Cultural heritage is a collection of objects, places and traditions that represent the history and identity of a particular culture. It includes both tangible and intangible heritage.
Cultural artefacts are used to meet a need: they help us feel a sense of belonging, give us a structure that we can follow. But not all cultures’ heritage is pleasant.
Definition
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a place or society inherited by past generations, maintained in the present and preserved for future generations. It reflects the history and identity of a people, including their values and traditions.
UNESCO defines it as “the tangible and intangible assets of a community passed on from generation to generation, which embody their history and collective memory and reflect their unique culture and artistic expressions.” This includes buildings, historic places, monuments and landscapes; works of art and other movable cultural property; books, manuscripts and written documents, and underwater cultural heritage (shipwrecks).
It also includes languages, rites and beliefs, musical and linguistic expressions, as well as spiritual and ethical values. However, not everyone will agree on what constitutes cultural heritage, since what one person or group considers valuable may be different from another. What might be considered cultural heritage for a single person can change over time and depends on factors such as education, privilege/marginalization, religion and personal identity.
Purpose
The cultural heritage of a people is the expression of their creative work: language, rites and beliefs, historic places and monuments, art, literature, archives and libraries. It also includes the broader array of intangible assets that people identify with their culture and which they want to pass on to future generations.
The development of cultural heritage has become an important part of the social, economic and political life of human societies, attracting the attention of government ministries, museums, archivists, scholars and other professionals. It is also an area of concern for international organizations like UNESCO that developed the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972 and later a number of related Operational Guidelines.
Cultural heritage institutions have developed conservation, preservation and revitalization programs to ensure that the artefacts, buildings and other cultural objects they curate will remain in good condition for future generations. They are also engaged in education, tourism and commercial valorisation.
Significance
When people think of cultural heritage, they often envision artifacts like paintings, monuments, or archaeological sites. However, it can also include intangible heritage like languages, traditions, or festivals. Cultural heritage is a vital part of people’s identity, connecting them to their past and to each other. It is important to preserve cultural heritage for future generations.
The goal of preservation is to protect cultural heritage from both natural and human-made threats. Natural threats can include erosion, climate change, and natural disasters. Human-made threats include social persecution, terrorism, and armed conflict.
The preservation of cultural heritage requires the involvement of both communities and government agencies. Communities can become stewards of their heritage, while governments can create laws and regulations to protect the preservation of cultural heritage. International organizations like UNESCO can support preservation efforts by promoting responsible tourism and sharing best practices. Technology also offers new ways to conserve cultural heritage. For example, digital documentation can help save historic objects and buildings by creating accurate replicas.
Challenges
Cultural heritage is a complex matter, and preserving it can be a challenge. This can be due to many factors such as lack of funds, insufficient maintenance and deterioration caused by natural disasters like earthquakes or fires (the recent case of Palmyra being one example).
Other threats include deliberate destruction, war, terrorism, unsustainable tourism and other human activities that have the potential to negatively impact it. This makes it critical that a holistic approach to preservation is employed to address all of the challenges facing cultural heritage.
Preserving culture involves more than simply restoring buildings or documenting artifacts; it also requires that those who work with it have proper management skills. It is important that cultural heritage leaders are not only trained in fields such as archaeology, art history and sociology but also in how to find funding, manage people from multiple disciplines and plan for the long term. In addition, local communities themselves must be willing to participate in the preservation of their heritage and see it as an integral part of their identity.