makāna

Seven Hills is an initiative which started in 2014 out of a love for skateboarding, and over the years grew into an organisation and a space which works to offer a safe and inclusive place for skateboarders and the general community. Their story is intertwined with the city; the skateboarders who started the initiative interacted with Amman through an alternative lens; redefining the city according to skateboarding needs, creatively creating skate-able surfaces out of mundane city forms. This daring agency in the city and in its public spaces, however, was not always welcomed by authorities, who often considered skateboarders a nuisance. The need for a dedicated skateboarding space, where the community's right to the city is not constantly challenged, became more pressing; and this is when the seeds for Seven Hills were first sowed.

The project to create a public skateboarding space in Amman was financed through an international crowdfund, initiated between Mohammad Zakaria and Make Life Skate Life. With funding secured, Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) agreed to provide a public park where the project could be implemented, but was not involved otherwise with the park's construction or running. The park has started to build a community around it from its onset. The boys from the school next door would curiously peek in to see what's happening in the usually quiet and mostly run down park next door, to be invited in to help with the construction. Similarly, the neighbours would also pop by to help or see progress after the Friday prayers.

From the opening of the park, its governance was a self appointed responsibility for Seven Hills, who persisted with consistent activities and programmes around skateboarding. They first distributed skateboards to the interested youth, and started organising skateboard classes. This developed to a variety in programming which included girl only classes, youth to youth classes, and classes for the Sudanese community. People were feeling more and more comfortable in the park, and a larger community was forming.

Seven Hills governs with inclusive values that allows for the organic growth of the space according to the community's use patterns and needs, which creates a strong sense of ownership amongst everyone. Seven Hills registered as an organisation in 2019, and opened its offices opposite the park. They continue to operate in the park, as well as through different programmes across the country.