Amritsar, India born Shammi Rana appointed as the new Secretary-General for the International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG). Together, Khan and Rana will assist the Council with being an official umbrella organization for all (Traditional Sports and Indigenous Games) as well as organizers of traditional-sports games and sport-related international associations. The ICTSG, according to Mr.Shammi Rana, to help all concerned and interested governmental and non-governmental national, regional and international organizations in the harmonization and coordination of efforts and capacity in view of providing guidance, counseling; and to sustain 17 initiatives and programs that pertain to traditional sports and games for policy-makers, stakeholders and concerned parties. Mr. Shammi Rana further added that Traditional sports and games (TSG) must be presented at local, national and regional international festivals/events with high publicity to strengthen the awareness of their values, significance, and importance.TSG should be incorporated, introduced and promoted in the work of schools, communities, institutions, and organizations both governmental and non-governmental.
Mr. Rana brings with him a tremendous amount of experience, who has more than 20 years of promoting experience at the top levels of sports has worked with state dignitaries around the world to promote political, social and diplomatic relations at the highest levels of government.
The traditional sports and games (TSG) contribute to a life of mutual understanding and peaceful behavior among different cultural and social groups, communities and nations. They are means of their identity. Therefore, the significance of traditional sports and games must be strengthened and the opportunity for practicing them must be held open for all human beings especially for young people, physically challenged and disadvantaged groups in society.
Traditional sports and games have their regulations and standards with no need for globalization or standardization. For their further development, due attention should be given on their values, originality, and the needs of those practicing them. They should be protected from any kind of commercialization that affects the cultural heritage and values of traditional sports and games. Traditional sports and games while not needing expensive facilities and equipment should be promoted in all parts of the world, especially where the resources are low. Traditional sports and games, which did not suffer extensive commercialization and doping manipulation, could be used for promoting the morale and spirit of fair play. Traditional sports and games could be an effective tool for the promotion of tolerance, mutual understanding, respect, and peace in a culturally diverse society.
The role, which traditional sports and games can play in the realization of this fundamental right had to be carried out and must be increasingly used. The different native cultures in the world have brought out a diversity of traditional sports and games. They are expressions of the richness of a nation’s culture. It is a serious star to preserve and promote the practicing of this diversity. A lot of traditional sports and games belong to the national, regional or worldwide cultural heritage. It is necessary to strengthen the acknowledgment of traditional sports and games.
Traditional sports and games could be modernized and adapted cautiously according to the needs of the living generation without affecting their originality. This process must be not misused by touristic interest. Traditional sports and games, as well as indigenous sports, have to be adopted or implemented in recognized sports programs like “Sport for Peace” or “Sport and Health” to promote their popularity and survival sports. Traditional sports and games have to change in a cautious manner in view of the progress of civilization and must be made fit for the exchange of sport within the different cultures.
The mass media are required to present and promote traditional sports and games in an appropriate manner, given their importance and values. Traditional sports and games contribute to the world heritage of sports culture. Research, preservation, and promotion of traditional sports and games must be at the center of a global policy on culture and sport. The research into traditional sports and games and their contribution to the knowledge of the various cultures and mankind must be intensified, broadened out and supported by governmental and non-governmental organizations. The effort to conserve dying and bring back lost traditional and indigenous sports and games for the future generation by museum presentation has to be supported.
Safeguarding and promoting Traditional Sport and Games (TSG) requires developing knowledge, sharing information and raising awareness on its intangible heritage. Traditional sports and games have, for decades, faced a paradox: there is a renewed interest in TSG at national, regional and international levels but this is not concordant with its apparent marginalization. The increased professionalization and commercialization of sports, then a corresponding shift in values that they encompass, the global preponderance of certain sporting activities and the neglect of physical education systems are important challenges contrasting with the status quo on the development of traditional sports and games. With this in mind,
UNESCO’s work focuses on advocacy aiming to safeguard, promote and develop TSG, and to ensure that they form an integral part of national and international cultural development.
Traditional Sports and Games, the challenge for the future
In 1999, following the Third International Conference of Ministers and High Authorities of Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS III), the Declaration of Punta del Este called on governments to engage in the safeguarding of traditional sports and advocated the development of a worldwide list of traditional games and sports. The designated working group of the Intergovernmental Committee (CIGEPS) elaborated a draft charter and a draft list for Physical Education and Sport.
