Over the next few weeks you may hear about Black History month, an event in October celebrating the black community in Scotland. You may even hear about Young Scot launching a new website for young people, exploring the variety of cultures and ethnicities within Scotland as part of the One Scotland, Many Cultures campaign.

And then you look at your street, in your classroom, in your village, and for most young people, Scotland just looks white, white, white. But it's time to look closer.

Even if your neighbourhood isn't particularly culturally diverse, your taste in music, clothes, food and film certainly is; that is unless you listen to nothing but bagpipes, wear kilts, eat haggis and watch Braveheart constantly. And as your tastes diversify, taking in all that is great from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond, Scotland's population is not far behind.

According to the last census, only 2% of the Scottish population is from an ethnic minority group. While this is obviously very small - in England it is 9% - it is definitely getting bigger. In Scotland, the population is getting older: the number of grannies compared to the number of teenagers is getting bigger and bigger. And it's getting smaller: with less babies being born, Scotland's population is expected to dip below five million by 2009. But minority ethnic groups are bucking this trend.

''They are a young and growing population,'' says Philomena de Lima, researcher and lecturer at Inverness College. ''So potentially our [Scotland's] growth in population is likely to come from ethnic minorities. It's really important to bear that in mind when we look at the way we treat ethnic minorities. They are going to be our future.''

And while 60% of ethnic minorities live in the four largest cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee), they also comprise valuable parts of nearly all local authorities in Scotland.

''There are a huge number of different cultures within Scotland. There always has been,'' says Morag Neil of Edinburgh Mela, one of Scotland's biggest celebrations of multiculturalism.

Legend has it that Scotland's name comes from Scota, daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. In the Middle Ages, Scotland was notably free of the anti-Jewish laws found in England and elsewhere in Europe. This encouraged many Jews to settle here.

The first people from India arrived during the 18th century when many Indian seamen were hired and eventually stranded in Scottish ports. The first Chinese communities also grew in a similar fashion. And the first wave of immigration from Africa and the Caribbean occurred in the 18th century, with many freed slaves arriving from Scottish plantations in America.

''Culture becomes much richer the more people that contribute to it,'' points out Morag.

At the very least, our stomachs certainly love having many cultures in Scotland. You can find fine Indian, Chinese, and Italian restaurants in most Scottish towns. There's even a Polish cafe in Glasgow and a Ukranian centre in Edinburgh. As for music, bands like the Hindi-influenced Stereo Nation are starting to break through.

Morag says that coming into contact with other ethnic groups makes you ''realise there is a whole big world out there''. She adds:''You get new ideas. Sometimes people seeing things from a slightly different perspective can change your whole outlook on something. If you talk to someone else who had a slightly different upbringing from you, or has different beliefs, then that's a way to open up your mind.''

But Philomena says that Scotland needs to do more. Increased diversity brings increased racism, she says, and that, despite having been born in Scotland, many teenagers from ethnic minority groups are made to feel like non-Scots.

She says: ''Young people still feel, despite having lived in places like the Highlands, or wherever, for all of their lives, people will still say 'where do you come from?'''

But Sanjeev Kohli, who plays Navid the shopkeeper in the BBC comedy series Still Game, says kids from ethnic minorities today are growing up in a more accepting Scotland than he did.

''The Scotland I grew up in was still quite racist,'' says the comedian. ''But if I go into Glasgow city centre today, I'm very, very surprised if I'm called a racist name. It hasn't happened in a long time, but when I was 10, 11 and 12, when I went up town I was very surprised if I wasn't called something.''

Sanjeev is part of the first generation of Scottish-Asian families to be born here. His parents' generation, who moved here from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh still feel like ''visitors''.

''My generation don't quite feel the same way, but because we've been through a bit of racism growing up, we still feel a wee bit like outsiders,'' he says. ''I genuinely hope that the next generation who are born and brought up here, don't have that kind of duel feeling and they can confidently say they are Scottish-Asian.''

And if the fantastic food, great music, flourishes of creativity and expansion of minds isn't enough, Sanjeev sees one more benefit of Scotland becoming more multicultural.

''Scottish people are getting taller,'' he says. ''They are getting away from their Pictish origins (one of the first tribes to settle here). And that can't hurt. Maybe one day that will translate into something useful, like a better football team.''

Well, we can dream, can't we?

