The Cultural Heritage

The heritage of Islam in Africa can also include the intangible records of our past such as, Timbuktu, Mali West Africa memories, stories and songs, ways of life, customs, attitudes and interactions between individuals and communities, and even the words only used in old crafts and trades. Sometimes these intangibles can be collected as oral histories and stored on tapes or videos or, as with crafts, trades, dances and customs, they can be passed on in a living, viable form to the next generation.

The richness of any culture may vary from one to another, however cross-culture and interpersonal relationship has make it difficult sometimes to differentiate the multi aspects of culture connections.

Cultural heritage conservation would preserve social and community strength and keep generations healthy enough to communicate and share with other communities. That save the historical heritage from damage.

Culture give meaning to who people know or think they are; how they behave; how they interpret and respond to the behavior of others; but most importantly, culture tells numerous stories about why people behave the way they do. Thus, to truly understand a person’s culture, it important to go deeper than what the eye can see; dig deeper than the arts and delve deep into the histories for it is there the people can be found. People’s histories are where culture was birthed so it is in the histories of the people that culture must be understood.

Understanding of a people outside of their histories can lead to many inconsistencies about a group of people which can fuel inequalities and practices that stagnate a people, who may be already marginalized in the country of origin or a foreign country.

Liberian dancers, stories and living aspects evoke communities well for understanding and sharing.

 

That is why understanding the tenets of cross-cultural interactions must be learned, practiced and planned for because these are crucial for cross-cultural engagements, especially in this global ill-defined economic environment where business relationships need to be more symbiotic and collaborative, especially in these uncertain times where the search for meaning is resource driven and in some cases it is exhausting.

Thank you

Project Coordinator | Magdy Shiha