 pushing boarders reflections followups pushing boarders reflections followups events skatepark builds hey all since the pushing boarders conference this year in malmo was so inspiring and monumental i thought i d start a thread to share some of the coverage and reflections that have come out of it also you probably already know that all the panels are now available on their website  but i ve embedded a couple below that are closely related to social skateboarding  reflections on pushing boarders by kava garcia vasquez skateism   skateboarding may be freedom but freedom isn t always free unfortunately i ve met many skaters philanthropists and aid organizations who assume that giving a child a skateboard is going to save their life and liberate them from oppression frankly put not everyone is going to benefit from skateboarding moreover a skateboard alone cannot liberate a person if we get too attached to a narrative in which we are the white and or western saviors sent by the skate gods to spread the stoke we risk forgetting the myriad of other forces that rob youth around the world of their time health education and basic human dignity positively transforming lives and communities through skateboarding requires us to also educate ourselves about and address the root causes of global poverty racism food insecurity and other oppressions definitely check out her full article here  rhianon tue 11192019 951 and a focus on womxn s perspectives by rhianon on tue 11192019 1019 and this longread by dr indigo willing features all sort of womxn s perspectives on the event  the evolution of skateboarding and why pushing boarders is a sign of the times yeah girl   atita verghese from girls skate india also talked about the commonalities each panellist shared and the value of also hearing about their more unique experiences she states when aram sabbah skate pal palestine talked about how aid can also be in the form of just going to visit the place and hanging out and skating with the locals you don t have to be anyone have an organisation or fund things if it s not within your reach just visiting goes a long way i strongly feel this in my own context as well of ayanda mnyandu skateistan south africa she appreciated how he spoke about international aid programs leaving knowledge and resources behind and allowing the local communities to develop their own scene because no one understands how to go about things better than the local communities she also highlighted when leyla spoke about the mental health effects on marginalised youth i can strongly confirm that it does wonders for these kids in my own experience i ve seen young boys who are marginalised and were into bad company and stealing etc change remarkably with skateboarding and a positive community force behind them  full article here  