Afghanistan: Kite festival marks a year since Taliban takeover

A special kite flying festival is taking place in at least 16 cities and towns across the UK and Europe to mark one year since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.

On Saturday 20 August, the Fly with Me festival will see colourful kites take to the skies as an act of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.

UK locations include Brighton, Bradford, Dover, Folkestone, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Northamptonshire, Scunthorpe and Sheffield.

Kite flying plays an important role in Afghan culture and the practice was previously banned by the Taliban.

What's happening at the festival?

A boy flies a kite in Afghanistan in 2018

The Fly with Me festival comes from the creators of Little Amal - a huge puppet of a 9-year-old Syrian girl that was designed to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by child refugees.

There will be free kite-making workshops, storytelling workshops and tips for flying kites.

Like Little Amal, Afghan storytellers will bring to life the story of Zaki, a 12-year-old boy in Kabul who loves flying kites.

A kite-making pack of instructions, materials and short films will be available for families, schools, town councils, community groups and individuals to create their own Afghan kites.

What is the history of kites in Afghanistan?

Kite flying has a long history in Afghanistan

Kite flying is a national sport in Afghanistan with an 800-year-old tradition.

Children would make kites out of paper, then have battles, trying to knock each others kites out of the sky.

In the 1990s, when the Taliban rose to power in the country they banned kite flying along with things like music and dance.

Master kite-maker Sanjar Qiam, who left Afghanistan for the UK in 2011, says he used to fly kites as a child.

"[Kites] are a universal symbol of expression, skill and cultural pride," he said.

"Fly With Me is an act of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and an opportunity for all of us to come together and feel between our fingers the strings that connect us to this incredible country, its culture and its people."

Afghanistan one year on

It is one year since a military group known as the Taliban overthrew Afghanistan's government and took control of the country.

The organisers of the event want to raise attention to the humanitarian crises going on in the country.

They say it is a chance to send a message to the world to 'Remember Afghanistan' and treat Afghan refugees with respect.

Afghanistan has a troubled and complicated history and during the 20th Century the Afghan flag has changed 19 times, often because of a change of ruler.

Fly With Me co-creator, Elham Ehsas, who is also a director and actor, said: "During my lifetime, my country's colours have been painted, wiped, repainted then wiped again 15 times. But we have always flown kites.

"The colours change but our skies are the same. Let's take to the skies and remember that Afghanistan's flag has been wiped once again."