The aim of the thesis, entitled Identity and intangible cultural heritage, was to determine how inhabitants of Spodnja Šiška identify themselves with the area, with Slovenia and the European Union. Another goal was to explore their knowledge of Spodnja Šiška’s intangible cultural heritage of local and national importance, and their attitude towards its preservation. The research examined whether identities are interconnected and whether they are linked to the knowledge of intangible cultural heritage. Lastly, the thesis looked into the factors affecting the wish to preserve intangible cultural heritage and the role of gender, age and education. The theoretical part is followed by the empirical part, which further defines the main research questions and hypotheses. The data was collected through a survey questionnaire distributed among residents of Spodnja Šiška. The results of quantitative analysis show that residents identify themselves with the area first, and only then with the state and finally with the European Union. All the people who identified themselves with the local area are did the same at the national level. Less than 75% of respondents identified themselves with the European Union. Younger residents with a higher level of education were more likely to feel closer to the European identity. However, the respondents were extremely successful in terms of knowledge of intangible cultural heritage of national importance, but they knew less about local intangible cultural heritage. It transpired that older generations and residents with a higher level of education knew more about the topic. The majority of the residents were in favour of heritage preservation, which is probably linked to their local identity. Gender did not play any part with regard to identity, knowledge of intangible cultural heritage or the wish to preserve it.
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