The story of Janwaar Castle and its Rural Changemakers has been covered extensively in media all over India and around the world. Here is an excerpt of our media publications:

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November 6, 2022: THe Janwaar kids dominated the Madhya Pradesh Skateboarding Championships – They won all medals!

July 9, 2022: The local Panna news once again is reporting on the Janwaar kids, this time about their invitation to join the Governor of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal. He was celebrating his first year in office.

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June 30, 2022: “No School, No Skateboarding!” in Chinese, by Lau Waiyiu aka Miki on the Chinese online platform BIE. Miki really manages in a good presentation to provide background information. She is digging deeper than many other journalists do. Here is a rough translation of the article into English … Rough!

Here are a few comments translated:

“So touching.”

“A beautiful story that makes me tear up.”

“This article awakes my freewill.”

“They didn’t just build a skate park, but also HOPE.”

“We have better venue and gear here in China, but we are still unhappy. We should enjoy what we are doing, enjoy life. No matter how weird they look.”

“Ulrike is a true inspiration. She uses skateboarding to change the world. I started to play skateboard last year and saw how it changed a boy’s life. That boy quit computer games after skateboarding.”

“The most touching part for me is, Ulrike really wants to safe the kids. She lets them learn how to respect each other by setting the two rules. She did the parent’s part for the kids. 

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June 9, 2022 – ‘Janwaar’ Is the Story of a Skatepark’s Giant Impact on a Small Indian Village by Joe Carberry, The Inertia

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May 31, 2022 – The short documentary “Janwaar” by Danny Schmidt made it on the world’s largest skateboarding website, The Berrics. We are pretty proud!

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Mountainfilm@Janwaar – Janwaar@Mountainfilm. The villagers of Janwaar were zoomed in to the Mountainfilm in Telluride, Colorado, US and the local newspaper, Patrika, Panna reported on it!

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May 2022, How Skateboarding Changed This Small Indian Village Forever on monsterchildren.com

The new short film from director Danny Schmidt follows the story of a small village in India that was completely transformed when skateboarding came to town.

Read here.

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May 2022, Mountainfilm Telluride, Colorado, US

“Janwaar” celebrates a rambunctious group of kids whose lives are transformed when a skatepark is built in their small village in India. Raw talent, creativity, and unadulterated childhood find a home on four wheels, and manage to break down generations of caste and gender barriers in the process.

Directed by Danny Schmidt 
Executive Producers | Asha + Sajjan Agarwal
Coproducer | Zac Ramras
Cinematography | Danny Schmidt + Zac Ramras
Editing | Danny Schmidt 
Color | Theo Muse 
Post Audio | Avery Sandack 
Art Director | Mike Murdock
Additional Editing | Patrick McDaniels
Translations + Subtitles | Akansha Tiwari, Richa Sah, Rashmi Sheoran 
Music | Hey Judy, Amulets, Dear Nora

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April 26, 2022 ontheground.with.sai

For millions, skateboarding is just a sport. But, for the boys and girls
in this village – skateboarding is a way of everyday life. It has
given them freedom and unlimited creativity. Welcome to the Skateboarding village of India.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc0EIHiFiMn/

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December 20, 2021 – SEEED Studio China

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December 2021, local Panna newspaper, it says:

“21 kids from Janwaar have reached Chandigarh for the national skateboarding championship. Some kids went by train and others went by a special vehicle. They practiced today at the skatepark where the championship will take place from tomorrow. As a selection process and practice, a MP state championship was organised in Janwaar last month in which 17 kids from Janwaar won medals. Some other kids have also accompanied them to Chandigarh.”

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BIG IN JAPAN!

Janwaar is featured in Vogue Japan on November 26. 2021 as one of the skateparks which brought substantial change and which is sustainable.

And on top of this Vogue Japan also published a long interview with Asha on November 27, 2021. They speak about how skateboarding has turned Asha’s life upside down and how she “escaped” marriage and is now allowed to live her life like she wants!

Both articles are written by Takuya Wadaand and edited by Asuka Kawanabe.

