Once you give a kid a skateboard and they start pushing, then they just realize how much faster they are than the world, and it gives them some freedom and a way to sort of express themselves through skateboarding,” he said.

Williams, who also lectures at the University of Southern California and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, noted that skateboarding culture allows kids to meld academia with athletics.



“There’s a space for them if they’re into business or media and content creation or design.”
Williams said skateboarding culture is growing in popularity in Cambodia partly because of the Cambodian youth's interest in American sports and culture.

Kids in Asia have growing opportunity to reach higher levels of the sport, he noted, with the inaugural Asian Skateboarding Championships being held last November. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, skateboarding will be an official sport, he added.

“Skateboarding is that one sport that has all of those aspects at one time, and you don’t need to have a coach. You don’t have to have a league. That’s really important in countries where there may be kids who are disadvantaged or slightly disenfranchised,” said Williams, who has also worked in South Africa, Brazil, and Cuba.

At Skateistan, a nonprofit organization that works with kids in Cambodia, the youth and staff were inspired by Williams, Kov Chan Sangva, a program officer at the organization, told NBC News.

“He made a presentation about the skate scene in America and it was a wonderful story,” Kov said. “We also spoke out about the skate scene in Cambodia and hopefully in the future, the world will know more about Cambodia skaters and our story.”

Skateistan offers free programs at a safe place for kids who may not otherwise be able to afford the materials necessary to skateboard. The sport is becoming more popular among the youth, Kov said.

“Skateboarding is an amazing sport,” she said. “It feels fantastic and it really helps people a lot — to build trust, to build confidence and make a lot of friends. It can help us to get out of bad situations, and builds trust between people, communities and the world.”

"Skatistan" in Afghanistan... An Update

Even though this film was made back in January, it's still incredible to see where this organization has come from. The last time i mentioned this was back in July 2009, Since then it seems as though they are thriving.



Nice work people.

Afghan kids skateboarding (still strong since my last post)

I mentioned the first article i saw about "Skatistan" back in February when i discovered the great story and video on NewYorkTimes.com, This week an update was brought to my attention from the Los Angeles Times:

In a country where girls are rigidly segregated from boys and rarely participate in sports, Skateistan has managed to bring boys and girls together. Dozens of children swarm across the fountain every day, sharing boards and showing off improvised skating moves.

Several former street beggars are paid a few dollars a day to instruct playmates on basic techniques. Others are middle-class children who otherwise would have little contact with poor street kids, or with children on the other side of Afghanistan's volatile ethnic mix.

"The boards are just our carrots," Percovich said, shouting over the clack-clack-clack of skateboard wheels. "They're a way to connect with kids and build trust."

For now, Percovich uses the skateboards to entice children into informal lessons and counseling sessions. But starting this fall, he hopes to bring the kids into classrooms.

A few miles away, ground was broken this summer on a $1-million indoor skateboard park that Skateistan is building with local and international donations on land given by Afghanistan's Olympic committee. Percovich says the children will be able to attend English and computer classes and learn "life skills" at the 19,000-square-foot park.

The park, outfitted with skateboarding surfaces and ramps, will be Afghanistan's largest indoor sports facility when it is completed, Percovich said.

In another initiative, Percovich has persuaded private donors to pay $60 a month to send children to Afghan schools. That program targets girls and young children.

"Maybe we can play some small part in keeping these kids from becoming insurgents later on," Percovich said. Skateistan's logo features a skateboard crushing an assault rifle.


... Despite the widespread violence in Afghanistan by the Taliban and other Islamic militants, Percovich said he doesn't feel threatened. In fact, he said, his reception as a skateboarder has been worse in many other countries.

Read the full story here at LosAngelesTimes.com.
And check out some great photos here.
(Thanks, Cathy)