Kolkata, April 19: Educating youngsters about heritage and culture is as important as awareness about other issues, said educators and heritage conservationists here yesterday on the occasion of the World Heritage Day.
"They are our future generations. They are the ones who will be the thinkers and decision makers...heritage education is important," said Devi Kar, director, Modern High School for Girls, during the screening of documentary films made by school students on heritage at the Victoria Memorial.
Organised by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), in collaboration with Victoria Memorial, the screening of the documentaries was part of World Heritage Day celebration.
The day celebrates the diversity of heritage throughout the world, with this year's theme being 'Heritage of Education'.
According to Intach state convenor G.M. Kapur, educating teachers about heritage also went a long way as it helped disseminate the knowledge to students.
"We had the gurukul system of education where knowledge was passed down from teacher to student. So educating teachers is a big step. We organise workshops for teachers and have heritage clubs as well. We have to do it in a modern way," Kapur said.
Kar said that technology could be used to generate awareness and teach children about heritage.
She also stressed the need to highlight "interdependence of cultures".
"We cannot divide culture. Its all interdependent. They have to be aware of their own culture and culture of others. There should be an awareness about interdependence of cultures," Kar added.
The educator emphasised on "revising our attitude" regarding colonial buildings.
"Revise our attitude towards colonial buildings...too many beautiful colonial buildings are being defaced. Get over the attitude that colonial buildings remind us about our time under the British. Appreciate them for their beauty," she said.