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Madhya Pradesh Championships in Janwaar  – November 6-8, 2021  – published in the local newspaper.

Gold rush for the Janwaar kids.

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November  5, 2021 – Brut India

“The freedom that I’ve got is because of skateboarding.” An unusual sport came as a breather from casteism for many children of this village in MP.
 
Some of our younger skaeboarders took the stage here 🙂

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August 28, 2021 Sunita Singh  in Dainik Bhaskar

The article is in HIndi, here is a short summary:

The heading is, that a village which didn’t had road or electricity seven years ago, now its kids are skating champion and even speak in English.
They talk about Ulrike Reinhard’s journey of building the skatepark and gaining the trust of the villagers. Then they talk about awards won by the kids, Asha and her visit to China and England, and Anil Kumar and his contribution for the development of the village. At last they talk about Ulrike’s effort in empowering people of the village especially women with homestays and micro loans.
 

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July 18, 2021, Time of India, Chennai.
Skate like a girl

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July 17, 2021,

Will skateboarding be the change India needs?

by Abhishek Sandikar in: The Bridge Chronicle

 

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July 7, 2021, Luce Lanazione – La storia di Asha, dal cuore dell’India ai Mondiali di skate: “Contro pregiudizi e minacce, mi sono ribellata in equilibrio su una tavoletta” by Rita Bartolomei 

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Juli 2021, managerSeminare S. 14, Heft 280: Die Transformatorin und die Traumfabrik.

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This Tribal Girl Says Netflix’s Fictional ‘Skater Girl’ Is Her Story

Asha Gond said she was asked to be in the background of a film inspired by her, but she turned it down. The film doesn’t credit her. 

By Pallavi Pundir, Vice Asia

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June 21, 2021:

A learning revolution led by the real Skater Girl

by Shail Desai in mint Lounge.

There are many similarities between the protagonist of the film (Skater Girl released on Netflix) and Asha Gond from Janwaar. However, unlike the reel, the real Asha is changing lives by developing new ways of learning for girls in the village and their families

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June 11, 2021: Skateboarding Gives Freedom To Rural Indian Teen In Netflix Film — And In Real Life  by Sushmita Pathak, npr India

A new Netflix movie called Skater Girl chronicles the journey of an Indian teenage girl who discovers a life-changing passion for skateboarding. It’s also the story of Asha Gond.

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June 9, 2021: A tribal village of skateboaders by Arun Singh, Gaon Connection.

Besides the fact that I (Ulrike Reinhard) haven’t returned back to Germany, this is an interesting article from a different perspective. I’ve left India because of the pandemic and until today I am not allowed to come back >>> Visa restrictions.

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June 9, 2021 – Vice Asia

Meet the Skateboarding Star From Rural India

Asha is telling her story AND teh story of the village through her eyes.

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June 5, 2021: History TV18: OMG India

स्केटबोर्डिंग गाँव | Skateboarding Village | जनवार | Janwar

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May 25, 2021, The Free Press Journal – When village kids skate into glory

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And now we have this – May, 13, 2021: Skater Girl

The story is based on Asha’s and Ulrike’s story in Janwaar – unfortunately the producer/director who were multiple times in Janwaar do not care about their sources. See Asha’s response here among the comments.

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April 11, 2021

 

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March 25, 2021 Quell Skateboarding – Vandana K:  Meet India’s Girl Skateboarders

Asha is featured in this article:

“If I didn’t skate, I’d be married and have had kids by now. Whatever I am today is because of skateboarding.”
– Asha Gond

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Labs als Inhouse-Gegenkulturen | Dirk Osmetz & Stefan Kaduk in  managerSeminare 271 | Oktober 2020 | Seite 18 – 21

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Oktober 2020, Pforzheim, Deutschland. Ein Erfahrungsbericht von Benjamin Fritz. Benni war für zwei Monate in Janwaar und hat uns beim Bau unseren 2.ten Skateparks geholfen und hat auch selbst zur Finanzierung einiges beigetragen. In dieser Ausgabe der Zeitschrift KONTUREN gibt es einen ausführlichen Erfahrungsbericht, der ganz spannend zu lesen ist. Danke dafür!

