Curbs, rails, whatever, skateboarding turns waste into space. For generations of small town youth, skating is a refuge that transforms the concrete and disused spaces of their homes into gleaming highways. But in a city bombed into submission, can skateboarding help? The answer seems to be yes if Skateistan is anything to go by.

Five years ago Oliver Percovich founded NGO Skatistan in Kabul. With 68 per cent of Afghanistan’s population now younger than 25 and 50 per cent younger than 16, skateboarding is repairing the fractures in a youth cut adrift by endless war. Set to release a book featuring 320 pages of photographs, interviews and essays Skateistan: The Tale of Skateboarding in Afghanistan shows how girls and boys of a country blown apart, can reclaim their streets.

The Skateistan: The Tale of Skateboarding in Afghanistan book release party and exhibition is on Saturday 9 June 6pm til late at DAZ (Deutsches Architektur Zentrum), Berlin
skateistan.org

Tags: NGO, Oliver Percovich, Skateistan, Skateistan: The Tale of Skateboarding in Afghanistan