For many of you this will be the first glimpse you catch of the refugee skate scene in Athens. Maybe you didn’t even know it existed? Well, we can assure you it does – and you’d better stay tuned because these kids are learning fast!
Bristol-based filmmakers Joe Auborn and Tom Stafford-Hughes visited Athens earlier this year, to find out first-hand how skateboarding is benefitting the young refugees who attend Free Movement Skateboarding‘s workshops. See the full film below…
Free Movement Skateboarding have been teaching skateboarding workshops in Athens for almost two years now. They teach on a portable wooden skatepark which they designed and built to fit into the back of their van. They drive this, along with a bunch of second-hand skateboards, around to various basketball courts, refugee camps, schools and parks to complete their weekly schedule of skateboarding workshops. Their sessions attract boys and girls of all different ages and nationalities, making them the perfect place for the young refugee population to mix with Greek locals. Free Movement hope that by aiding natural integration they are helping the young refugees they teach to form lasting friendships outside of the insular camps and squats they live in, as well as teaching them valuable skills to carry with them wherever they go.
