Thank you, Doreen, for this long and touching comment. I too was moved the first time I saw an international parade of children in so many different outfits and celebrating all together. You see, the fact that your daughter wore a Japanese kimono says it all: she wears what she feels more related to at that moment! Not an outfit that tells everyone where she – or more precisely – her parents come from.
You are very right that The Hague and Amsterdam, like many other cities around the world, are like a melting pot of internationals and you’re constantly surrounded, immersed into a variety of different sounds of languages and cultures. I personally thrive in such a place – like you, I know. But exactly because it is already so international, celebrating internationality seems like taking a step back for me. A step where everyone isolates him/herself instead of mixing and mingling.
Thank you, again, for your very kind words and insights. You’re a truly global soul!

Important ‘food for thought’ thank you, Ute.

Also, I believe that places can facilitate intercultural living – like The Hague or Amsterdam. I spend half my year in Denver which has definite pockets of internationals, we have to seek each other out, put time and energy into finding each other, it’s not quite so easy to feel global here. Being an invisible immigrant lends whole layers of other perspectives to this conversation which I wont go into – today!

Great job….sharing your work, thanks for your brilliant thinking my friend! The global in me recognises the global in you!

Thank you, lizard100 for your very important comment: yes, there are ways to celebrate or acknowledge children and their families’ cultures. I know that in highly international settings it requires more engagement from everyone: teachers, students/children and parents. They all need to work on this together. Depending on our culture, our background, our expectations and experiences, we expect school to help our children with the school language and preferably also with our home language for example, but it is up to us parents to collaborate and take care of the home language(s) when these are not taught in school. This is just an example. Language as the vehicle of our thoughts and experience is, in my opinion, a good way to start. With it come other aspects of our culture. With even small steps like allowing our children to talk their language at school, allow the colleague to talk his/her language or share how decisions are taken in his/her culture will open more doors and avoid misunderstandings and judgments that only lead to building walls. Sorry for this long reply, I just have the impression that these celebrations are superficial and I think we have passed the stage of “admiring diversity” and it is time to embrace it on a sincere and deeper level. I guess it is fear to lose ones own “identity” or what defines them that keeps many away from allowing inclusion. Inclusion doesn’t mean annihilation of our self. Healthy inclusion means acceptance of diversity to a level where we look beyond that surface of colorful dresses, delicious smells of food, different sounds etc. and discover how we are all related on a much deeper level.