M+R Spedag Group

M+R Spedag Group, along with the Swiss Government, the Lotteriefonds of the Swiss canton of Basel Landschaft and the clothing company Carhartt are all main sponsors of the project "Skate to Kabul". Under the project, used skateboard equipment is collected all over Switzerland and sent to "Skateistan", the first skateboarding school in war torn Afgh... anistan. The long term goal is to enable an exchange of youths between Switzerland and the Kabul based skateboarding school. Skateistan was founded by Oliver Perkovich, a 34-year old skateboard enthusiast from Australia, who in 2007 followed his girlfriend to Kabul when she went there to work as a development aid worker. Oliver brought his skateboard along, and when skating around ravaged Kabul, he began a silent revolution. He founded the skateboarding school, and turned the trendy sport into a project for democracy. In Afghanistan, all traditional sporting activities are strictly open to the male part of the society. But skateboarding is an activity totally new to Afghanistan, and as no ruling exists yet as to who may or may not exercise this sport, it has quickly become popular not only with boys but among girls as well. Skateistan ( www.skateistan.org) provides an opportunity for kids and teenagers between the ages of five and 17 to skateboard and simply be kids for a moment. The facility has both an indoor skatepark and classrooms where students learn language and multimedia skills and discuss issues that affect them. Using skateboarding to engage the youth, Skateistan's larger aims are education and encouraging interaction between children from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds. Skateistan is especially focused on providing Afghan girls with the opportunity to practice sport.Read More