{"id":12654,"date":"2010-08-10T13:44:59","date_gmt":"2010-08-10T17:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=12654"},"modified":"2013-01-21T15:26:34","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T20:26:34","slug":"video-skateboarding-in-kabul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><object width=\"599\" height=\"362\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/rJWHm0v5MYw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1\"\/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"\/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"\/><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/rJWHm0v5MYw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"599\" height=\"362\"\/><\/object><\/p>\n<p>I was never very good at skateboarding as a kid, though I spent way too many nights trying to slide the bottom of my board along the curb outside my house. Over time, the board became more useful as a tool for moving my ball hockey net to nearby school yards and parking lots. But I had a lot of friends in high school who were excellent boarders so I spent numerous hours taking photos as they perfected their moves and tricks.<\/p>\n<p>In the intervening years I haven&#8217;t lost my appreciation for the skill involved, but it never crossed my mind that skateboarding could become a social justice issue in a war-torn country.<\/p>\n<p>In Afghanistan, 70% of the population are children and in the capital of Kabul much of the infrastructure \u2014 roads, water supplies, schools \u2014 are still in disarray despite billions of dollars in aid being poured into the country. While boys can run around freely outdoors, young girls are not allowed to take part in any playful activities.<\/p>\n<p>Enter two enterprising Australian skateboard enthusiasts. They brought over a handful of discarded skateboards and have helped empower young kids \u2014 especially girls \u2014 to learn how to do kickflips, nosegrinds, and railstands. And they made <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rJWHm0v5MYw\">a film about their experience called Skateistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was never very good at skateboarding as a kid, though I spent way too many nights trying to slide the bottom of my board along the curb outside my house. Over time, the board became more useful as a tool for moving my ball hockey net to nearby school yards and parking lots. But<a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1022,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,15],"tags":[3679,10741,21,167,30],"class_list":["post-12654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-green-space","category-media","tag-afghanistan","tag-kabul","tag-other-cities","tag-skateboarding","tag-video"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was never very good at skateboarding as a kid, though I spent way too many nights trying to slide the bottom of my board along the curb outside my house. Over time, the board became more useful as a tool for moving my ball hockey net to nearby school yards and parking lots. ButContinue reading &quot;VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-08-10T17:44:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-21T20:26:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew Blackett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew Blackett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/\",\"name\":\"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul - Spacing Toronto\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-10T17:44:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-21T20:26:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3b818d7e3504a6e4626afc774b2574\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/\",\"name\":\"Spacing Toronto\",\"description\":\"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered  |  Toronto Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3b818d7e3504a6e4626afc774b2574\",\"name\":\"Matthew Blackett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb8fd719ea39ea94dc1b32911c80f51?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb8fd719ea39ea94dc1b32911c80f51?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Matthew Blackett\"},\"description\":\"Matthew Blackett is the publisher, creative director and one of the founders of Spacing magazine. He is the author, editor, and photographer of 11 books. He is also a graphic artist, product designer, and deeply-committed advocate for Toronto. TWITTER: @MatthewBlackett INSTAGRAM: @MatthewBlackett\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/author\/matt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul - Spacing Toronto","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul - Spacing Toronto","og_description":"I was never very good at skateboarding as a kid, though I spent way too many nights trying to slide the bottom of my board along the curb outside my house. Over time, the board became more useful as a tool for moving my ball hockey net to nearby school yards and parking lots. ButContinue reading \"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul\"","og_url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/","og_site_name":"Spacing Toronto","article_published_time":"2010-08-10T17:44:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-01-21T20:26:34+00:00","author":"Matthew Blackett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spacing","twitter_site":"@Spacing","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthew Blackett","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/","name":"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul - Spacing Toronto","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-08-10T17:44:59+00:00","dateModified":"2013-01-21T20:26:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3b818d7e3504a6e4626afc774b2574"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/08\/10\/video-skateboarding-in-kabul\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"VIDEO: Skateboarding in Kabul"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/","name":"Spacing Toronto","description":"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered  |  Toronto Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3b818d7e3504a6e4626afc774b2574","name":"Matthew Blackett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb8fd719ea39ea94dc1b32911c80f51?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb8fd719ea39ea94dc1b32911c80f51?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Matthew Blackett"},"description":"Matthew Blackett is the publisher, creative director and one of the founders of Spacing magazine. He is the author, editor, and photographer of 11 books. He is also a graphic artist, product designer, and deeply-committed advocate for Toronto. TWITTER: @MatthewBlackett INSTAGRAM: @MatthewBlackett","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/author\/matt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1022"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12654"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40580,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12654\/revisions\/40580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}