The term laudodiversity is used to describe the diversity of games, sports, physical exercises, dances, and acrobatics.
In 1973, the Flemish Folk Games File was launched as a research project. There was little pre-existing information, so researchers had to conduct fieldwork. Results revealed a rich diversity of traditional games that are still being played every day in Flanders. Most traditional games are practiced regionally, but a limited number of games are played in all provinces.
The team also discovered some games that had not been recorded previously. There were other games that were thought to have died out that are still kicking and alive. In total, there are about sixty different games that have been identified in Flanders, which is an impressive number for such a small region. Based on our survey results (2005), it was found that many traditional game participants are elderly males from the working class who mostly live in the countryside. This socio-cultural profile was further reinforced except for the female participation which increased significantly.
The non-government organization Sportimonium, teamed with communities and associations throughout Flanders, Belgium, has been working to protect the heritage of games and sports. Twenty-three types of traditional games have been documented, which include shooting games, bowling games, throw games, and ball games.
In addition to supporting specialized and umbrella organizations, Sportimonium is involved with publications, festivals, demonstrations, and exchanges of expertise; it also has a Traditional Games Park and loan services, where it provides people with traditional games equipment. The program is founded on systematic research and documentation: information on traditional games and sports from around the world has been compiled in Sportimonium's documentation center.
Although the majority of traditional games nowadays have their own federation. For many of them, these coordinating bodies were actually formed quite recently. Some of them have well-organized systems, while others are more informal, with only some ad hoc agreements regarding their schedule of competitions. However, promoting awareness of the cultural significance of their intangible cultural heritage is another crucial safeguarding strategy. The organization is especially concerned with attracting young members and women. The Sportimonium model can be applied to other organizations. Furthermore, for their positive impact on the psychological and social well-being of people, traditional games deserve public attention from society as well as from the local and national authorities. Hopefully, this program's modular design allows it to be implemented locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, according to local, regional, national, or international contexts.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/BSP/programme-of-cultivating-ludodiversity-safeguarding-traditional-games-in-flanders-00513) (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.614.7660&rep=rep1&type=pdf)