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PUKKA UP X in San Antoni, Ibiza. Spain
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PUKKA UP X in San Antoni, Ibiza. Spain - Video
Southbank Undercroft
The iconic skate park has been saved from becoming yet another conclave of chain restaurants
The culture wars are over -- and skateboarding has won. London's Southbank Undercroft, one of the UK's most historically important skate areas, has been saved from being "redeveloped" into another conclave of chain restaurants and retail outlets.
The 17-month battle between the management of the Southbank Centre and Long Live Southbank (LLSB) -- an activist group comprised of the skaters, BMXers, graffiti artists and other lovers of urban culture that call the undercroft a second home -- has come to a surprising end: everyone wins. Both factions have settled and withdrawn respective legal actions, with the result being the skate park remaining as and where it is, while the Centre renovates its Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery without evicting the skaters.
"Following talks that have taken place over the last three months, Long Live Southbank and Southbank Centre are delighted to have reached an agreement that secures the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft as the long-term home of British skateboarding and the other urban activities for which it is famous," the Long Live Southbank campaigners announced. "The agreement has been formalised in a binding planning agreement with Lambeth Council. In the agreement, Southbank Centre agrees to keep the undercroft open for use without charge for skateboarding, BMX riding, street writing and other urban activities."
The Southbank undercroft has been the home of British skateboarding for over 40 years. The area itself is something of an accident of architecture though, the result of several surrounding developments and elevated concrete walkways birthing a space that came to be perfect for skating. Pro skateboarders including Nick Jensen and Geoff Rowley are lovers of the spot, and the location has even made its way into the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game series -- Hawk himself being another famour skater who called for the undercroft to be saved.
Although Southbank Centre had proposed moving the skaters 120m along the Thames, offering a purpose-built skate park under Hungerford Bridge, Lambeth Council received over 27,000 complaints at the suggestion. Even London Mayor Boris Johnson, who's likely never even gingerly placed a single foot on a skateboard, objected to the park being relocated.
The movement to save Southbank has been a true example of grassroots activism, and the victory against far richer and more powerful organisations is as historical as the skate park itself. Largely guided by film maker Henry Edwards-Wood, the LLSB campaigners had publicised their plight online, produced documentaries, and gotten all walks of London's community involved in efforts to save the small but beloved patch of concrete. The result has been a win for culture over capitalism, with the Southbank Centre dropping its challenge to the registration of the undercroft as an "asset of community value", and LLSB abandoning its application for village green status for the undercroft.
Lib Peck, Leader of Lambeth Council, which has had to evaluate all the planning applications, protests, and cultural considerations on both sides, said "I'm pleased that Lambeth Council was able to work with both sides and find an imaginative solution to resolve this. Shared public space in London is precious and Southbank Centre is a great asset to the country's cultural life. This agreement is a sensible way of protecting both and we can all now look forward."
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By James M. Dorsey, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer
Iranian women cheering for the national volleyball team (Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran)
A British-Iranian woman imprisoned In Tehran for attempting to watch a mens volleyball match is at the centre of Irans cultural wars that constitute the backdrop to efforts to resolve problems with Irans nuclear program and a struggle between reformists and conservatives in advance of parliamentary elections 18 months from now.
The arrest In June of 25-year old Ghoncheh Ghavami together with more than a dozen other women as they tried to enter a stadium where the Iranian national mens team was playing Italy was first disclosed earlier this month by The Guardian. Ms. Ghavamis attempt to enter Tehrans Azadi stadium was part of a protest staged by dozens of women against the fact that Brazilian women had earlier been allowed to attend a volleyball match between their countrys national team and Iran.
Ironically, volleyball, the setting for the latest phase in the battle for Iranian womens sporting rights, is also a 21stcenturys US-Iranian equivalent of Chinese-American table tennis diplomacy in the 1970s that opened the door to the establishment of diplomatic relations. We see (volleyball) as an incredible opportunity to promote goodwill and understanding between the Iranian and American people, State Department communications adviser on Iran Greg Sullivan told Al-Monitor as Irans national team played a series of friendlies in the United States. In contrast to Iran, Iranian-American women had no problem attending the friendlies.
cartoon by Mana Neyestani, Tavana
The volleyball protest followed widespread rejection by coffee shop owners and female soccer fans in Iran of restrictions on women watching publicly screened soccer matches during the recent World Cup in Brazil. They openly flaunted with no government response orders by authorities to keep television sets off during World Cup matches. The orders were intended to prevent men and women from publicly watching matches together.
Soccer features also in street art battles that are a key venue in Irans culture wars. A recent mural on one of Tehrans main thoroughfares pictured a woman wearing a national soccer team jersey as she washed dishes at home. The mural went viral on social media. In the mural, the woman raises a cup of yellowish dishwash solution as if it were the World Cup trophy in what was seen as a rejection of conservative notions that a womans place is at home.
At stake in the battle is however far more than just womens sports rights. Those rights are part of a larger struggle for Irans future as Iranian negotiators meet in New York this month with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to reach agreement on resolving the Iranian nuclear problem before November 24 deadline. Iranian conservatives fear that a successful negotiation would strengthen the hand of supporters of reformist president Hassan Rohani in parliamentary elections scheduled for the spring of 2016.
With popular support for the nuclear talks, conservatives hope to thwart Mr. Rouhani by appealing to traditional values in their effort to undercut his efforts to reduce repression and allow for greater freedom of expression and access to information, promote gender equality, and ease cultural and educational restrictions. Mr. Rouhani like other members of his Cabinet regularly posts messages on Facebook and Twitter despite the fact that access to social media sites is frequently blocked in Iran. The president has also argued publicly that freedom is a precondition for creativity and has contradicted conservative efforts to curb fun.
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Women's right to attend sports events at centre of Iran's culture wars