The One Scotland, Many Cultures website celebrates all the different religions and races in modern Scotland. It looks at everything from customs and beliefs to languages and food. The website also includes information on racism and how you can help stamp it out of Scotland, as well as pointing you to other places you can go for help and advice.

www.youngscot.org/ onescotland

From the mosque to the movies: how one young Scot is showing the way

Shabana Bakhsh is Scotland's only Muslim actress. She grew up in Denniston, Glasgow, before entering the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) and landing a role in the soap, River City. You can currently see her in the new film Ae Fond Kiss. The 22-year-old talks to Fresh about growing up as a Muslim in Scotland...

My dad was born here. He grew up in the Gorbals in Glasgow. So we weren't putting the headscarves on or anything like that when we were younger. We all went to a Catholic school. My sisters still sometimes sing the Catholic songs and we celebrate Christmas. It's the biggest event of the year. Being a Muslim family, I know that's a bit dodgy, but my mum, who was born in Pakistan and came over here to marry my dad when they were both 19, is really cool about it. If it wasn't for Christmas, there wouldn't be another time when we would all be together in one place.

The best thing about it is, on Christmas Eve mum will have a go at all of us for celebrating Christmas and acting like Christians, and singing ''Jesus songs'', and then she's the first to get up at five in the morning, burst into our rooms and say ''It's Christmas! Open your presents!'' She loves it.

My mum expects me to marry a Muslim, and so does my dad. But I don't meet any Asians in my line of work. So I'm like ''Mum, you need to help me!'' But my mum is rotten at arranged marriages.

It's hard coming across Muslim actors, as it's still a dodgy area to go into for Muslims. When I applied to RSAMD, not much was said in my family. They all thought it was a phase and were waiting for me to grow out of it. And then I got in and I didn't quite know what to do. So I was only allowed to do it if I decided not to do the acting course and if I did contemporary theatre practice. My mum thought that'd be cool. And then River City was invented.

I auditioned without telling my family. They wouldn't have let me go if they knew. And when I got the part, there wasn't a ''Well done''. It was more of a ''Let's see what happens''. I know my family are very proud of me, but I think they find it hard to tell me.

I definitely feel like I'm breaking down barriers for Muslim teenage girls in Scotland. My drama teacher said to me, the year after I did drama at higher level, half of the next lot to do drama were Asian. And they were girls.

I was the only Asian at RSAMD and that was only two years ago. But I do believe that Scotland is getting more and more multicultural. There are more families settling here from other parts of the country. And now, my nephew is at school and more than half his classes have Asians in it. It wasn't like that when I was there. And it can only be a good thing.

Now kids are getting used to being about other cultures when they are younger, so when they are older, it really isn't an issue the way it is to my generation, where it's a bit like, ''What are you doing here? This is my country''. But now kids from different backgrounds are all mixing when they are younger. So now it's like, ''It's our country''.

fresh cuts

l According to the 2001 census, Scotland's total population is 5,062,011 - 0.63% of which is Pakistani, making it the largest ethnic minority group. The second largest is the Chinese community with 0.32% of the population

l Since 1991, the ethnic minority population has increased by 62.3%

l More than 20% of every ethnic minority group, with the exception of the Caribbean group, is less than 16 years old

l Andrew Watson was the world's first black international footballer. Born in British Guiana, he captained the Scottish football team when they defeated England in 1881

l The first Africans in Scotland were soldiers in the Roman army. The next record of Africans in Scotland comes from 1505, when they performed as musicians and entertainers in James IV's Edinburgh court

l Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook called the Indian dish chicken tikka masala ''Britain's true national dish''

Your view

Fresh took to the streets to ask you about racism and multiculturalism. Here's what we found out

Barry Thomson, 15, Aberdeen

What is racism?

''People with different attitudes, beliefs and behaviours who prefer one race over another.''

Have you ever experienced racism?

''Yes. There's a Chinese kid at my school who some of the other kids have made racist remarks towards. I've also experienced white racism when I've been in other countries.''

Is Scotland multicultural?

''Yes. At my school, for example, we've had a foreign exchange with people from Belarus. You can also see it through films, music and in the streets.''

Katie Sharp, 15, Edinburgh

What is racism?

''Racism is when people are criticised for their race.''

Have you ever experienced racism?

''Nobody has been racist towards me. But once I was with an Asian friend and somebody on the street shouted out 'Go back to India'.''

Is Scotland multicultural?

''No, you don't often come across people from different races. There's a lot of white people.''

Carina Kanbi, 14, Edinburgh

What is racism?

''Bad criticism towards another person.''

Have you ever experienced racism?

''Sometimes people at school have been racist but it doesn't bother me. I've seen racism in the police force. People have pulled my dad over in his car for no reason.''

Is Scotland multicultural?

''No, not really. Compared to London, Edinburgh isn't as diverse. It's mainly white people, Asian people and a small percentage of black people.''