Culture can simply be defined as the normal way of life of people. It is the backbone of any given society. Culture is the thread that has weaved is together overtime and it still bonds us.
However, in today’s fast paced world globalisation, digitalisation and western education have influenced our cultures both negatively and positively. Therefore it is essential that certain measures be put in place in order to preserve and develop our cultures.
Preserving our culture is crucial. One of the reasons is being able to understand our identity and know that our culture defines us, giving us a sense of belonging and connectivity to our roots.
Another reason is the positive values we learn or receive from our cultures. Our culture passes down values and traditions that provide moral assistance and guiding principles for living.
In addition, cultural preservation contributes to diversity and richness of our cultures. Preserving our culture helps us to respect our diversity and uniqueness equally making our cultures beautiful.
Lastly, cultural preservation is important because of its economic benefits like tourism and cultural exchange programmes which allow one to learn about the culture of others.
In as much as there are reasons to preserve our culture there are also threats to cultural preservation which frustrates the efforts made to preserve our culture. Some of these threats include:
Globalisation: This is simply seeking homogenisation of cultures into a single whole.
Technological Advancement: The digitalisation of the world has influenced younger generations negatively in respect to culture preservation as it has eroded the desire to learn and pass down relevant cultural values.
Other factors like urbanisation, conflict and war are also threat to culture preservation.
Nonetheless, despite these threats, there are still solutions and efficient ways to preserve our culture. These include:
Documentation: Documentation is the most effective means of preserving our culture as it is readily accessible through photographs, notes, books and inscriptions.
Education: Educating younger generation about their cultural backgrounds and the importance of preserving our heritage.
Contributing to building cultural institutions or organising cultural festivals and events can be an effective form of culture preservation and maintenance as our cultural heritage will always be a symbol that brings us together.
Culture preservation is an important aspect of socialisation. It is therefore paramount that we take this crucial step adequately in order to preserve our traditions and culture for future generations and even the present.
Making an effort to preserve our culture isn’t the easiest task but with equal effort put in by every individual from any given culture it can be achieved.
Culture is dynamic and evolves rapidly, it is vital to evolve with the positives and nurture the already good values.
