Madam - I enjoyed a weekend of the most stunning music, art and dancing from all over the world, courtesy of the Dún Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures. The occasion was a colourful reminder of the ability of the arts to transcend borders and boundaries.
Throughout this festival, it was apparent that, although we have varied experiences of the world and different ways of expressing ourselves, we are essentially the same. As humans, we identify with universal themes explored by the arts - love, fear, loss - and the national divisions between us dissolve.
The opportunity to broaden our minds in this way is immeasurable, and never more important than in today's complex world.
Imagine my disappointment when, a few days after the festival, I tuned into a Dublin radio station and heard that many listeners would prefer to pay school fees of €8,000 a year rather than have their children educated in a culturally diverse school!
Is it the case that, for many, multiculturalism is more an entertaining diversion than a philosophy of life? - Yours, etc,
ELAINE DESMOND, Eden Villas, Glasthule, Co Dublin.