Kazakhstan has been elected to UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
Kazakhstan has been elected to UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and successfully bid for Traditional Games in 2021.
- (1888PressRelease) June 18, 2018 - Kazakhstan has been elected to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). The vote was conducted at the seventh session of the UNESCO General Assembly, held June 4-6 in Paris, and national experts will participate on the committee for the next four years.
Kazakhstan’s candidacy was supported by 98 of 156 voting countries. Delegates who supported the selection noted the expertise of Kazakh specialists on the UNESCO and Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) national commission, which strives to popularise the rich traditions and culture of the Kazakh people, as well as the nation’s international cultural engagement.
Representatives of UNESCO, including the Chairman of the Committee on Traditional Sports and Games Khalil Ahmed Khan, Mr. Marcellin Dally Programme Specialist - Secretary, International Anti-Doping Convention Sector for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO and Shammi K Rana Rapporteur Traditional Sports and Games, UNESCO made a special visit to Kazakhstan in between. The primary purpose of the visitation was to get acquainted with the level of organization, propaganda, and the interest of fans of national sports in Kazakhstan and within the framework of the visit, a Tripartite Letter of Intent was signed between the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Association of National Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, UNESCO Traditional Sports and Games. One of the critical sections in the Letter is that the UNESCO Committee on Traditional Sports and Games has a project to organize the first Worldwide Traditional Games in 2021, and Kazakhstan intents to support this big-scale sports event.
Chairman of the UNESCO Committee on Traditional Sports and Games Khalil Ahmed Khan thanked Kazakhstani colleagues for hospitality and wished success in the development of national sports, saying that Kazakhstan has all chances to host the Traditional Games in 2021.
"You know that traditional sports are an integral part of the historical heritage. Kazakhstan pays great attention to national sports. And we observe a tremulous attitude towards the traditions of the people and the great desire of the Kazakh side to host the first Worldwide TraditionalGames under the auspices of UNESCO. In my point of view, the Kazakhstani bid has good chances. Once Greece became the birthplace of the first Olympics, taking a special place in history. Kazakhstan can also become the country that hosted the first ever UNESCO Games. It seems to me that this will help fulfill the key goal of the organization - the preservation and development of the culture of states, "Khalil Ahmed Khan stated.
MARCELLIN DALLY, COORDINATOR, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT PROGRAMME, UNESCO - I think Kazakhstan already won because the maximum has been done for this meeting and those actions we have with the minister and the organization backing the minister. Kazakhstan beyond the other countries has shown interest in the past and this has been reaffirmed today and I think it’s time to work on what will be the agenda. We can have some positive outcomes.
In his turn, Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arystanbek Mukhamediuly expressed his gratitude to UNESCO for the particular attention to the development of national sports in our country.
"I’d like to note that in 2017, 343,000 people were engaged in national sports, seven specialized sports clubs and ten specialized sports schools operate in the country. In 2016-2017 years, the list of the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO included such sports as "Kazakh wrestling", "Hunting with hunting birds" and "Asyk atu", - said Arystanbek Muhamediuly.
During the visit, the UNESCO delegation sighted to the II Asian Tenge Ilu Championship and the III Asian Audaryspak Championship which had been holding in Astana with participants from 9 Asian countries. For note, Tenge Ilu is a national Kazakh sports game which requires athletes to pick up coins put on the ground from a galloping horse with full speed, and Audaryspak is identified as horseback wrestling.
The high–ranked guests from UNESCO evaluated the beauty and spectacularity of Kazakh national sports and the organization of the championships they witnessed. The delegation highly appreciated the hospitality of Kazakh people as well as the rich experience of Kazakhstan to welcome a large number of tourists for significant sports events.
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