When I started working as part of the CT team, my friends and family asked me what was the purpose of the Curious Travellers project? What was it aiming to achieve? This is not such a simple question to answer. As with many heritage projects it works on different levels, and we hope that different people will benefit and interact with the CT project in different ways. A very clear (and accessible) explanation about the project was written by Dr Andy Wilson, one of the leaders of the project team (http://www.visualisingheritage.org/CT.php), in an article published in the online journal The Conversation during September. You can read the article here: https://theconversation.com/your-tourist-snaps-can-help-preserve-threatened-heritage-sites-for-the-future-65610
The CT team are aware that we are making a very personal request to the Curious Travellers community by asking you to upload your images. They are not just pictures. Instead, they are your memories – of a holiday you took, the places you visited, the people with whom you travelled, the new friends you made in the countries you visited, a snapshot of your personal past. This is not an exhaustive list of the meanings behind and associations with the images you share with us. This is an aspect of heritage and preserving the past which many people overlook. Preserving heritage is not just about the physical aspects of buildings – the bricks and mortar – although they are very important. It is also about preserving peoples’ memories associated with the buildings, how they interacted with the buildings in their daily life, how peoples’ sense of identity and their place in the world was shaped by the buildings around them. The destruction of their heritage (through whatever agency, whether natural disaster, human conflict, etc.) affects people’s sense of who they are. By preserving the lost heritage in a digital form, the Curious Travellers project is attempting to preserve part of this personal aspect of peoples’ lives.
We are very grateful for any images you choose to share with us, and hope the contribution we are making to preserving heritage is worthy of them: get involved