Free Movement Skateboarding

Free Movement Skateboarding is a non-profit organisation operating in Athens, Greece. We teach skateboarding workshops to young Athenians to aid social cohesion, promote physical and mental wellbeing and empower girls and women. There are over refugees currently living in Greece. Many of these people live in refugee camps - often far away from the closest city - and others live in over-crowded squats and housing centres; spread out all over the country. In many cases on the mainland emergency needs are being met, but there is a large short-fall in the provision of recreational activities available to young people affected by the crisis. Participating in regular exercise has been proven to significantly improve overall physical and mental health. By providing regular skateboarding workshops, Free Movement Skateboarding offer a fun and creative outlet for young people to engage in. Skateboarding is a challenging activity, it requires focus and attention at all times, and can often provide more benefits for vulnerable individuals than conventional sports due to its non-competitive nature; in turn, helping to soothe the long-term effects of prolonged trauma and stress. We currently teach 9 skateboarding workshops every week; engaging people aged 6-25, 16 different nationalities, with 40% female participation overall. We teach on a mobile wooden skatepark which we transport along with skateboards and safety equipment to all of our lessons. Having a mobile skatepark allows us to have a wide and varied outreach, supporting refugee camps which are less facilitated for due to their location.