Page 97 - World Heritage and Tourism Innovation

Sibiya Thandeka Education and Heritage

Eastern Cape and in KwaZulu-Natal Midlands Mean- destinations already enjoying publicity, argues Viljoen
der and the Eastern Cape, heritage trails are named and Tlabela (2006).
after local chiefs; on such occasions, schools can also
get involved by researching the names and even the Theoretical Framework
roles these individuals played in the political-libera- This study is shaped by three theories, Community
tion struggle for freedom or cultural roles, which is Based Education, Cultural Heritage Education and
a way in which the subject of tourism can apply the Sustainable Development theories. According to the
knowledge gained from the history curriculum. community based education theory, residents’ views
The preservation of heritage in South Africa is in- on the benefits of tourism shape the attention that
trinsically linked to the political context of the country scholars have afforded the subject (Almeida-García,
before 1994. According to Timothy and Boyd (2006), et al., 2016). Studies show that community members
the history of certain races was excluded, which Kim will support development innitiatives if they realise
et al. (2007) refer to as collective amnesia. The delib- that community innitiatives are a platform for devel-
erate suppression of certain histories can be addressed opment (Lee, 2013), which leads to supporting such
through revitalising local heritage, which Snowball programmes. Bui (2011) and Bui et al. (2020), argue
and Courteney (2010), described as a healing process that community-based environmental education is a
and an attempt to correct the gaps in South Africa’s participatory, collaborative, action and information
history. While this requires a substantial amount of based process, hence the positive reaction of com-
financial funding, schools can contribute from an ac- munities towards development programmes, such as
ademic point of view. community based tourism (Abdul Aziz, et al., 2023).
A study in Indonesia (Hampton, 2005) advocates This approach to education is empowering and pre-
for community participation, presenting tourism as a serves community heritage. Cultural heritage educa-
tion asserts that culture has many layers, movable,
bottom-up, participatory, and benefit-oriented activi- immovable, tangible and intangible heritage, and is
ty. While schools may not be involved in the financial highly contested discipline (Jagielska-Burduk, et al.,
planning and management of the heritage sites for 2021). Cultural heritage and sustainability are aligned
tourism, their involvement could be a step forward in because, culture is an non-renewable resource, there-
the practical education and training of learners about fore its preservation is crucial, according to Jagiels-
the Tourism industry. More significantly, if we single ka-Burduk, et al. (2021). In light of this, education is
out the Midlands Meander, which is mainly rural, the an integral part of its preservation, through awareness
local community, according to Snowball and Court- and other forms of education. Thus far, UNESCO has
eney (2010), was not benefiting from the tourism off- been crucial in developing the existing legal frame-
shoots; it is only a recent development that emerging work in the area of culture, by adopting six conven-
Black entrepreneurs are obtaining membership in the tions in the area of heritage. According to the Agenda
route association. Most factors responsible for the 2030 for sustainable goals, SDG 4.7 ensures that by
lack of rural Black participants in heritage and tour- 2030, learners acquire knowledge and skills required
ism development include limited information and to promote sustainable development, human rights,
lack of finance and experience. Schools, as centres of equality and the promotion of culture, peace, diver-
knowledge, can educate communities about the role sity and global citizenship. According to the Sus-
that they can play in developing a sound tourism tainable Development Theory, the curriculum has a
economy. One example would be to discuss a much role to promote and encourage tourism practices that
simpler and user-friendly White Paper, a policy paper merge economic growth with environmental steward-
which stresses the advancement of tourism to devel- ship and social equity. The Brundtland Commission
op even those areas that are lagging because the ten- presents this theory as a lens though which learners’
dency, even for the government, is to focus only a few learning parttens should be guided. They should learn

Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference | 93