HMN 2025: How Experts reveal why cultural heritage is essential for group unity

Why do some communities unite in occasions of disaster, whereas others crumble? A research by Kaunas University of Technology researchers revealed a shocking hyperlink—cultural heritage is not only a historic asset, but in addition a strong software that helps individuals construct a way of belonging and act collectively when challenges come up.

The study is published within the journal Sustainability.

Along with belief and emotional attachment to put, it turns into a basis for communities to care for his or her surroundings, preserve relationships, and reply to crises collectively.

“A resilient group is a gaggle of people that can unite, work collectively to beat challenges, and care for his or her environment and neighborhood. It does not imply there aren’t any issues or that every one points may be solved, however a resilient group seems for options and maintains relationships even in troublesome occasions,” says Egl? Januškien?, a Ph.D. scholar at KTU, co-author of the research on resilient communities.

According to the research, the resilient communities are open, interconnected, and prepared to share accountability. In distinction, susceptible communities usually {experience} isolation, lack of expertise, and a way of helplessness.

Cultural heritage as a basis for resilience

Interestingly, the KTU study revealed that cultural heritage performs an important position in fostering group resilience. “Cultural heritage is a key a part of a vibrant group identification—it helps individuals perceive each their uniqueness and their connectedness,” says Indr? Gražulevi?i?t?-Vilenišk?, affiliate professor at KTU.

According to her, cultural heritage kinds the inspiration of group identification, nurturing a way of place, continuity, possession, and belonging. Preserving heritage not solely strengthens historic ties but in addition promotes belief, collective accountability, and shared imaginative and prescient for the longer term—qualities that assist communities face up to exterior pressures.

Emotional attachment to a spot additionally issues. As Dr. Aušra Mlinkauskien?, affiliate professor at KTU and one of many authors of the research, explains that when individuals handle parks, previous buildings, or symbolic websites, they reinforce their bond with the surroundings and create traditions which might be handed down by generations.

This encourages volunteering, builds social capital, strengthens belief, and boosts a group’s skill to handle native points independently.

Invisible elements resembling a way of belonging, native spirit, and social ties are simply as essential. Though absent from budgets and metropolis plans, they’re essential for mobilizing communities in occasions of disaster.

“These are the weather that always guarantee unity, mutual help, and artistic problem-solving,” says Gražulevi?i?t?-Vilenišk?.

Another key ingredient of resilience is belief. “Trust amongst group members and between residents and establishments acts like glue—it helps communities come collectively extra shortly and remedy issues extra successfully,” says Prof. Dr. Lina Šeduikyt?.

She emphasizes that belief is not only an emotion—it is a structural component that permits accountable, environment friendly motion, particularly in occasions of want. The extra transparency, inclusion, and dialogue there are between establishments and residents, the stronger and extra resilient the group turns into.

A wealthy heritage however restricted citizen energy

While cultural heritage and belief are essential, true resilience additionally requires real public involvement in metropolis planning and decision-making. The KTU researchers and international companions carried out a review in Lithuania as a part of the Erasmus+ mission UPRUN. The study discovered that though Lithuanians worth their heritage and surroundings, many really feel powerless to affect their environment.

“Urban planning might embrace formal surveys, however actual alternatives to take part are sometimes missing. There’s little suggestions, and knowledge would not at all times attain everybody. This causes frustration and erodes belief in establishments,” says Dr. Mlinkauskien?.

Gražulevi?i?t?-Vilenišk? provides that true inclusion goes past surveys—it requires significant engagement in decision-making, workshops, and interactive platforms where individuals’s concepts are seen and applied.

Researchers from KTU’s Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture (SAF) stress that participation should be inclusive—not only for essentially the most energetic or educated residents. Information needs to be accessible in several codecs, each on-line and in individual.

“We must go to the individuals, not look forward to them to come back to us,” says Januškien?. According to her, resilience begins with listening, empathy, and recognizing range as a power.

Many different European cities face comparable challenges—passivity, restricted engagement, distrust of establishments, and planning processes that exclude actual group enter.

“Studying communities in Lithuania is a very precious case as a result of it displays the broader state of affairs in lots of post-communist international locations—there’s a wealthy heritage and energetic native communities, but in addition structural limitations to full citizen participation. It’s akin to a laboratory of transition, where previous governance models collide with the calls for of recent citizenship and democracy,” says Prof. Šeduikyt?.

She believes {that a} resilient metropolis is just not a utopian dream—it is an achievable purpose. It’s a metropolis where residents are engaged, and heritage is not only a museum exhibit, however a dwelling a part of the city cloth.

“Such cities aren’t constructed by one huge resolution, however by many small, purposeful steps—sincere dialogue, trust-building, and collaborative initiatives. This is how we create the town of the longer term, where the group is not only a bystander, however an energetic creator,” she says.