The Role of Youth for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage: Tourism Perspective in Sri Lanka
摘要
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) encompasses the practices, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities recognize as part of their cultural heritage. Transmitted from generation to generation, ICH is continuously recreated by communities in response to their environment, interaction with nature, and history. This paper explores the engagement and role of youth in safeguarding ICH, with a specific focus on the Sri Lanka Tourism Industry. The preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is a critical concern in an increasingly globalized world where traditional practices, expressions, and knowledge are at risk of being overshadowed or lost. As custodians of future cultural continuity, the engagement of youth in safeguarding ICH is essential. However, there is a significant gap in understanding how to effectively involve young people in this process. This study seeks to address two central questions: (1) What are the possible ways and global practices to engage the young generation in safeguarding valuable intangible cultural aspects for future generations? (2) How can youth be effectively involved in preserving these cultural heritages? The research method is based on the qualitative method, and the primary data was collected according to the open-ended questionnaires using the Google form. The sampling technique is based on simple random sampling and 25 participants responded from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Philippines, India, and Nepal. The secondary data of the study was collected through reports, articles, research, and other documents. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. At the end of the study, it was provided suggestions that can be made as young generations and global best practices from the perspective of the Tourism Industry. These will enable to development future of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Sri Lanka and the Tourism Industry as well.