Over the years, society has undergone countless changes at a dizzying speed making it unrecognisable from how the world looked like just 20 years ago. With the advent of technological advancements, many have lauded the growth and improvements that society has experienced during this time of progress. However, many also worry about the place that heritage and tradition have in society as the world continues to progress. The fear is that as the world progresses, there will be no place for heritage and traditions in the modern world, leading to their eventual demise in favour of progress. This pessimistic outlook, however, may not hold true as the continued progress of society does not have to mean that our heritages would be lost forever. In fact, it could herald a new age in which heritage and traditions regain their preponderant role in society.
The progress of society has in fact allowed for the increasing preservation of heritage and traditions in society. The leaps that society has made in technology and research have allowed traditions and historical events to be better analysed and documented than ever before. They have allowed us to sift through hundreds of years of heritage and digitise historical records. This ensures that information deemed crucial to the heritage of diverse cultures across the world is safely and securely stored, and that these cultures continue to thrive in the modern world. In 2018, one of the world’s biggest museums, the Smithsonian, announced that it will be embarking on a grand project to digitise much of its existing collection of artefacts and fossils, making them more accessible to academics and the general public. This endeavour not only allows for a more comprehensive catalogue of artefacts to be recorded, but also ensures that the history and heritage of these artefacts are protected should anything happen to the physical artefacts themselves. Somali Architecture uses archival research and 3D modelling to replicate and preserve buildings from pre-war Mogadishu and which were destroyed during the Somalian civil war. The Digital Giza Project is another such example: by digitising over 40 years of archaeological discoveries online and displaying them through 3D models, it has allowed anyone around the world – academic or not – to experience the amazing heritage that the history of Egypt has to offer through the use of modern technology. The digitising of all these pieces of history allows society to ensure that our heritages are maintained as even if events such as the one that brought down the great Library of Alexandria and destroyed all its historical record and artefacts were to happen, the heritage of its collection would live on in the digital world. Thus, the world’s progress has created new avenues for us to ensure the preservation of our heritage and traditions by making it easier to protect the artefacts and knowledge that give life to our heritage, highlighting how technological advancement and heritage can indeed exist harmoniously within modern society.
The progress made in society has also led to rise in awareness of the heritage that different groups across the world hold dear. With the world now feeling smaller than it ever has before due to the prominence of social media and the Internet, cultural knowledge and traditions from all over the world, across space and time, are at our fingertips. The online community has given new life to traditional practices and stories by curating and presenting them to people all across the world through digital platforms, raising the overall profile of the heritage of different communities and lifting them out of obscurity. The increase in knowledge about New Zealand’s Maori community for instance has increased global awareness of the heritage of New Zealand, as traditional Maori practises such as the Haka are performed during sporting events on television screens around the world. Platforms like Google Arts and Culture similarly allow the public to access high-resolution images of artworks housed in famous museums across the world. The progress that has been made with technology has thus allowed communities around the world to practise their traditions in front of a wider audience, raising the awareness of the different heritages and traditions that exist around the world, ensuring that these practises, traditions and knowledge that make up a community’s heritage continue to live and thrive for years to come. With the world continuing to progress, it has in fact created a more conducive and comfortable environment for its different heritages to grow and prosper by giving these heritages a new voice through the avenue of technology and social media.
The progress of society has also led to different communities across the world becoming more accepting of different groups and their cultural heritage. The progress that society has made towards the acceptance of different cultures has allowed them to thrive even beyond their original borders. Increased education and the message of acceptance that has been spread across the world as a result of globalisation and the ease of exchange of information and movement has witnessed cultures and heritage thrive in completely foreign lands as many of these heritages and traditions are brought along with their people as they move across the increasingly connected world. One prime example of this would be the rise of Chinatowns within major cities across the world, acting as a shining beacon of Chinese cultural heritage amidst a cosmopolitan backdrop in cities like Melbourne, New York and London – miles away from China itself. Indian food joints have similarly become ubiquitous in Western cities like London. Apart from being a place for people to maintain their cultural heritage abroad, these areas have become a way for foreigners to acquaint themselves with the cultural heritage of a place and community within the comforts of their own country. The prominence of different cultural experiences and images across the world has thus created a more inclusive and accepting world, creating a more comfortable and inviting environment for people to express and maintain their cultural heritage.
However, there are often times when the preservation of heritage conflicts with and obstructs progress, preventing communities from improving due to their loyalty to heritage. The road to progress can often be destructive, with people having to sacrifice in order to advance. Oftentimes, progress can only be achieved if we are willing to give up our traditions and heritage as the resources that are important to these traditions are needed for the future. This struggle between heritage and progress can be seen in Singapore as the country continues to struggle with the issue of land scarcity while attempting to maintain the heritage of the country through the preservation of small, old buildings such as shophouses, which if allowed to be torn down to make way for new developments, could go a long way to solving the land scarcity issue. European cities like Prague, Krakow and Budapest often struggle to incorporate future urban development while preserving historical architecture, resulting in intricate and complex urban planning patterns centred around relics of the past. The nostalgia that many communities feel towards places and objects of their heritage can often cloud their judgement when it comes to the bigger goal of the community as they are unwilling to sacrifice their heritage to solve their modern problems. Thus, heritage often comes into direct conflict with progress as the only way to allow the world to continue to progress is sometimes to let go of our heritage and let progress take its place.
Overall, as society progresses, so does the way heritage is viewed and manged by those in society. Progress has allowed heritage and traditions to enter a period of renaissance where they are more readily visible and accepted than ever before. Although heritage often does come into conflict with progress in certain areas, the progress that society has made has created avenues to work around these inconveniences and allowed the heritage of different societies across the world to become more global and more secure. Many would assume that as society progresses, there will be no place left for heritage in society, however, the opposite is in fact true: as society progresses ,it creates more opportunities for heritage to be preserved, spread and accepted in our modern and progressive community.