His Excellency Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH) and Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee for Sharjah Heritage Days (SHD), held under the slogan (Heritage and Creativity) from 1 to 21 March, yesterday launched the activities of the World Games Championship “Olympias” at Heritage area in the heart of Sharjah. In cooperation with the Olympias Organization for Folk Games in Italy, the Cultural Café in Bait Al Naboodah held its first intellectual sessions on the inspiration of heritage in theatrical creativity, training workshops, events, activities and other daily performances. The city of Kalba will soon launch its activities, which will continue until 11 March.

The launch of the World Games Championship “Olympias” as part of the activities of the Sharjah Heritage Days

His Excellency Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH) and Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee for Sharjah Heritage Days, yesterday launched the activities of the World Games Championship “Olympias” at Heritage area in the heart of Sharjah. The activities were organized in association with the Olympias Folk Games Organization in Italy.

Commenting on the tournament, His Excellency Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam said: “The folk games constitute one of the most important pillars of the folklore of every society, and they express many aspects of cultural and civilizational characteristics and heritage. They also reflect important features of the memory and collective conscience transmitted by parents and grandparents.” He pointed out that over time, the great importance acquired by popular games lies in the fact that they contribute to enriching the positive and natural growth of the child, achieving psychological and physical balance. In addition, the games stimulate mental and physical activity based on the spirit and heritage of the local environment and the authentic values of the past. He said this creates opportunities for learning and cognitive and skill development, which contributes to reducing the impact of modern electronic games on children and their addiction to smartphones and tablets.

Al Musallam pointed out that awareness of these positive benefits is what drives the Institute to continue organizing events and competitions, pointing out that the current World Championship for Folk Games is taking place in the UAE, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Bahrain and Italy in cooperation with the Italian Olympias Organization. He explained that the tournament comes as a prelude to a global championship, scheduled to be included in SHD’s agenda in its twenty-first session next year. The SIH is developing a final vision for it in coordination and cooperation with prominent international organizations.