In this regard, two important proposals have been made during MINEPS III. One of them is the publication of a world heritage list of traditional games and sports and the other the implementation of an incentive framework for the promotion and the preservation of these sports that should lead to the establishment of an “International Platform” for traditional games and sports.
Later in 2003, as a purpose of reviewing follow-up measures of MINEPS III, the ministers of representative countries asked for a round-table conference to the President at the 31st session of UNESCO”s General Conference. MINEPS VI highlighted the importance of traditional sports and games and recommended concrete provisions for its promotion and development. The 33rd session of UNESCO’s General Conference drew on these recommendations to design the Organization’s strategies regarding traditional sports and games.
The Director-General then presented it at the 33rd session of the General Conference in 2005, where the Member States were invited to take the necessary steps to preserve and protect the TSG. A draft Charter of Traditional Games and Sports was further deliberated upon and was followed by Resolution 21 on the desirability and scope of an international charter on traditional games and sports.
As a result, the Resolution 33C/R21 enabled the organization of UNESCO convened First Collective Consultation meeting at UNESCO’s headquarters-Paris, on 13 March 2006, with the participation of UNESCO Member States, Ministers, experts and other relevant stakeholders aimed at creating an international platform for the promotion and development of traditional sports and games. In this meeting, a concrete roadmap and an agenda for action were adopted.
2nd Collective Consultation Meeting on the promotion of Traditional Sports and Games (TSG) was held in Tehran (the Islamic Republic of Iran) from 16 to 20 January 2009, during which experts notably developed the following definitional framework:
“Traditional sport and games are motor activities of leisure and recreation which can have a ritual character. They are part of the universal heritage diversity. They are practiced in an individual or collective manner, deriving from regional or local identity; they are based on rules accepted by a group that organizes competitive or non-competitive activities. Traditional sport and games dispose of a popular character in their practice and their organization, yet if turned into sport tend to be uniform and institutionalized. The practice of traditional and games promote global health.”
UNESCO convened this collective Consultation aimed at creating an International Platform for the promotion and development of traditional sports and games. This platform was envisaged as a “formal umbrella organization specifically concerned with TSG” that could become an “International Council on TSG”7. The meeting aimed to build momentum on the outcomes of MINEPS IV (held in Athens in 2004) and Resolution 33 C/R.21.
This Collective consultation also facilitated the following conclusions:
UNESCO representatives invited all participants to join UNESCO’s Network on TSG;
The Islamic The Republic of Iran offered to host the International Martial Arts Festival;
The experts proposed an official definition of traditional sports and games.
After some gap in between, UNESCO re-started its efforts in the year 2015 and decided the strategic approach focuses on the following three objectives:
- elaboration of Policy Guidelines on Traditional Sports and Games essentially based on the provisions of the draft Charter of 2005;
- establishment of an International Platform on Traditional Sports and Games;
- updating of the World Sports Encyclopedia and the development of an Online Worldwide Encyclopedia.
It was also decided with the partner organization International Association of Traditional Wrestling Sports (IATWS) which was a sole contributor by giving Financial Assistance as an Extra Budgetary Fund to UNESCO for purpose and also agreed that work will be carried out in three phases:
- Phase I — Preparatory Phase (July-November 2017)
- Phase II — Consolidation Phase (December 2017- November 2018);
- Phase III — Deepening Phase (December 2018 — ∞).
Attempting to revitalize the program on the safeguarding and promotion of Traditional Sports and Games, a 3rd Collective Consultation Meeting on Traditional Sports and Games (TSG) was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 6 to 7 July 2017. This consultation also gathered experts from sports federations and associations, academics, representatives of the Member States of UNESCO and non-governmental organizations wherein participants adopted an action plan/roadmap for the years 2017 and 2018 in order to formalize the following actions:
- Elaboration of Policy Guidelines on TSG on the basis of the draft Charter;
- Establishment of an international Platform on TSG;
- Development of an Online Worldwide Encyclopaedia on the ground of the 2003 World Sports Encyclopaedia.
As a core the outcome of the 3rd collective consultation, the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee for the safeguarding and promotion of Traditional Sports and Games (AAC) was established by UNESCO and Mr. Khalil Ahmed Khan, President of IATWS was unanimously elected as the chairperson of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Traditional Sports and Games, UNESCO (TSG) and Mr. Shammi Rana appointed as Rapporteur of Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Traditional Sports and Games, UNESCO(TSG).
