Kenneth Middleton
The first World Traditional Games event will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2021. Being the only country to have made a bid for the hosting rights to the event, Kazakhstan was unanimously awarded the rights to the event. This was decided at the UNESCO 4th Collective Consultation on Traditional Sports and Games, held in Istanbul on the 13th and 14th of August 2018.
The UNESCO Ad Hoc Advisory Committee (AAC) for Traditional Sports and Games (TSG) represented by their Chairperson, Khalil Ahmed Khan facilitated the meetings.
In attendance were Ministers, other government representatives, representatives from National Traditional Sports and Games Associations and key stakeholders all from different countries around the world. Representing Botswana at the meeting was President of the Botswana Traditional Sports and Games Confederation (BTSGC) Kenneth Tebogo Middleton.
The agenda of the meeting was to build on the achievements and agreements from the 3rd Collective Consultation on Traditional Sports and Game, to hear discussions on the strategic development of programs for TSG and discussions around and adoption of the International Council on Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) and finally a hearing of bids for and selection of the host nation for the first World Traditional Games event in 2021.
In their bid representatives from Kazakhstan Ethnosport Association acknowledged that it is important to have participation from all 5 continents in order to have a truly worldly event. Thus they reached out to stakeholders from around the world to get in contact with them and help them included traditional games and participants from the four corners of the globe.
Through the Botswana Traditional Sports and Games Confederation, a Botswana TSG team will be put together and sent to participate in the games in Kazakhstan.
In conclusion participating ministers jointly with stakeholders at the meeting agreed to recognize the importance of the place and role and contribution of TSG in strengthening inter cultural dialogue, their structure values in an inclusive society, embracing the need to foster their safeguarding, transmission of knowledge and practices as cultural heritage.