Sixth-formers at two Keighley schools are to be commended for organising a conference at which they tried to envisage what life would be like in the town if peace and harmony ruled, and considered how they might contribute to making it come about.

There are far too many divisions in West Yorkshire communities, as Ann Cryer MP pointed out when she addressed the conference organised by Greenhead School and Holy Family School. She was right to suggest that there should be more youth clubs, and that they should be multi-cultural rather than dedicated to one particular racial or religious group.

Such clubs could help to boost the true spirit of multi-culturalism that surely must prevail if the Bradford district is to achieve the sort of equilibrium it desperately needs to avoid the quality of life for all its citizens being irreparably damaged: a society in which people from all backgrounds can work and play together and celebrate their common ground while at the same time respecting each other's differences.

There should also be more discussions of this sort throughout the district's schools about the growing separatism that can only encourage suspicion and increase divisions if allowed to continue.

It is in the power of the young people to narrow those divisions and work together for a better, more harmonious future for themselves. They have the most to gain if they set their sights on peace.

It is only through being part of a broader community at peace with itself that they will stand any chance of enjoying the secure adulthood that is the dream of most people, whatever their background.