We find cultural heritage important because it gives meaning to our living environment. It helps us to position ourselves in time. But what is heritage? Historical geographer Hans Renes called it ‘traces from the past that have a meaning in the present’. That meaning is not set in stone and does not have to be the same for everyone. Lecturer in Cultural Heritage Hester Dibbits, for example, advocates ‘heritage wisdom’, or the ability to see heritage as something that is not fixed, but that is constantly being redefined in an ongoing dialogue in society.
