Belarus’ NOC president takes part in 8th Ethnosport Forum in Antalya

A delegation of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus, led by Viktor Lukashenko, is taking part in the 8th International Ethnosport Forum, which is held in Antalya, Türkiye on 3-5 April.

The event’s program includes sessions, panel discussions, and strategic meetings under the overall theme Reviving Traditional Sports.

The business part of the forum was opened by the High Level Ministerial Panel immediately after Bilal Erdoğan’s opening speech. The working sessions cover international cooperation, financial sustainability, and media strategies for ethnosport.

The working program of the president of Belarus’ NOC includes negotiations with President of the World Ethnosport Confederation, Bilal Erdoğan, and the minister of youth and sports of Türkiye, participation in a plenary session, as well as meetings with heads of several foreign delegations and leaders of sports sectors.



About 50 member organizations from 29 countries are taking part in the forum, along with representatives of government agencies, federations, and the academic community. The geographical scope includes Eurasia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

CIS member states are traditionally represented at the level of heads of sports authorities: Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The forum serves as a mechanism for shaping and solidifying the global ethnosport agenda.



The key theme of the 8th forum is Ethnosport 2027, a large-scale multi-sport event that brings together traditional sports and games. The goal is to gather traditional sports disciplines from different regions under one roof, enhance cultural interaction, and strengthen awareness of a shared heritage.

Participants at the forum are expected to develop a roadmap for the project, including its vision, organizational structure, participation strategies, and a media plan. The host country and venues for the future event have not yet been determined, and this issue will be a key topic in Antalya.

Other current issues on the sports agenda for the forum’s participating countries will also be discussed.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus

Photos by the organizers