Third Cultural Kids and cultural heritage
Third Cultural Kids (TCKs) are here defined as the children who spend a significant part of their formative years outside their parents' native culture(s) and during that time live in several countries other than their passport countries. While abroad, TCKs are both exposed to so many different cultures and acquire meaningful relations with those other cultures that arguably, as adults, they embody multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism.
Cultural heritage may be defined as the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artefacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity). Generally, cultural heritage is defined and represents social groups cultural singularities, and more frequently nation-state’s cultural, nationalistic and ideological identities by arguing a common past.
Most TCKs have a clear detachment from common forms of cultural heritage. Both their multicultural identity and their lack of sense of belonging or attachment to any particular national culture probably is the reason for this situation. However, other forms of heritage may actually better represent the collective memory of global nomads. I aim to build up alternative views on cultural heritage in a worlds affected by globalization processes. I believe that this can enhance a sense of belonging and wellbeing among global nomad people.
In this blog, I will share with you my first thoughts on the concurrence fields between cultural heritage and TCKs, as global nomads with both a multicultural identity and lack of sense of belonging or attachment to any particular national culture:
To what extent and in what way is the officially recognised cultural heritage (e.g. collections, listed monuments and intangible) meaningful for residents with cross-cultural life experiences?.
Which meanings do people with cross-cultural life experiences attribute to not officially recognised cultural artefacts, traditions and places?