Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage

For several decades, Cultural Heritage was long absent from the mainstream Sustainable Development debate and research despite its crucial significance in the societies and the wide acknowledgement of its great potential to contribute to Social, Economic and Environmental Goals in our world today. But in the recent development based on a strong appeal and research from Multi-National and local stakeholders, the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly integrates for the first time, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Therefore, World Heritage can now provide a platform to develop and test new approaches that demonstrate the relevance of Heritage in the society to man Kinds.

What is then Cultural Heritage? Cultural Heritage is more than monuments and archaeological sites. According to the Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘’Heritage as property that is or may be inherited or an inheritance’’ but in a broad sense, Heritage is a valuable endowment. Our Heritage in every ramification is irreplaceable source of life, inspiration, and dignity. Heritage demonstrates the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects upon which our values are derived.

Heritage could be classified as follows:
1. Tangible Cultural Heritage: these are the physical endowment such as monuments, artwork, traditional clothing, ancient tools, ancient building, ancient historical books and artifacts.
2. Intangible Cultural Heritage includes folklore, dirge, ancient poem/songs, festival, oral traditions and language.
3. Natural Heritage includes, biodiversity culturally significant landscape, marine or aquatic endowment.

A man without Heritage is a man without origin, history and identification. In whatever form or shape your heritage occurs;
• Your Heritage is your Potential
• Your Heritage is your Pride
• Your Heritage is your Posterity
• Your Heritage is your Identity
• Your Heritage is your Wealth
• Your Heritage is your Legacy

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