Cultural heritage is a central part of a community’s identity and the values, traditions, and histories it embodies. It can be physical – a historical building, a temple or shrine, a work of art, an archaeological site – or intangible – an oral history, the language of a place, a ritual or performance, the Viennese coffee house culture, or traditional craftsmanship skills. It encapsulates the living heritage of a people and the intergenerational connection that makes it an integral part of human society.
A nation’s heritage is a source of pride and strength that can be tapped by the people as a way to deal with present-day challenges, to overcome intractable conflicts, and to design a better future. Its preservation is vital, as are the efforts that communities undertake to safeguard heritage and protect its value. The protection of historic places, monuments, and cultural artifacts is often a long-term struggle in the face of colonial exploitation and modern encroachment. But even in the face of these threats, a community will often rally to preserve and celebrate its heritage through movements like the conservation of the Sanchi Stupa or the protection of Vedic manuscripts from looting.
The preservation of cultural heritage is often seen as a positive economic driver because it can foster the growth of tourism and creative businesses, or can help establish cities or regions as cultural capitals. The value of a heritage asset may also be realized through its contribution to soft location factors such as quality of life and the sense of belonging to a community. The value of cultural heritage as a source of a community’s pride, strength, and identity can be difficult to quantify, however.
Traditionally, heritage decision making has been guided by the notion that it is important to keep historic buildings and artifacts intact because they represent the past and help to tell a country’s story. This narrative has shifted over time as the heritage profession has refined practices related to recognizing and interpreting the connections between people and their history. The heritage discourse now also reflects a more dynamic and contemporary societal context, with expectations for heritage to play a role in processes of social justice, reconciliation, and healing, as well as the pursuit of economic benefits.
This shift in the heritage value paradigm has made it more challenging to estimate the broader values that are associated with the preservation of cultural heritage. Efforts to bring more rigor to the estimation of those broader values have become increasingly necessary in order to ensure that the true costs and benefits of cultural heritage are taken into account.
While the concept of “future generations” is now well-established in international heritage law, particularly in hard and soft heritage treaties and case law, there remains a wide gap between the terms used in the legal documents and their real-life impact. The current discussion in this article seeks to narrow that gap, by describing how the language of “future generations” is being translated into practical applications at both the national and international levels.