World Heritage Day
I think what is so great about celebrating World Heritage Day is that we can take time to learn more about other cultures, and we can teach others about our own heritage. It is so important to preserve human heritage so that humans can understand cultures in other parts of the world and in the future. We can learn so much from preserved artifacts about our heritage as humans. Personally, going to historical sites and museums is the best part of learning about our past. It would not be possible to know so much about our ancestors if we had not taken the time to dig up and preserve everything, or to take the time to analyze the past. So, if we are able to document our current heritage in a creative way today it will make it easier for others to understand us.
“ World Heritage Day is an annual event celebrated on 18 April of each year. It aims to preserve the human heritage and recognize the efforts of all relevant organizations in the field. In 1982, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) announced, 18 April as the ‘World Heritage Day’, approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983, with the aim of enhancing awareness of the importance of the cultural heritage of humankind, and redouble efforts to protect and conserve the human heritage.” (source)
We all celebrate our own heritage everyday just by being ourselves, and that is a wonderful thing. From the foods we eat to the way we dress and speak. There is so much we can learn from just taking a person’s home and going through their things, just like if it was a mini museum of that person. Yet, that purpose of World Heritage Day is to bring light to the most important monuments and preserve them for the future generations. Today’s generations can also enjoy all the historical sites that are being protected thanks to World Heritage Day.
The sites that are protected by the ICOMOS are looking at heritage from a bigger picture so to speak, rather than on an everyday level of humans. So, for World Heritage Day I challenge you to go out to your local museums, or to find historical sites around you city to learn more about the history and heritage of those who founded the place you chose to call home.
Check out this list of the 100 Most Beautiful World Heritage Sites to see some more beautiful pictures of sites that have been added to the World Heritage protection list.
