The World Nomad Games are a celebration of nomadic cultures with roots in Central Asian traditions. The biennial event, dedicated to traditional sports and traditions practiced by nomadic peoples, invites participants to test not only their brawn but also their brains.
In this context, the term “nomadic” refers to a traditional lifestyle in which people move seasonally with their herds from place to place rather than living in permanent settlements, usually to find fresh pasture for their livestock.
From Kyrgyz belt wrestling and Hungarian horseback archery to intellectual board games such as mangala and oware, the Games are a sporting competition as well as a celebration of living cultural heritage.
First held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, the inaugural Games featured fewer than 600 participants from 19 countries competing across 10 disciplines. Now in their sixth edition, the Games feature thousands of competitors from about 100 countries and are recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as a valuable platform for promoting intercultural dialogue, social cohesion, peace and development. In 2021, UNESCO included the games in one of its registers under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, acknowledging them as an effective model for safeguarding traditional sports and driving sustainable development.
Following editions held in Türkiye (2022) and Kazakhstan (2024), the 2026 Games are returning to their birthplace, Kyrgyzstan, from 31 August to 6 September. For one week, the Games will be the epicenter of a global cultural dialogue, showcasing traditional sports alongside music, crafts, storytelling, traditional dress and other forms of traditional cultural expression practiced by nomadic communities.
What are traditional cultural expressions?
Traditional cultural expressions, also known as “expressions of folklore”, are tangible or intangible forms through which traditional culture is expressed. Traditional dances, songs, handicrafts, designs, symbols, ceremonies, tales and more may be considered such.
They are integral to the cultural and social identities and heritage of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, reflecting their core values and beliefs.
It is a common misconception that, because these cultural expressions are described as “traditional”, they must be ancient or somehow frozen in time. On the contrary, they are passed from one generation to another and are continually maintained, used and developed by their holders.
What makes knowledge or cultural expressions “traditional” is not their antiquity. Much traditional knowledge, such as know-how, skills and practices, is developed and maintained by a community, and many traditional cultural expressions are neither ancient nor inert, but rather a vital and dynamic part of the lives of many communities today.
The Games’ opening and closing ceremonies show this by combining traditional cultural elements – including nomadic history, oral epics, traditional dress, design, and music and dance – with modern staging, choreography and large-scale theatrical production for contemporary international audiences.
The many games featured during the event are traditional cultural expressions in themselves. For example, Kok-Boru (dead goat polo) is an intense equestrian game where two teams on horseback compete to score by carrying a goat carcass and placing it in the opposing team’s kazan (goal cauldron). Kok-Boru is believed to reflect the historical need to defend livestock on the Central Asian steppes. According to tradition, when wolves attacked their herds, nomadic horsemen would pursue them, pick up the carcasses, and toss them between riders while returning from the hunt. Over time, this practice is said to have evolved into a competitive sport that tested the agility, courage, strength and horsemanship essential for survival in the harsh steppe environment.
The growing visibility of traditional cultural expressions can contribute to their promotion and preservation, but also to their commercialization by third parties. Where cultural symbols, designs or performances are reproduced without the consent or involvement of the communities from which they originate, those communities may raise claims of misappropriation.
IP and the World Nomad Games
The World Nomad Games rely on familiar intellectual property (IP) mechanisms commonly associated with international sporting competitions. The name and logo of the Games, for instance, are protected as trademarks, helping to distinguish the event and its official merchandise.
Similarly, the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies, musical and dance performances, photographs and audiovisual productions may benefit from copyright protection.
As regards the many traditional cultural expressions practiced and showcased in the Games, some can be protected by conventional IP rights. Original contemporary expressions with identifiable authors, for example, may qualify for copyright protection, and communities may register signs and symbols used in the course of trade as trademarks.
Others, however, fall outside of the scope of conventional IP rights, which are generally designed for individual ownership, with limited protection periods and identifiable creators. This highlights certain limitations of the existing IP system, which was not designed with the policy objective of protecting traditional cultural expressions.
Those limitations are a source of concern for Indigenous Peoples and local communities seeking to prevent the unauthorized use of their traditional cultural expressions.
For example, traditional textile patterns may be reproduced in global fashion collections; sacred symbols could be used in branding; or traditional performances might be recorded and distributed online without the permission of or benefit-sharing with the communities concerned.
In response to the limitations in the conventional IP system, some countries have adapted their IP laws or established IP-like sui generis systems to protect traditional cultural expressions. Examples can be found in the WIPO database of laws, treaties and regulations on the protection of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. Member States of WIPO are conducting text-based negotiations in the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) to finalize an agreement on an international legal instrument (or instruments) to protect these.
Amid all the wrestling, falconry and folk competitions, the 2026 World Nomad Games will once again help to ensure that these traditions are practiced as part of a dynamic cultural heritage.
About the author
Daphne Zografos Johnsson is a Senior Legal Officer in the Traditional Knowledge Division at WIPO. She has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of IP, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. She has held academic positions at the University of Reading, King’s College London and Queen Mary University of London, and holds advanced degrees in IP law from University College London (UCL) and Queen Mary. At WIPO, she works on emerging issues relating to traditional cultural expressions and IP.
