Lifestyle
Location, location, location
Where you live has a big impact on cultural identity because you first learn from your immediate surroundings.
The way we speak is a good example. Most people in Northern Ireland speak English, but we speak it differently in different places. Someone from Omagh sounds different to someone from Coleraine. These accentA distinctive way of pronouncing a language. reinforce our sense of belonging to a particular place.
Family values
Your cultural identity is shaped by your parents鈥 beliefs and attitudes.
They may take you to a church of a particular denominationA group within a religion. Christian denominations include, for example, Roman Catholic and Anglican denominations., or celebrate particular festivals, such as St Patrick鈥檚 Day, or the Twelfth of July.
Taking part in these activities shapes your personal beliefs.
Encountering different cultures
immigrationThe action of coming to live permanently in another country. is changing the mixture of people in Northern Ireland鈥檚 population. Today our communities are home to people from a variety of other countries, particularly:
- Poland
- Lithuania
- Romania
- China
- The Philippines
- India
Living with diversity
The benefits of living in a diverse society are:
- it promotes tolerance and understanding between different cultures;
- it enriches our community through shared experiences with different people;
- it attracts more money to our economy through the growth of different businesses;
- it relieves skills shortages as 4 per cent of Northern Ireland鈥檚 workforce is made up of migrantA person who moves from one country to another, often to find work. 鈥 many of our doctors and nurses were born overseas.