Seite 174 ff.

https://www.flipsnack.com/HochschulePforzheim/hochschule-pforzheim-konturen-2020.html?p=178

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August 13, 2020, The Hindu newspaper: Skateboarding heralds social change in M.P. (Madhya Pradesh) by Sidharth Yadav.

 

And here is a slightly different online version of the article.

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August 9, 2020 in the local Patrika newspaper

Short summary in English (by Abhishek Singh): Children who earlier had construction tools in their houses now have skateboards. It’s because of a German female tourist who has created a skatepark in Janwaar. Asha and Arun have even participated and won medals in national and international events. They are paving the way for the other kids.

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June 14, 2020 in the local Patrika newspaper – the kids and their “play-activities”:

Rough summary in English:

Kids in village Janwaar, famous in India as the skating village, are giving a message to be safe in these troubled times using toys made of ‘mitti’. Skateboard athletes Arun and Asha are guiding these kids to make these toys and give the message to the people.
Nowadays, schools are closed due to corona virus. And schools are using online medium for Education. But as kids in villages are not able to get access to this online education due to lack of laptops and computers. So they spend their time roaming in the village or helping their parents. But kids in village Janwaar are doing something creative. International players Asha and Arun has kept them connected to these creative and interesting things. The kids will make toys of mitti and decorate them to give the message to fight against corona.

Skateboarder Anil has told us that kids enjoyed the activity of making these toys and painting them. These kids are also planning to do a play in the village. In which they will raise awareness about corona virus to their parents and villagers .

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March 13, 2020: The Guardian, UK: “No school, no skating”: the Indian skate park bringing children together, by Jamie Fullerton

A few weeks ago my messenger popped up and there was Jamie Fullerton wanting some information about Janwaar. During our first chat I was very reluctant because the lead he mentioned (to whom he was referring to) I didn’t like at all and I didn’t want to interfere and get involved. So I decided to stay away … Then he came back a day or two before he was planning to arrive in Janwaar. He was travelling with Matjaž Tančič, a photographer. I helped them to reach our remote area and organised a homestay … and it turned out, that they were some true story explorers, travellers looking for stories, not shying away from discomfort and extra hours. I really enjoyed their company and style … and here is the outcome, an article in The Global Development section of The Guardian. Thanks to both of you!

Here is the link to the article.

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November 2019 – Patrika, MP

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September 2, 2019 – Dainik Bhaskar all India

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August 19, 2019:

The next Mithali Raj and a skatepark: How sports is driving rural empowerment

in: The New Indian Express

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June 1, 2019: Asha performing in an Apollo tyre ad

And here are the ads:

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January 10, 2019: Finding a new identity, Goethe Institute Delhi, an article bei Holger Schäfer (German and English, switch language at upper right side)

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December 20-24, 2018: 21 of the Janwaar kids participated in the Indian Skateboarding Championships in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It was organized by the Roller Skating Federation of India. Out of the 18 medals our kids won 10!

8-12 years Girls
Gold – Durgha Adiwasi
Silver – Suman Kumari
Bronze – Kalpana Adiwasi

8-12 years Boys
Gold – Ramkesh Gond
Bronze – Brijesh Adiwasi
(these two are brothers)

12-16 years Girls
Gold – Priyanka Yadav

12-16 Years Boys
Gold – Arun Adiwasi
Silver – Shailendra Yadav
Bronze – Ajeet Yadav

16 Above Girls
Gold – Asha Gond

The local media – Patrika – reported almost every day. Here are a few links:

epaper: Header: Photos of Janwaar kids in Viashakhapatnam

Satna edition of the newspaper

epaper: When the kids returned to Janwaar (bottom right)

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November 21, 2018: Revolution auf Rollen, Qiio Magazin, Fanny Zschau interviewt Ulrike Reinhard

“Ulrike kam nicht nach Janwaar, das Dorf kam vielmehr zu ihr. Eine Aneinanderreihung von Zufällen und Ereignissen brachte sie im Sommer 2014 in das kleine Dorf Janwaar. Im April 2015 eröffnete sie dort den damals größten Skatepark Indiens. Ihr Projekt Janwaar Castle löste im Norden von Madhya Pradesh, einem der ärmsten Bundesstaaten, einen beachtlichen Transformationsprozess aus…”

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Asha and Arun represented India in the World Skateboarding Championships in Nanjing, China. It was for the first time that such championships happened – it is all in the up-run of the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo where skateboarding will be for the first time Olympic Discipline.

