#INVESTING in cultural heritage Explained

Introduction

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural heritage is constantly evolving, shaped, and reshaped by the forces of history and human creativity. Investing in cultural heritage is not only about preserving the past but also about safeguarding the future. By protecting our heritage, we ensure that future generations can enjoy and learn from our rich and diverse cultural heritage. There are many ways to invest in cultural heritage, from donating to preservation organizations to supporting local businesses reviving traditional crafts. However you choose to invest, you can be sure that you are helping to preserve our shared cultural heritage for future generations to enjoy.

In this post, I will focus on investing in heritage as individuals and share my experience.

Why investing in cultural heritage is essential.

There are many reasons why investing in cultural heritage is essential. For one, cultural heritage is crucial to a community's identity. It makes a community unique and is an integral part of its history. Additionally, cultural heritage is a valuable resource for tourism and economic development. Investing in cultural heritage helps preserve and promote a community's essential aspects.

On the other hand, Cultural heritage can help to build bridges between different cultures and to promote understanding and respect for diversity. Cultural heritage conservation can create jobs and provide training and education opportunities.

Cultural heritage is essential to the environment because it is the source of life and sustains human beings and their activities. Cultural heritage is also where people live, work, and play. It is the setting for human interaction and the stage on which human drama unfolds.

How can we preserve and support cultural heritage?

There are many ways to preserve and support cultural heritage. One way is to help organizations working to protect cultural heritage financially. Another way is to promote awareness of cultural heritage and its importance. Additionally, people can volunteer their time and expertise to help preserve cultural heritage.

Another way is to invest as individuals in our cultural heritage like handcrafts or even agricultural heritage as I do, which I will discuss in detail in another post.

Successful investments in cultural heritage

With careful planning and execution, investments in cultural heritage can bring many benefits to a community. By preserving and protecting historic buildings, sites, and objects, a community can make its historical and cultural heritage more accessible to the public, which attracts new businesses and residents and boost tourism. Furthermore, a well-preserved cultural heritage can serve as a source of pride for a community.

A Look at My Investment as an Individual

But the question now is how can I invest as an individual?

There are many ways to do so. The answer is by direct and indirect investment. If you are a professional investor and know how to run a business, you can invest directly in cultural handcrafts, but you can also support indirectly, as I do in Siwa oasis in the western desert in Egypt.

Investing in cultural heritage is a passion I would like to share with you; when I visited Siwa for the first time in 2005, I found an isolated oasis full of cultural heritage, mainly agricultural and handcrafts. Instead, I can say that being isolated for an extended period made it retain its heritage as much as possible until our time.

I also noticed that olives and dates represent two essential elements in the daily life of the native people of Siwa. Still, agricultural heritage didn't draw my attention because I was impressed by the Architectural heritage of Siwa; then, I left Siwa after a short visit to my city Alexandria. And I never thought that I would be coming back again as an investor.

After I finished my study and got the Licentiate degree from Alexandria University in 2007, I left Egypt for Europe for work and business purposes till 2012. During this period, I lived in four countries which are Italy, Spain, France, and Nederland. During this period, I also met many entrepreneurs. One of them was interested in investing in the western Egyptian desert but in the agricultural sector, which triggered me to revisit Siwa and see it from another perspective.

Once I got there, I decided to buy land in this oasis. A native person showed me a piece of land on the road to the oracle temple, Which overlooks a Roman water spring called Tamusy. But I went into another investment, so I planted 7500 olive trees in the desert because, as I mentioned before, olives are essential for the local people of Siwa, and if I can grow more olive trees, I can keep them doing their cultural crafts. We must not forget that agriculture is a cultural heritage cause it shapes the community and forms its traditions and cultural aspects.

In the next post, I will discuss my investment in Siwa oasis.

Conclusion.

I believe that it is essential for everyone to invest in heritage, whether it is through donating to preservation organizations, supporting businesses reviving traditional crafts, or simply visiting and enjoying heritage sites. By doing so, we preserve the past and safeguard the future.

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to invest in heritage in various ways. I would encourage everyone to find ways to invest in heritage, whether donating, supporting businesses, starting a business, or simply visiting and enjoying heritage sites. By doing so, we can all help to preserve our shared cultural heritage for future generations.