Seven Hills

Seven Hills is a skateboarder-run, grassroots, non-profit organization based in Jordan. The name Seven Hills originates from the seven mountains on which the city of Amman was built. We develop safe and inclusive skateparks and public spaces, and run free-of-charge skateboarding sessions, informal education, and arts programming for all youth from Jordan’s diverse demographics. Seven Hills targets the youth of Jordan with a special focus on displaced communities and families from Jordan's lower socioeconomic classes. Over the past 100 years, Jordan’s population has been growing exponentially, largely due to the country welcoming migration and displaced people who flee from surrounding wars and unrest. The country now hosts the second largest per-capita forcibly displaced population in the world, with Amman having a population of over 4 million people. Although more than 60% of Jordan’s population is younger than 30 years old, there is an immense lack of public spaces and free recreational outlets for this young population of the country. Alternatively, recreational spaces tend to be private, residential, or serve the richer segments of Jordanian society and are largely inaccessible to the young and displaced population of Jordan. Accordingly, Seven Hills works with local municipalities to provide free safe spaces for youth affected by displacement, young people with disabilities, and families from Jordan's lower socioeconomic classes. In 2016 Seven Hills launched a free-of-charge skate program aimed at local and displaced youth. The program consists of skateboard sessions and a Youth Leadership Program. It is designed to empower Jordan’s most marginalized youth, utilizing skateboarding to overcome gender, racial, religious, cultural, and socioeconomic differences.