This research area studies the relationships between play, sport, education and culture, with particular attention to traditional sporting games as expressions of communities’ intangible cultural heritage. From an ethnomotor perspective, motor practices are examined as cultural expressions of how different societies and regions understand social relationships, organise their communities and give meaning to their values, beliefs and ways of life.

Traditional sporting games serve a purpose beyond recreation. As cultural systems, they pass on knowledge, values, collective identities and ways of living together across generations. Studying them shows how closely motor conduct is tied to its historical, social and cultural context, and helps safeguard and recognise intangible cultural heritage.

This area pays particular attention to cultural well-being, understood as the contribution of cultural and motor practices to the overall development of individuals and communities. Traditional sporting games are studied as educational resources that can strengthen belonging, promote intercultural dialogue, foster social cohesion and support sustainable regional development.

The research brings together motor praxeology, ethnomotricity, anthropology, education and studies of intangible cultural heritage. It uses qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods to document, analyse and interpret traditional motor practices and assess their educational, social and cultural impact.

This area also examines the potential of traditional sporting games for values education, building cultures of peace, advancing social inclusion and strengthening active citizenship. These objectives align with those of international organisations that protect cultural heritage and support sustainable human development.

This area comprises the following main strands of research: