“Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations,” says Hannes Engelbrecht, Lecturer in Heritage Cultural Tourism, Department of Historical and Heritage Studies

Heritage is a notoriously slippery and broad concept to define. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) positions the notion as follows:

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.

Heritage can mean a variety of things to many people; it can be personal, shared among members of a group or shared amongst all humanity. It can be tangible and intangible. It can be seen as good, bad or various layers of innocuousness in-between, dependent on the observer. It is revered, celebrated, contested, debated and preserved. We live with our heritage as reminders of where we were, where we are, and where we are going. It instils in people a sense of rootedness and identity and imbues places with meanings constantly transforming, renegotiated and reinterpreted. Thus, heritage is dynamic and fluid, not fixed or static.

In South Africa, we celebrated National Heritage day on 24 September 1995/1996 to celebrate the vibrant cultural diversity of South Africa as part of the nation-building project in the then-new democratic South Africa. Previously this date was primarily observed in KwaZulu Natal as Shaka’s Day, a day to recognise the combination of tribes under one Zulu Kingdom by King Shaka Zulu. The day is also popularly referred to as “Braai Day” in recognition of a shared cultural practice amongst South Africans across cultures.

Historically, heritage conservation mostly foregrounded tangible objects, architecture and sites. However, in the last couple of decades, the practice has expanded to include the intangible stories, beliefs, rituals and practices associated with our heritage. Perhaps most pointedly, this culminated in the 2003 UNESCO convention on the “Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” aimed at respect for, awareness of and international cooperation in the preservation of the intangible aspects of our inherences. After all, what is an object without the knowledge of its uses or the indigenous knowledge systems related to particular fauna and flora?

Due to the ever-changing discourse, meanings and practices in celebrating and preserving heritage, the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies (DHHS) partnered with the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) in 2018 for a heritage-focused initiative . This collaboration has since produced annual seminars for heritage month to consider the meanings, benefits, discourses, practicalities and opportunities associated with heritage and heritage tourism. The first seminar in 2018, entitled: “Celebrating Heritage: Connection, Actions, and Futures”, explored the benefits heritage holds for societies in the form of career opportunities for graduates in Heritage Studies. In 2019, the focus was a more personal affair with the theme “Celebrating Heritage: My Culture, My Language, My Heritage”, reflecting on the more intangible ways in which we connect to our heritage: the emotions, expressions and meaning we attach to and interpret from heritage places and objects.

As with other industries, 2020 significantly disrupted how we engage with and conserve heritage through the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar format reflected on these adjustments with the theme “Pandemic Practices in Heritage Management”. This webinar highlighted the vital link between heritage and people; in the words of Dr Sian Tiley-Nel, Head of UP Museums: “a university museum is lonely without its community”. As an extension of the disruptions in 2020, the 2021 webinar delved deeper into potential opportunities and pitfalls in new digital techniques in heritage management, interpretation and engagement with the theme “Heritage Evolution: Heritage and Tourism Technology” further reflecting the dynamic relationship, shifting realities and spaces between the tangible, intangible and lived heritage in our virtual engagements with tangible heritage.

On 27 September 2022, this tradition will also continue to consider “Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship and Employability in Heritage and Tourism” to explore further how heritage can benefit places, communities and people and help shape a diversity of futures.