New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) Bijender Goel, a former special representative to Jharkhand and former adviser to the Union labour and employment ministry, has been nominated as the Indian Delphic Council's founding president.

The nomination was made by the International Delphic Council (IDC), which is a voluntary, not-for-profit, non-political and non-religious global organisation that works to foster harmony among people through engagements in various art forms and cultural identities through the Delphic Games.

The Delphic Games are a sacred and ancient tradition of celebrating art, music, myth, dance, poetry, song, philosophy, theatre and sports. The games were started over 1,000 years ago in ancient Greece prior to the Olympic Games and had at the time a similar level of importance in society, according to a statement.

"I plan to take this movement to every artist, art lover, various stakeholders and government bodies in India by promoting all the arts categories including but not limited to musical arts, performing arts, visual arts, literature, social arts, communications, ecological arts and architecture and its sub-categories," Goel said.

"This will involve every state and union territory, and all age groups. Apart from Delphic Games at the international level, the Indian Delphic Council will organise many festivals, events, platforms in India," he said in the statement.

Goel, who is the chairman of the National Council on Disaster Management, ASSOCHAM, is known for introducing the earthquake onsite early warning technology in India. He is also a member of the governing council of the Bir Tikenderajit University in Manipur, it said

World leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, Eduard Shevardnadze as well as celebrated musicians, painters, academicians, pedagogues, historians, arts and culture revivalists have supported the Delphic Games and what they stand for, the statement said.

The games gather the world's best artists in six delphic arts categories and have thus far taken place under the patronage of international institutions — UNESCO, Council of Europe, ASEAN and the heads of states of respective host countries, it said.

The cultures do not enter into a competition but showcase their respective arts, the statement said and added that India has participated in three editions of the Delphic Games in various countries.

It even won the gold and silver medals in South Korea earlier, it said.PTI ASG

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