The contribution of Ireland's ethnic minorities to Irish society will be highlighted as part of an anti-racism campaign which gets under way this week.
This year's Intercultural and Anti-Racism Week will also focus on the need to improve services for ethnic minorities in areas such as health, education, employment, housing and policing.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, the UN's independent expert on minority issues, Gay J McDougall, said such positive actions could play a crucial role in helping to integrate newcomers into Irish society.
She also called for a "zero tolerance" approach towards inequality and racism, and to robustly enforce anti-discrimination laws.
"Affirmative action is often the only way to address inequalities and to turn the rhetoric of equality into reality on the ground," Ms McDougall said.
"The Government has a vital role to play in creating an enabling environment for integration and diversity; where every group can use their language, practise their religion, while embracing a broader and more inclusive national identity."
The anti-racism week is an all-island campaign co-ordinated by the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the monitoring group of the National Action Plan Against Racism.
Lucy Gaffney, of the National Action Plan Against Racism, said there had been considerable successes so far in that the State was not devising policies to deal with race-riots, as has been in the case of other countries dealing with large-scale migration.
Instead, the health service, schools and the Garda were taking steps to remove barriers relating to language, gender inequality and cultural differences that affect ethnic minorities.
"All of this is about making life better for everyone, and that is a great achievement - one which needs a lot of work, but having shot out of the starting blocks, I believe Ireland has what it takes to go the distance and make a highly-successful intercultural society."
Over 50 key events will take place North and South, including an intercultural police forum between minority ethnic group leaders and senior gardaí.
The bicentenary of the abolition of slavery will be marked with the Northern Ireland film premiere of Amazing Grace in the Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast, followed by a panel discussion.
The NCCRI also published two booklets aimed at service providers, one on "jargon-busting" and the other on how to ensure services are inclusive of everyone in Ireland.
For further information on events taking place, visit www.nccri.ie
