Cultural heritage is a complex concept that consists of both tangible and intangible elements. It includes things like traditions, music, dances, beliefs, and languages. These things are passed from generation to generation, forming the basis of a community’s identity and continuity.
The five largest programming areas for cultural heritage organizations are education; food, agriculture, and nutrition; human services; and social science and ethnic studies. These programs are often separate from traditional arts programs.
Physical objects
Cultural heritage is the collection of physical and intangible objects that a society identifies as important, valuable, and worthy of preservation. It consists of artifacts, buildings, landscapes, traditions, beliefs, and practices that people hold in high esteem. It is often tied to personal and community identity, and can bring people together or marginalize groups.
Archaeologists are increasingly concerned about how to communicate archaeological information to nonspecialists. They want to explore new ways of communicating the past in a variety of educational venues, including museums, popular literature, and film and television.
Objects are essential to the study of human history because they can provide a concrete basis for ideas and validate memories. Moreover, they can serve as a bridge between people who share a common history. Moreover, physical objects can be preserved in museums and other cultural institutions for future generations. However, they require constant care and protection. Therefore, it is vital to understand the complexities of protecting and maintaining cultural heritage.
Intangible elements
Cultural heritage consists of both physical artifacts and intangible attributes that characterize society. The former includes works of art, music and architecture as well as historic buildings, sites and museums, while the latter consists of social customs, traditions and beliefs that distinguish a culture from others. These intangible assets are often the subject of intellectual property laws that require special skill and knowledge to protect them. This creates a challenge for libraries and archives that serve as the caretakers and preservers of this valuable cultural heritage.
UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage is diverse and covers things like traditional dances, languages, food, and rituals. For example, the Haitian soup joumou has been declared of intangible cultural value by UNESCO, while Congolese rumba was included on the list because it combines drumming from enslaved Africans with Spanish melodies. This type of nonphysical cultural wealth has enormous importance for communities and should be protected. The protection of intangible cultural heritage also promotes intercultural dialogue and respect for different ways of life.
Economic value
Cultural heritage is an integral part of a country’s identity, and its preservation contributes to economic development. Its value is reflected in tourism, one of the world’s leading economic sectors, and its preservation costs are partly covered by this income. However, this type of economic value is not usually captured in valuation models.
Research in environmental and ecological economics suggests that cultural heritage generates positive spillovers, or externalities. These values can be assessed using nonmarket methods similar to those used to evaluate the benefits of natural resources. These include revealed preference methods based on real behavior (e.g., travel cost method) and stated preference methods based on hypothetical scenarios.
ICCROM is conducting a new survey on the economic value of cultural heritage, which will be launched in 2022. The survey will gather information from a range of stakeholders including governments, heritage agencies and researchers. The survey will focus on a wide range of cultural heritage assets and services, including buildings, art works, archaeological sites, museums, and other intangible elements such as traditional skills, social-cultural practices, and living experiences.
Social value
Cultural heritage is a source of social value that contributes to community well-being. It helps foster a sense of identity, promotes dialogue and mutual understanding, and promotes respect for cultural diversity. It also contributes to the economic development and security of a region. Nevertheless, the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage and the looting and trafficking of archaeological sites can fuel conflict and hamper post-conflict national reconciliation.
Nonprofit cultural heritage organizations serve a unique role in their communities. They bring together groups that have been underserved by mainstream organizations in the arts, culture, and humanities. This includes neighborhood and inner-city communities, ethnic groups and immigrant commu- nities, rural areas, and indigenous peoples.
They are also concerned about new ways of conveying archaeological information to nonspecialists. They want to move beyond utilitarian explanations of the past, and explore the potential of cognitive imagery in helping people interpret and understand archaeological information. This can be achieved through art, music, and other forms of expression.