In what is an increasingly troubled world, I am proud of the fact that here in Monmouthshire we tend to show tolerance and hospitality.

I won’t gloss over the fact that not everyone in the county is always so welcoming but your county council is making a positive contribution this month by sharing Black History Month events.

We will be hosting our own gathering later this month when local groups will be invited to share food, music and stories with elected members and officers. Once again, we are opening our own doors so that everyone realises that County Hall is a place where all Monmouthshire residents are welcomed and celebrated.

A special film, Windrush Cymru @75, supported and funded by the Welsh Government and Race Council Cymru, is now being offered to schools and community groups. It tells the heartfelt stories of people who arrived here after being invited by the UK Government, and the treatment they received.

We have in our midst many people showing the best side of our area when it comes to multi-culturalism. None more so than Martha Musonza Holman, from Abergavenny, who was forced to flee her home country of Zimbabwe in 2001 after being criticised for teaching politics to students.

Martha has worked for the last two decades to create links between her new adopted country and the country of her birth. As founder of the Love Zimbabwe Community Interest Company, she visits Zimbabwe annually to ensure that Fair Trade producers receive proper financial remuneration.

In 2017, she won an award in the social and humanitarian category of the Ethnic Minority Welsh Women Achievement Awards (EMWAA) for women who have made a significant contribution to Welsh life.

It is one sure sign of the fact that in Monmouthshire, as elsewhere, we are so much richer for the diversity we can witness and share