The three-day event will offer an opportunity for an exchange of ideas and experience among university projects that actively combine research on urban multilingualism with an outreach and public engagement agenda. It will be hosted by the Multilingual Manchester research unit (http://mlm.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/). Confirmed contributors will represent projects based in a variety of universities around the world including Moscow, St Petersburg, Berlin, Edinburgh, London, Sheffield, Melbourne, Sydney, and Graz. 
The University of Manchester, 20-22 February 2019
Keynote speakers:
Katrijn Maryns (University of Ghent)
Helen Kelly-Holmes (University of Limerick)
Ben Rampton (King’s College London)
The University of Manchester are seeking additional expressions of interest along with abstracts to arrive by 31 August 2018, for short contributions to panel discussions (NOT full research papers) that will address -- specifically -- the following themes:
• City-level planning and practice around language diversity, and the involvement of university researchers in such practice
• University public engagement around language diversity
• Innovative research models and research tools, teaching practices, and co-production models
Abstracts should be up to one page and include authors' names, affiliation and contact details, as well as a link to a documentation of current activities. They should carry the subject heading ‘Feb 2019 conference’ and be sent to: [email protected]
The event will include discussion panels with city council officials, representatives of local language community groups, and practitioners from a range of public service providers, offering an opportunity to discuss the value of university research and public engagement to policy and planning of language provisions. The meeting will coincide with UNESCO ‘International Mother Language Day’, which the City of Manchester has recently adopted as an annual celebration of its linguistic diversity.
Multilingual Manchester currently receives funding from the University of Manchester as well as from the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the research consortium ‘Cross-Language Dynamics: Re-shaping community’ within the Open World Research Initiative (OWRI). We will be able to cover the cost of participants’ accommodation and board in Manchester, and to those travelling from afar we may be able to offer a contribution toward travel expenses.