Paper short abstract:

I will ask in my presentation what the relationship is between tradition, heredity and cultural heritage. Further I will ask what culturally sustainable development is in this relationship. I will have empirical examples from the current Southwest Finland Archipelago.

Paper long abstract:

I will argue that culture is primarily a global and heterogeneous interaction process. In it both verbal and material tradition are constantly changing and varying. It is not possible to distinguish different cultures from each other with clear boundaries, or to name specific tangible or intangible elements of a culture.

Secondly, culture is a condensation of relatively constant cultural phenomena among interrelated people. These phenomena consist of both conscious symbols as well as unconscious elements and of both intangible and tangible elements. These can be called heredity according to Regina Bendix. In the mutual interaction process people share influences and the process develops with relative homogeneity. In this process it is possible to perceive different, original cultures with dynamic boundaries and dynamic essential elements.

Thirdly, culture is a symbolic and clearly argued knowledge of the original essences of different cultures with their intangible and tangible cultural heritage. On this level, cultures are collective "imagined communities", produced by institutional powers. However, both symbolic cultural wholes and condensations of cultural phenomena are subordinate to the primary interaction process of culture with its global, individual and heterogeneous aspects.

I will have empirical examples from the current Southwest Finland Archipelago. The essential questions are:

- What is the relationship between tradition, heredity and cultural heritage?

- What should sustain in this relationship?