#Skateistan10: Of the past: Dr Simon Adams, Vice Chairperson of the Skateistan International Advisory Board
As Skateistan celebrates 10 years, founder Oliver Percovich caught up with some of the most influential individuals that helped Skateistan to grow from its early beginnings in Kabul, into an award-winning international organization. Dr. Simon Adams is a former anti-apartheid activist and the author of four books and numerous articles on international conflict. A passionate skateboarder since the ’70s, he shares Skateistan’s vision and contributes his expertise to the organization as the Vice Chairperson of Skateistan’s International Advisory Board. Having gained extensive experience working in South Africa, he was instrumental in helping Skateistan establish the Skate School in Johannesburg.
Oliver Percovich: Do you remember the first time that you heard about Skateistan?
Simon Adams: I was at the airport in Liberia wearing a skateboarding t-shirt when a senior UN official that I was with asked me if I skateboarded. I replied that I did, and then he asked if I’d seen this amazing documentary about these girls skateboarding in Afghanistan called Skateistan. I hadn’t, so I downloaded it straight away and watched it on the plane. I got back to my apartment in Brooklyn and emailed you immediately asking if I could help in any way with my connections in development, diplomacy and human rights. You emailed me back the next day and it was game on from there.
OP: What was Skateistan doing right in your eyes that made you think it would be worthwhile to reach out to us?
SA: I’ve always been a skateboarder — I was on a penny skateboard in the early ’70s and then was skateboarding seriously from the late ’70s — that definitely made it interesting for me. I’ve also worked for development and human rights in countries coming out of conflict and in extreme poverty so watching the Skateistan documentary just blew my mind, seeing how it combined conflict, development and skateboarding. There’s just something magical about the connection. It’s a great example of a non-governmental organization that developed organically. If Skateistan had been plotted out in a corporate boardroom it would have been an absolute failure. The fact that it started with you, a board, a dodgy concrete fountain and some kids and then grew organically into education and further is part of its secret recipe for success.
OP: That’s also the roots of skateboarding, it continuously evolves and innovation is a big part of what brings it further. That was reflected within Skateistan.
SA: Absolutely, skateboarding at its most basic is not these massive contests or mega ramps, all that is hype. Skateboarding is what I saw last weekend at my local park when an 8-year-old kid was trying to figure out how to ollie up a curb. He was just falling, getting up, and trying again — that’s skateboarding at its core and at its most creative.
OP: When this idea of going to South Africa arose, I was scared. It was amazing to have you, as a former anti-apartheid activist, on board for the initial scoping trip. Your understanding of the landscape and the belief that Skateistan could operate there was very motivating. What more do you think that we can do in South Africa?
SA: There’s limitless potential in South Africa. I went with you on that initial scoping trip with my great love and experience of South Africa, but I also didn’t know if it was going to work. From my development and human rights work, I have learned that if something works well in one environment it doesn’t necessarily translate to another. It was halfway through our trip when I started to see that the same ideas were there, and so was the potential. It can’t just be driven by where we want to go. There needs to be an appetite for it on the ground, and in South Africa we saw that appetite quickly. I love the fact that what makes Skateistan and skateboarding attractive in South Africa is the exact same thing as what appeals to the girls skating in hijabs in Afghanistan and to the kids on the streets in Cambodia. It’s creative, exciting, and it’s a pathway to leadership and to education. That’s what makes it work.
OP: Do you have a favourite memory from your time with Skateistan?
SA: I was involved in helping to set up the South African facility, and visited it again after it was built. Being able to roll around the ramps and see kids dropping in really did make my heart beat faster and my eyes a little misty. To see it go from idea to reality so quickly was really inspiring.
OP: Has Skateistan influenced you in any other way?
SA: I run a human rights organization that provides policy advice and does advocacy with the UN Security Council and with the Human Rights Council around issues relating to mass atrocity crimes worldwide. That’s not exactly a happy topic and the work can be quite grinding sometimes — we fail more than we succeed. We speak out on behalf of people that can’t and try to stop these horrible situations wherever they’re occurring and it’s an ongoing struggle. Without being all grandiose, I’d like to think that the work that my organization does is helping to make the world a better place. But being engaged with Skateistan keeps me in touch with a totally different way of changing the world and allows me to see that happen at a grassroots level on a day-to-day basis. I find that very uplifting. To be able to see the change that Skateistan is making right now in Afghanistan, South Africa and Cambodia brings a smile to my face.
OP: What would you like to see Skateistan achieve over the next 10 years?
SA: The defining elements of Skateistan are a kid, a board and a book. You had a vision and made a calculated and brave decision to turn Skateistan from an Afghan skateboarding and education organization, into a global NGO. Skateistan needs to continue to grow and serve its core constituency. Wherever there are kids who are marginalized, who are locked out of educational opportunities, who don’t have opportunities for self-expression nor sports, and who are drawn to this crazy and amazing sport that means so much to you and I, then that’s the future of Skateistan. We might not be able to do it all ourselves but, in a strategic way, Skateistan will continue to grow and become an even more influential and life-changing organization for the kids who are engaged with it.
OP: Thank you so much, Simon, for the wonderful interview and all your support.
Thanks to the support of individuals and organisations, such as Simon, we have been empowering children through skateboarding and education for 10 years now. Celebrate and follow this milestone with us on the blog, and get ready for our new campaign to support 10 more years of Skateistan which launches May 10th.
