Cultural Symbols in the Context of Communication—Identity Label and Link of Social Cohesion

Abstract

The authors highlight the value of the communication by means of symbols in the context of tourism, a kind of communication that helps individuals learn, in a rather short time, the culture and the cultural heritage of a people or of a community. The verbal symbols, object and gesture-like, spatial ones, etc., become in the touristic language visual attractions, edible, dancing, musical ones, etc., aiming to describe the constant historic effort, a defining one for a society and a culture, in order that it may preserve its tangible and intangible cultural heritage by means of the historical memory. The authors argue that the basic symbols of a culture represent a generous potential, always attractive for tourism development. It is because they represent very efficient tools for accomplishing the objectives assumed by tourism. The paper analyses and presents several main symbols of the communities from the Republic of Moldova, with significant parallels in the culture of other states from a large geographical area. They underline the necessity to offer local communities and touristic agents the possibility to develop local specific artistic activities that maintain the viability of the cultural heritage in all its acknowledged manifestations, by offering it an international cultural reception. The innovation of the project consists in identifying and promoting at a cross-boundary-level common heritage value. These values fit best of all the touristic practice of learning the unique originality, considered in the whole world, of three axiological symbols of the Moldovan society: ritual bread, wine and the tree of life. Thanks to the implementation of a pilot project was created the touristic route “HUNTING FOR SPIRITUAL TREASURES” which offers the possibility to know lively, through participation, the significances of these symbols that refer to the triumph of life and human creativity in an ecological natural environment. The project matches the European aims of asserting and promoting the cultural identities and of acknowledging the values of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, as a guarantee of social cohesion. It views the development and diversification of the national and cross-border touristic product, the socio-economic development of communities, by means of the respect of the general human values. The paper is based on the results of theoretic and practical investigations of the common aspects in the development of culture and civilization for the durable touristic assessment of the anthropologic cultural heritage, of the tangible and intangible cultural goods, being the main identity basis for the socio-economic development and for the cohesion of the community.