<p><em>Back in June 2018, we announced the Goodpush Alliance, Skateistan’s first step in supporting and sharing knowledge among social skate projects worldwide. We are keen to empower as many children and young people as possible through skateboarding, and one of the ways we can do this is by sharing our experience and building connections with other organizations who are already doing amazing things.</em></p>

<p><em>After an initial research phase, which included the first ever global survey of social skateboarding projects, we have ramped up our support. Last month, our Skate Project Specialist, Rhianon, travelled to Iraq, Palestine and Jordan to visit Goodpush’s three partner organizations. Her aim was to help them grow their programs and reach more children through skateboarding.</em></p>

<p><em>Words by Rhianon.</em></p>

<p><strong>Make Life Skate Life, Iraq</strong></p>

<p>In May of this year, global NGO&nbsp;<a href="https://makelifeskatelife.org/">Make Life Skate Life</a>&nbsp;(MLSL) built their newest skatepark in Sulimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan — the first concrete skatepark in the country! About one month after its completion, Skateistan’s Program Director Talia and I visited for a week of workshops and exchange with MLSL’s Executive Director Arne and their team of volunteers. As a new project location for MLSL, it was a great chance to share Skateistan’s experiences and help build up Iraq’s young skate scene. We also discussed ideas on how to set things up in a sustainable way and make the Suli skatepark a safe space.</p>

<p>The Goodpush workshops had a much bigger turnout than expected, with up to 15 local skaters joining in. MLSL’s on-the-ground coordinator Safen and volunteer skate teacher Amber (who also co-founded the&nbsp;<a href="https://womenskatetheworld.com/">Women Skate the World&nbsp;</a>project) joined us for the whole week to cover a range of program-related topics and some strategy sessions.</p>
