Discussion Group – March/April 2025

Our group met on 21st March. We started with the attempt to define the concept of multiculturism, which covers groups of people with different cultures sharing the same territory.

We discussed the pros and cons of accommodation, assimilation, supersedence, the obligation to share a common language, refusal to integrate or assimilate. We tried to argue whether there is such a thing anymore as an English culture, and some of us thought that our values have weakened. We touched upon the effects of segregation in education and jobs, on the stronger aspirational drive in ethnic communities, as well as on the limitations created by some religion-based cultures.

We mentioned radicalisation in our societies, the difficulty of native English speakers to learn foreign languages and understand accents. We agreed that multiculturalism is not bad in itself, that we need to learn from each other and share values, but that it is difficult in an increasingly parochial attitude and in a world where nationalism is on the rise. We quoted examples from our own experience and included the effects of Brexit on our current society.

Our next meeting will be on 16th April and we decided to talk about Fake News.

Dana Dima, Convenor

Please note that the views expressed by the Discussion Group may not represent those of the wider Dawlish & District u3a membership.