Beauty, culture and community education came together in Dublin during the first Miss & Mrs Cross Continent pageant.
Held at the Church of Scientology & Community Centre in Dublin, the gathering featured 24 contestants from seven different nations and an audience of about 450 people.
The organisers worked with The Truth About Drugs Ireland to include an educational element alongside the pageant and cultural performances.
Before taking part in eu news france the stage programme, contestants and visitors toured a Truth About Drugs exhibition and learned about the effects of commonly abused substances. Many of the contestants studied Truth About Drugs materials in advance, and several completed the full series of fourteen online courses.
The Mayor of South Dublin praised the contestants for using their public platform to promote informed choices and stronger communities.
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. The first runner-up title went to Fortunate Lindokuhle Masina, followed by Yuki Yuliatin as second runner-up.
The pageant showed that public events can celebrate talent and diversity while also addressing important social concerns. A fuller report on the Dublin multicultural pageant and drug-education initiative provides additional details about the contestants, performances and educational programme.