Tonight sees a new departure in RTE's public service programming: it's the first programme in a new television series about multi-ethnic Ireland.

RTE has of course dealt with "issues" surrounding non-Irish nationals or ethnic-minority groups living in the State, on its various news, current affairs and magazine programmes. However this series is a new departure in that it doesn't deal primarily with racism, or exploitation, or problems facing or involving refugees and asylum-seekers, as commissioning editor of the series Mairead Ni Nuadhain explains.

"Around this time last year I saw a programme on RTE about racism and I thought we were almost becoming part of the problem." Ni Nuadhain says she wanted to see a programme about ethnic minorities that wasn't negative or wasn't about racism, but one that could still contribute to debate.

"I wanted a programme that was broadly based and free to tell stories on everything from faith to food of other cultures, stories that were not finding space elsewhere. So I suggested a magazine programme that would reflect multiculturalism in Ireland. It was time for us to take a step and put multi-ethnic people on the screen reporting on themselves, and it's exciting to see them tell stories about their cultures on screen."

One year on, the resulting series is called Mono. Presented by Nigerian Bisi Adigun and Canadian-born Indian Shalini Sinha, it gets its first airing tonight on RTE 1 at 7.30.

Sinha describes the show: "It's a halfhour magazine programme with human interest stories about black people and ethnic minorities, with the underlying theme of challenging ideas of Irishness."

Although the show is rooted firmly in the philosophy of public-service broadcasting, in that it is representing minority groups which otherwise would have difficulty reaching a mass audience, Adigun stresses that this is not a campaigning or directly educational programme. "This is not a platform to say racism is bad. We're not here to preach - it's just a show. We're making entertainment."

Sinha says the programme will show the positive and challenging aspects of living in an "intercultural" Ireland. "Black people in Ireland have experienced racism, but that is not the sum total of their experience. The goal is to show real stories with complex human beings whose experiences have relevance to the story, and those experiences may or may not include racism."

Sinha says the programme is not really about multiculturalism, but "interculturalism". "Multiculturalism is an acknowledgement or toleration of other cultures. `Interculturalism' is about engaging with each other - it's very much a dialogue." The show, she says is aimed at "the average viewer", not just the groups profiled on the show. "The stories will be interesting to an Irish person and will create an awareness of the black experience of being Irish. We're trying to bring the programme to a wide variety of viewers; it's not a bulletin board, or `the black and ethnic-minority update'."

Tonight's show includes an interview with Kevin Sharkey and a piece on how Moore Street, the heart of old Dublin, is becoming a centre for cultural diversity in the city. "I hope it reaches a very wide audience. It's not targeted only at different cultures," says Ni Nuadhain. She realises, however, that the programme faces a challenge in getting a share of the audience, particularly as it sits opposite Coronation Street on TV3. Still, she believes there is a market for this type of programming. "There was an air of doom and gloom about the Coronation Street slot, but the programmes that have filled it, like Drive and Out of the Blue, are getting a good audience. There is an appetite for good informative programming between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. - there is a good team behind this show and the presenters are fantastic."

Ni Nuadhain says that the public service element was also an important consideration. "Of course we're not going to get a mass audience, but in public-service broadcasting you're always up against it. We've got to stop thinking of black or Asian people as temporary here - we have to get over that mindset, and television is a very powerful medium for doing that. It's only right and proper that RTE should take the lead in this."

Both presenters are from minority-ethnic backgrounds. However, Bisi Adigun maintains that he and Sinha were not politically motivated choices, but rather it simply made sense to have them present the series, especially when dealing with ethnic-minority subjects and interviewees. "Our racial background does come into it. People are naturally suspicious when they see someone with a camera. When they're black, it makes it easier that we're black too."

Ni Nuadhain agrees it was important to have Adigun and Sinha presenting the show. "I've seen enough white Irish presenters. In a way the show is political, but with a small p. "The message is: these are Irish people, so we'd better get used to it."