Maja Šojat-Bikić UDK 004.82:39](497.5) Zagreb City Museum 004.738.5:008](497.5) Zagreb Original scientific paper Croatia Received: May 5, 2011
[email protected] Accepted: May 16, 2011 Croatian Traditional Heritage Online: Status and Opportunities The article is based on the research of the websites of Croatian ethnographic museums, museums, associations, religious communities and private collectors who collect and preserve ethnographic materials, public libraries that have local history collections, the official websites of institutions of state administration and local self-government and tourist boards, and attempts to depict the situation of the availability of tangible and intangible traditional heritage on the Croatian web. It shows the few examples of good practice which are in most cases not the result of institutional care for tradi- tional heritage, but the work of creative individuals and associations. The results of the research are compared with the online achievements in other segments of the Cro- atian cultural heritage, and we point to the untapped communications capabilities of traditional heritage through the web as the most powerful medium for ‘storytelling’. Keywords: traditional heritage, online presentation of heritage, ethno- graphic museums, Croatia 1. Introduction Traditional heritage is a component of the national cultural heritage and is mani- fested in numerous regional and local variations. Although it is constantly subject to change, even disappearance, it is a strong underpinning of the individual and collec- tive identities. On the other hand, the communication of cultural heritage in a dig- ital form, now mostly over the Web, is a relatively new area that opens up a number of opportunities of exploration and contribution to the development of critical dis- course by applying new technologies when communicating heritage.