They then separated into four Ad Hoc Working Groups; these are respectively responsible, for drafting Guidelines, establishing the International Platform, publishing the online Encyclopedia and supervising the management of human and financial resources. Their composition remained open-ended in the hope of becoming more representative until the fourth Collective Consultation.
The 4th Collective Consultation Meeting on the Safeguarding and Promotion of TSG organized by Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Traditional Sports and Games, UNESCO(TSG) which took place on 13 and 14 August 2018, in Istanbul, Turkey in collaboration with the Government of Turkey. The Consultation brought together Ministers and representatives of UNESCO Member States, representatives of the Group of Friends of UNESCO TSG as well as non-governmental organizations, experts from sports federations, associations and the field of academics, with the aim of further developing the program on the safeguarding and promotion of traditional sports and games. Strategic development of the program was discussed, including the International Council on TSG (ICTSG)
4th Collective Consultation Meeting on TSG was attended by more than 80 participants from 40 countries including Sports Ministers, government officials, representatives of UNESCO Permanent Delegations and international organizations.
The draft statutes of the ‘International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG)’ were presented before the participants and the establishment of ICTSG as the international platform tasked with ensuring the safeguarding and promotion of TSG whilst aiming to support and assist governments and NGOs, as well as the Sport Movement at national, regional and international levels through harmonization, coordination of efforts, guidance, and advice, was agreed to in principle.
Participants then deliberated upon the strategy to be undertaken in leveraging the international the platform, with the support of the Working Group entrusted with the establishment of the International Platform on TSG, and it was unanimously upheld that UNESCO and AAC shall make use of the experience of various Permanent Delegations involved in the TSG Project for discussions on progressing the strategy of ICTSG. which objectives and functions of the ICTSG and it was decided that the detailed draft Statutes shall be circulated for feedback so as to incorporate all aspects relevant to the future operation of the ICTSG.
The TSG project is now being supervised by the international platform — International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG), continuing the work of the ad hoc Advisory Committee of UNESCO, established in order to control and promote the Traditional Sports and Games around the globe.
The Role of ICTSG:
International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) is the official umbrella organization for all (Traditional Sports and Indigenous Games) as well as organizers of traditional-sports games and sport-related international associations.
Its core objectives are, inter alia, to help all concerned and interested governmental and non-governmental national, regional and international organizations in the harmonization and coordination of efforts and capacity in view of providing guidance, counseling and to sustain17 initiatives and programs that pertain to traditional sports and games for policy-makers, stakeholders and other concerned parties.
ICTSG‟s initiative to organize TSG Events is part of the program for the Safeguarding and Promotion of TSG which aims to ensure that traditional sports and games form an integral part of cultural development on a multilayer the approach thus reinforcing the implementation of United Nation‟s Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
ICTSG will also, be the sole controller and proprietor of the “World Traditional Sports and Games” which will be attended by teams from all the Member States of the United Nations and ICTSG.
The mission of the Council is to contribute to the promotion and development of TSG, as a distinct and different category to modern sports, and facilitate the promotion and understanding of TSG as cultural identity and diversity in view of achieving sport for peace in the context of achieving Education for All (EFA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations;
In consequence, its key functions are to ensure priority towards advocacy and raising awareness about the challenges and plights that demand decisions, actions, and tangible measures in different geographical, cultural and educational contexts. This will help share know-how, knowledge, information, and data related to TSG at different levels of incentive and normative needs or initiatives that can contribute to improving the development and promotion of TSG at local, national, regional and international levels.
The ICTSG further aims to undertake endeavors advocating and raising awareness in relation to the cultural diversity and respect of cultural identity within the context of new issues and challenges in a globalized world, where values, knowledge, skills, and behavior are in constant change.
The International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) is an international organization aiming to serve as an international platform for the preservation, promotion, and development of traditional sport and games (TSG) at the global level.
Projects of ICTSG
World Traditional Sports and Games
World Traditional Sports and Games is one of the projects being supervised by the ICTSG. It is the initiative of the UNESCO Advisory Committee and approved by UNESCO. These Games will be the first of their kind whilst giving a boost to tourism, local traditions, and culture of its Host Country.
Anti-Doping in Traditional sports
In today’s highly competitive sporting environment, athletes and athlete support personnel is under increasing pressure to do whatever it takes to win. ICTSG and UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport are committed to preserve fair sport and to protect young people involved in traditional sports from the use of prohibited substances.
Gender equality through Traditional sports
Promoting gender equality and empowering women through traditional sports and games are one of ICTSG’s main objectives.
