First of the Ethnosport Talks, have realized in Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University. University students had opportunity to experience traditional sports at the end of interviews.
Prof. Dr. Yusuf Tekin, Hacı Bayram Veli University, was moderator of the program beginning with presentation of Z. Safiye Baki Nalcıoğlu, a Board Member of WEC, with the subject of traditional sports and children games. Bilal Erdoğan, President of World Ethnosport Confederation, answered questions of students as the first guest of talks. Erdoğan stated that, “We would like to increase attention of everyone in the world for traditional sports. For this reason, we bring people together working in this field. We establish memberships with institutions, and we create a global network throughout the world.”
Erdoğan, by stating that attention for traditional sports has increased in recent years, said that “We think that western civilization is not sustainable and cannot make contribution to peace in the world. For this reason, to protect cultural richness of the world, we believe that traditional games and sports are valuable”.
Erdoğan answered a question regarding olympics:
“We don’t have an agenda to place traditional sports into olympics. There is a structure that has no democratic approach saying, ‘I exclude this sport and take this sport in’. We would like to keep cultural richness of the world alive. Every color is beautiful. We support keeping traditional sports alive in the whole world. Besides, if traditional sports are kept strong, this make branches in olympics strong.”
Bilal Erdoğan, who visits stands where traditional sports were experienced after the event, played “kale” game with Hakan Kazancı, Deputy President of WEC and President of Turkey Traditional Sport Branches Federation and took photographs with students.
