Media and memory for conserving and communicating heritage

This paper looks at the concept of heritage communication and how understanding the media of memory can play a role in conserving and communicating heritage. The media of memories or how and what people remember may appear primary visual (where people may recall what they see) and this can be used as a source for conserving and communicating heritage. The paper looks at how intangible cultural practices are often passed using interpersonal media from one practitioner to another. It concludes how memory projects, oral testimonies, old photographs and nostalgic accounts have found representation through new media where the visual, the oral and the aural have converged challenging the conservative boundaries between written and oral communication. Several mediums related to memory have been used to battle threats to heritage sites. The paper suggests that heritage sites can be better communicated if they also include the intangible associations making it more a site of memory and communities rather than merely being a site of history. Digitizing primary records, recording oral histories on social media and using it to build support for preservation of heritage are a few steps in conserving the tangible and intangible heritage of a region.