Social skatepark in Beirut

Social development of the Snoubar skatepark

Our goal is clear, we want to develop through the Snoubar skatepark, an inclusive and safe place for young people in need from Beirut. The Snoubar already exists, but now it’s essential to maintain it and promote youth empowerment. Let us explain a bit the background, and then, we promise, we’ll convince you.

The background: The Snoubar is Lebanon’s first public skatepark. In the summer of 2021, it was built, and it provided a vital venue for hundreds of children suffering from the current situation in Lebanon. The initiative is beautiful, the result is stimulating and the skatepark is quickly filled with life. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the Snoubar is in the middle of a great mosaic of different cultures. We can find many Christians, Shiites, Sunnis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and Syrians, creating sometimes important conflicts between those communities. The Snoubar can be in the middle of these conflicts, with on one hand the risk of being a place of insecurity, but on the other hand, the superb opportunity to promote the co-existence of those communities. Indeed, you can ask a child in the skatepark which community he belongs to, and he will answer without further doubt «the skateboarding one!»

You are probably still wondering what is the point of this project since the Snoubar already exists. And you are right, our project doesn’t aim to build a skatepark, but the goal is to make the Snoubar alive! Above all, we want to make this space sustainable and safe. We want to work with and for those young people, so this space continues to exist and allows children access to a space where the crisis seems to disappear for a moment.

A place for the young people from Beirut

«What a great project of a skatepark with social values in Beirut» you’re probably thinking. Thank you! But we still have a lot of arguments. First, you should know that this is the only public skatepark in Lebanon. On top of that, it’s one of the (too) few public spaces in the Lebanese capital, and for that, it’s essential to fight to keep this space alive!

Let’s face it, the project is unique, but what else is so special? Well, developing Snoubar is mainly about empowering children and youth through physical activities while offering them psychological and social support. We also want to make Snoubar more inclusive by focusing on encouraging the coming of young girls. Finally, we strongly believe that this space will help the surrounding communities to co-exist and that multiculturalism will then be promoted.

As you can see, the main beneficiaries of this project will be the children and youth, but also the local communities in the surrounding area. In the long run, we are convinced that the project will have positive consequences on the social and migratory situation of Lebanon.

To help you trust us, let us tell you briefly about the main carriers of the project. There is Alex, the Swiss social worker who has worked six months in Snoubar and will go back soon in the field. Then there is Rose, head of the youth program of arcenciel, the Lebanese humanitarian NGO that will manage the project. Finally, there is Ray, the skateboard coach, and head of his skateboarding school, always involved in Snoubar’s development.

As you can see, we are a diverse team whose goal is to ensure a partnership work between Switzerland and Lebanon as well as between the NGO and Snoubar. By working for and with the local community, we firmly believe that the project will be sustainable and appropriate to the reality on the ground. This point is particularly important to us and will remain central throughout the project.

Your support which make us dream

We are coming to the end of the presentation of our project, and we hope that we have transmitted our enthusiasm. Here’s what your commitment will allow us to do:

• Offer free skateboarding/roller lessons for vulnerable groups of children to include them in the Snoubar community.
• Support and train local youth coaches to accompany them in their coaching of children and to assist them in the development of their professional activities as coaches.
• To create English classes, open to all to facilitate reintegration into society and employment.
• To raise awareness in the Snoubar community to make them responsible for the maintenance of the skatepark and to make them aware of the environment.
• To ensure the safety of the Snoubar so that all children and youth can enjoy the park without worrying.
• To maintain the Snoubar by doing regular maintenance work with the Snoubar community.
• To develop the project by ensuring continuous and coherent management in partnership with the Snoubar community.

As you can see, we already have clear ideas based on a long assessment of the needs of the field. To realize this for a period of six months, we need CHF 15’000. Once the project is launched, it will be much easier to find funds to ensure the continuity of the development of Snoubar. We have to say that if we would love to exceed CHF 15’000.-, indeed we are full of ideas to implement that we would love to explain you.

Finally we still need to thank you for your commitment. What you allow us to realize and what you offer to the young people of Beirut is fantastic. On our side, we commit ourselves to giving everything so that the project is managed in the best and most coherent way. We also want to keep you informed of the development of Snoubar, so you can count on us to write you emails from time to time. And if that’s not enough, don’t hesitate to follow our Instagram page @snoubar.crowdfunding to get regular updates. Finally, if you have any questions, you can also write an email to Alex (alexandre.rausis@edu.hefr.ch) or leave us a comment on our Wemakeit or Instagram.

Thanks in advance, and thanks again!