Preserving Our African Heritage

We are in a time of great change. It is no secret that the world has seen many empires rise and fall, but what happens to their heritage when they do? When an empire falls, its culture and traditions are often lost. However, there are still some organizations and individuals working hard to preserve African heritage so that we can learn from past mistakes and better protect our future.

What is Heritage?

Heritage is the legacy of our past, what we inherit and pass down to our children and grandchildren. Heritage can be tangible or intangible. It may also be described as a masterpiece of human creative genius that has stood the test of time and continues to inspire us today.

Cultural heritage is the total physical and intangible cultural resources inherited from past generations and maintained in the present day. This includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally significant landscapes). The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines it as "the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns; artistic beliefs; theories for explaining nature; religious beliefs; scientific knowledge; social organization."

It's a broad term that covers a wide range of material and non-material evidence of past activities. This includes artifacts like archaeological sites, buildings that were once homes or schools, tools used to make clothing or food, vessels for carrying water or cooking food, and many other things. It can also include intangible expressions such as music, stories, and dances.

Why is it important to preserve cultural heritage? There are many reasons why we should protect our past so that future generations will know what happened before they existed. This knowledge helps us understand who we are now by showing how our ancestors lived their lives in the past. It also tells us about our shared human experience across time and space so we can learn from each other’s successes and failures as well as celebrate each other’s achievements in different parts of the world even though they may not have had access to similar resources at the same time.

African Heritage 

African heritage is the history, cultural practices, and beliefs of the people of Africa. It is important to preserve African heritage because it helps us understand our past and where we came from. It also helps us understand our culture and how we relate to each other. Preserving our heritage is important because it is part of who we are. It is our identity and culture, and the only thing left of our ancestors. It is a way to preserve the history of Africa for future generations.

We cannot ignore the fact that many African artifacts have been lost and their historical importance has been forgotten. It is also true that some of them were preserved for posterity. How did these happen? How can we preserve our African heritage for future generations? What can we do to ensure that it is not lost forever?

One of the most important things we can do as Africans is to preserve our culture. This does not mean that we need to put on traditional clothing and pretend that we live in mud huts, rather it means that we should be proud of where we come from and maintain some of our traditions.

Our culture defines who we are as individuals because it helps us to define what is uniquely ours—what makes us different from others around us. It also helps us understand where each person fits into the larger community, even if they are only a small part of it at any given time.

How can we preserve our African Heritage?

As Africans, we can help preserve African heritage in several ways. These ways include:

• Embracing our heritage
• Teaching our heritage to the younger generation 
• Spreading awareness about the benefits of preservation
• Documenting or making films centered around our heritage. An example of an organization that promotes this is the African International Documentary Festival Foundation (AFIDFF). 
• Donating towards/Partnering with organizations that preserve African heritage e.g. World Monuments Fund, African World Heritage Fund, and many more.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post. If you did, please share it with your friends and family on your social media accounts! We all need to work together to preserve our African heritage for future generations.