A multicultural society: you may never have thought deeply on whether it has a net positive or negative effect on the people within it, but you’ve doubtless heard of it. Some may argue in favor of homogeneity, but living in a multicultural society does have some large and very tangible benefits.

First among them is simply the cultural variety one can experience when living in a diverse area. Whether that’s expressed in food or architecture, it can’t be denied that the point where two cultures meet is fertile ground for creativity. There is the danger, of course, of cultural appropriation, but compared to the upsides it’s a small price to pay.

Imagine life with only one kind of food, one kind of building, one kind of person. What a dull life that would be! Even bypassing the direct cultural exchange, the fringe benefits are worth hanging onto. Pasta, for example, is originally Chinese.

Trade along the silk road brought it to Italy, where it became popular, and yet, Italy didn’t have the tomato until centuries later when ships began to bring them back from the new world. Without cultural exchange, Italian cuisine as we know it would not exist.

The secondary benefit of multiculturalism is new ideas. There may be problems that one society has encountered for generations and not been able to solve for reasons that are purely conceptual; an encounter with another culture may be exactly what’s needed to present a solution for them, and vice versa.

Cultural exchange is a means to not only learn more about another culture and increase your perspective on the world, but also to have them learn about you. Both societies can them come out of it the wiser.

It is culture that gives meaning to our lives, whether that comes in terms of art, music, festivals, religion, mythology, writing or general day-to-day life. By meeting and intermingling with other cultures we can add meaning to our own lives and the lives of others, have experiences that we wouldn’t otherwise have, and open our hearts and minds to new places, new ideas, and new people.

Living in an insular community can make you not only xenophobic but unable to innovate beyond your usual parameters. Well-rounded experiences make you a more well-rounded person.

The ability to easily intermingle with distinct pockets of other cultures is a blessing to be treasured, and one that we must take full advantage of for the sake of all cultures everywhere, that we might put our collective creativity to good use and dream of a better tomorrow.