The local newspaper in Panna – Patrika – published a few articles. All articles are by Shashikant Mishra.

Asha and Arun returning back home

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October 30, 2018: Ohne Schule kein skateboarden, Mannheimer Morgen (Germany daily newspaper), Article by Heike Dürr

Und nach Veröffentlichung hat es dieser Artikel dann auch auf die gute Seite des Mannheimer Morgens geschafft.

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October 25, 2018: High Rollers & Little Hearts: Meet The Indian Teens Who Are All Set To Star At The 2018 World Skate Park World Championship in China by Kartik Rao, The Vibe Asia

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October 22, 2018: Patrika, MP – article by Shasikant Mishra

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September 24, 2018: inUth, online platform of the Indian Express: Janwaar Castle: Inside India’s First Rural Skatepark | Skating | Madhya Pradesh by Madhuli Trivedi.

Janwaar Castle: Inside India’s First Rural Skatepark – Kids flipping skateboards in the air is a common sight, gliding down ramps, is now a usual sight at this Madhya Pradesh village. Once just a dot on the map, Janwaar now has a huge skatepark which opened in April 2015. There’s no minimum age so whoever wants to come can simply join. The skatepark has two rules: If you bunk school, you can’t skateboard and always, Girls First..

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August 8, 2018: scroll.in, online: Villagers in this Madhya Pradesh village are getting immortalised by a teenager’s lens by Yashraj Sharma.

Thirteen-year-old Shivjeet Yadav didn’t know he had a natural flair for portrait photography. A photographer’s visit to his village changed that.

A portrait of Rohit by Sepi.

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August 2, 2018: Decathlon Sports, online: RURAL CHANGEMAKERS – HOW SKATEBOARDING CAN CHANGE A LIFE

The sound of gritty plastic wheels rolling on cement echoes of a sort of counter-culture, a slight display of non-conformity and change. Skateboarding as a sport has always taken the alternative path …

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June 22, 2018: Patrika, Panna

The skateboarding bug is spreading ! Soon we will see young skateboarders shredding inside a police station (Orissa), inside a model village (Andhra Pradesh) and in a slum area in Bhopal (MP).

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June 5, 2018: Patrika, Panna

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May 2018, Vogue India – article by Cindy Whitehead


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April 13, 2018: The Hindu BusinessLine: Skateboarding: Rebels with an Olympic cause – article by Sree Sen

Cover page BLink

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December 5, 2017: Place Skateboard Culture, Berlin, Germany – Janwaar kids skateboarding in Berlin – article by Luc Ferry

Video by Blam Studio, Berlin – supported by oxelo, Decathlon France

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On November 25/26, 2017: Eleven of The Rural Changemakers attended the MeerutMakerFest in Meerut, UP and they’ve made it into the local the newspaper 🙂 They’ve shown our Comic Book there.

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November 2, 2017: Be inspired global – Japanese online Portal: The Rural Changemakers

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October 9, 2017: This is Antwerp, Video by Tide Collective

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September 22, 2017: atv News – Belgium TV
Drie jonge indische skaters op uitwisseling in Antwerpen

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September 14, 2017: Mint (India print media) – How skateboarding brings social change in Madhya Pradesh village

German activist Ulrike Renate Reinhard uses crowdsourcing to empower children, youth in Janwaar village.

