Multicultural integration and assimilation forms the basis of the Festival of Mission that begins today at the Royal Dublin Society.
The four-day festival is the culmination of the Irish Missionary Union's (IMU) Mission Aliveinitiative that ran over the past week in parishes and communities around the country.
The event has been organised by the IMU, a representative body for 75 religious and lay missionary groups, as an educational and awareness drive on the changing face of Irish society.
Expecting over 12,000 to attend this weekend’s festival, the IMU hopes the programme of talks and workshops will highlight the needs and experiences of migrants and minorities in Ireland.
Mission Alive also recognises the involvement of the 3,000 Irish missionaries and volunteers in 93 developing countries as well as acknowledging all missionaries' contributions to overseas projects.
The seminars at the event will cover such missionary issues such as evangelisation and culture, inter-religious dialogue, migrants and minorities, and care of the earth.
On Saturday evening, Baaba Maal's from Senegal, Peruvian band Amaru III, Spice Island Youthquake from the West Indies and Irish traditional band Altan will perform at the festival’s World Music Fest.
On Sunday a mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga and Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras in the RDS Main Hall.