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LGC INDIA’s OPEN Premieres & Workshops!

Longboard Girls Crew India‘s  OPEN Premiere and Workshop had a pleasant start today. Five of us girls, skaters and photographers made a road trip to United World College, an IB high school up in the hills on a biodiversity reserve. We Made it just in time (India time that is).

Mahindra United World College, UWC MC, is a community of 240 students from around the world, working to unite people and make education a force for peace and sustainability. A movement started in the 60s as a reaction to two World Wars and a Cold War, to bring youth together, often in remote settings, to live and learn together. Students at UWCs are serious about making positive change in the world, and engage in intense study, service-learning and project-based-learning. Today they learnt to longboard.
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For the first time in the last two years of holding workshop and demos here in India, we saw a house full of only girls, waiting eagerly for us to start the premiere. The girls were from different parts of the world each with their own fascinating story, from year 1 and year 2 of the college. They showed much interest.

We started with the Ishtar x Tussilago music video which managed to charm the students and invite them to open their minds, Followed by the LGC Open movie. The movie made all the girls eyes lid up, and after we held a moment to answer questions and story telling. The girls even learned some new words this faithful day like gnarly, stoked, bombing hills or shredding to name a few.

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Then we headed out to the basket ball court where we gave a demo and lessons to the curious and excited girls. They were quick learners. For many, it was as if they just discovered a new talent they didn’t know they had. In no time they were swooshing past each other having fun on the wheels, pushing themselves and  the boards. A few boys from nearby villages who are taught on weekends by the school kids, also joined and learned to ride.

Some of them were seeing a skateboard for the very first time in their lives. The vibes where amazing.
Today we used the language of skateboarding to meet new people on a common ground. All of there amazing girls are all motivated and inspired to change the word for the better. Meeting likeminded people that also burn the same fire lid their trust more in believing in them selfs and also trusting them self being on the right path in life.
What ever the passion is, the fire and loving energy is the same, that’s why we can connect, that’s why we can speak and laugh together. This is why it feels like we’ve met Long before today.

We are all here to change the world for the better. This is just the beginning.

Ishtar Backlund.

Endless thanks to:

LGC Indian Ambassador Kunjika Singh
Ben Reid-Howells and Oscar Avila
Akerberg, UWC MC Triveni Office.
All photos by Oscar Ávila Åkerberg. Thank you!
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