<p><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Nanja Van Rijsse –</span></span></strong></span></span></span><a href="https://www.womenskatetheworld.com/"><span><span><span><strong><span><span><span><span> Women Skate the World</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></a></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Nanja has a strong background in social skateboarding. She is from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and she applied for the 2020 call on behalf of her already-established organization – she is the co-founder of&nbsp; Women Skate the World (WSTW). WSTW is an NGO which sees skateboarding as a tool for empowerment, change and an equal society. Nanja is also part of the advisory board of this year’s ROLL Models program so we thought it would be interesting for anyone involved in gender equity and skateboarding to learn more about her steps!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>During the ROLL Models 2020 program, Nanja, alongside WSTW, developed a Skate &amp; Create program aimed at getting more girls on skateboards and by doing so, she wanted to create an impact not only in the skateboard community but in the society as a whole.&nbsp; The overall goal of their programs was to inspire, engage and empower young girls. To achieve that, they firmly believe that by combining skateboarding with other activities helps to attract a bigger audience – and ultimately get more girls on skateboards.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<p><span><span><span><span><em><span>“Our project was Skate and Create for children, but on the side we also had a beautiful program which was more for 12+ womxn and LGTBIQ.”</span></em></span></span></span></span></p>
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