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September 6, 2017: TABI LABO – Japanese online Portal: Skateboarding in India

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August 18, 2017: ARTE INFO TV – German/French TV
“Il a ton âge: Ramkesh en Inde” – French version.
“In deinem Alter: Ramkesh aus Indien” – German version

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June 20, 2017: The Rider Post – French online magazine: La première compétition de skate en Inde au Janwaar Castle

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January 18, 2017: Closer, Bauer Lifestyle KG (German print) “Sie gibt den Kindern Hoffnung” by Jana-Marie Kophstahl

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December 25, 2016: Discovery Channel – India TV: India My Way

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December 19, 2016: Participant Media – US Online portal: Wheels Up: India’s Largest Skate Park Is Changing Lives

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December 14, 2016: http://sbcltr.in – Indian blog: Community Building Through Skating by Sinjini Sengupta.

“As a teenager, I saw the entire Europe taking to the streets every week in some demonstration, some protest, some rally. Be it on gender rights or social issues, or something else. I have grown up with that. Standing up for issues also becomes a product of a kind.

Why do we need to find common grounds, why do we need to group people? I do not think in clusters. Everyone is different, they have different needs, different sets of challenges and disadvantages. You have got to value that. You have to work with them, and observe. No tight controls, no roadmap as we commonly understand it to be, no. Just observe. Add value, empower, and provide people a platform. But do not try to formulate, do not try to define what they want, where they ought to go. It is on them where they want to go, not on me. I only help them in their purpose. I gain perspectives as I work, I observe. But I will not impose my purpose on them.”

Nearly sums up all we need to learn, before we set out to teach, says Sinjini Sengupta.

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December 8, 2016: Getty Images France – Special Story on Janwaar Castle, India’s First Rural Skatepark

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On November 25, 2016: Three full pages including cover page in Mint (India print media) – The skateboarders of Janwaar

Thanks to a German activist and author, skateboarding is slowly changing the children in this Madhya Pradesh village divided by caste. Can it also change social codes?

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October 8, 2016: NDTV (Indian National TV), 11 min. documentary: When you dare to dream

“Meet Asha Adivasi, who until a year back could not even speak a word of English. She will now travel to Oxfordto study English.”

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September 15, 2016: 101India – online portal (video): The Barefoot Skateboarders

India’s largest skateboarding park isn’t in a big city, it’s in a small village in Madhya Pradesh.

A sport which has long been identified with urban neighbourhoods across the world, is being used in a village in central India as a trigger for social change. Ulrike Reinhard – a German national – established a skate park in Janwar, Madhya Pradesh in February 2015, with the help of a few Indian and international skateboarding organisations. The region to which the village belongs is notorious for being one of the most socially and economically backward areas of the country. Untouchability, gender inequality, illiteracy, and alcoholism are rampant here. Through the voices of Ulrike and the children of the village, the film documents how the skate park is gradually changing the social fabric of the village and addressing some of its most deep rooted issues.

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August 8, 2016, Deutsche Welle – German TV: From blackboard to skateboard in India, a short documentary by Onkar Singh Janoti

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August 6, 2016: Hindustan Times – India National print media: “German woman coaches young skateboarding daredevils” by Khushboo Joshi

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August 3, 2016: The Better India – Indian online portal: Kids teach cops skateboarding

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August 2, 2016, ScoopWhoop – Indian online portal: Kids From A Remote Village In MP Are Teaching Cops To Skate & It’s As Fun As It Sounds by Shalin Jacob

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December 26, 2015, NDTV – a nationwide NEWS program in India. It’s funny, the NDTV editor in MP has recorded it with his cell phone while the story was broadcast on TV. The recording was sent to me via Whatsapp 🙂

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December 13, 2015: Scroll.in – India online portal: Game-changer Why kids are zooming about on skateboards in this sleepy Madhya Pradesh village by Shail Deasai.

And here is the video by Scroll.in which was published three days later.

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December 11, 2015: Huckmagazine – UK Magazine, How skateboarding is helping to revitalise a village in rural India by Alex King

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October 18, 2015: Times of India (India print media): Skateboarding their way to school by Kumar Saurav

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June 2, 2015: Outdoor Journal – India online portal: Seven skatepark heavens in India