A multicultural beauty pageant in Dublin recently brought together contestants, community representatives and cultural performers for an event focused on both personal achievement and social responsibility.
Twenty-four news europe war women from seven countries participated in the programme, which was attended by approximately 450 guests at the Church of Scientology & Community Centre.
The organisers worked with The Truth About Drugs Ireland to include an educational element alongside the pageant and cultural performances.
Drug education formed an important part of the event, with guided exhibition tours introducing visitors to information about commonly used drugs. Many of the contestants studied Truth About Drugs materials in advance, and several completed the full series of fourteen online courses.
Mayor of South Dublin Cllr. Francis Timmons addressed the audience and highlighted the value of cultural diversity, education and prevention.
The pageant was accompanied by a diverse cultural programme featuring dancers from several community organisations.
The principal title was awarded to Niveditha Vudayagiri, a software engineer who holds a master’s degree in AI. Fortunate Lindokuhle Masina and Yuki Yuliatin completed the top three as first and second runners-up.
By combining cultural expression with drug education, the programme gave the traditional pageant format a wider social purpose. A fuller report on the Dublin multicultural pageant and drug-education initiative provides additional details about the contestants, performances and educational programme.