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You are warmly invited to attend the launch of our research project entitled ‘Translation and Translanguaging: Investigating Linguistic and Cultural Transformations in Superdiverse Wards in Four UK Cities’.  This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by the MOSAIC Centre for Research on Multilingualism at the, School of Education, University of Birmingham. The Conference Launch will be hosted at the University of Birmingham, The Birmingham Business School, Lecture Theatre G12 on Friday 18th July commencing at 10.30.The day is organised around the theme of multilingualism in business, sport, law, heritage and education. The interdisciplinary research programme will generate new knowledge about how people interact in diverse cities. The research findings will inform policy locally, nationally, and internationally.  The research project is a collaboration between academic researchers, non-academic partners, and community stakeholders. It is also a partnership between four UK universities and the private, public and third sectors.  For your information please find attached the conference programme. The event is free.To register your attendance please use the link provided.  http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/education/events/2014/07/research-project-launch-conference.aspxThe deadline for registration will be by Friday 4th July 2014.Should you have any further enquiries please contact Jaspreet Kaur Takhi (j.takhi@bham.ac.uk).PROJECT DETAILSA consortium led by MOSAIC Centre for Research on Multilingualism, University of Birmingham, is conducting research on multilingualism in superdiverse neighbourhoods. The 4-year research project, Translation and Translanguaging: Investigating Linguistic and Cultural Transformations in Superdiverse Wards in Four UK Cities, is a collaboration between four universities. The interdisciplinary research programme will develop new understandings of multilingual interaction in cities in the UK, and communicate these to policy-makers and communities locally, nationally, and internationally.  The research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) runs from 2014 – 2018.Globalisation and changing patterns of migration mean that ‘superdiverse’ cities are increasingly populated by speakers of multiple languages. Researchers from University of Birmingham, Birkbeck (University of London), University of Leeds, and Cardiff University will generate new knowledge about communication in changing urban communities.The research team will conduct detailed investigations in selected wards in Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, and London. Researchers will focus on multilingual interactions between people in contexts of business, legal advice, community sport, and libraries and museums. Analysis will provide detailed evidence of how people communicate across languages and cultures.The project will be run in collaboration with partners from private, public, and third sectors, including Migrants’ Rights Network, Library of Birmingham, Business in the Community, Birmingham Museums Trust, Law Centres Network, Lawworks, Sporting Equals, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and Midland Heart.AHRC Theme Leadership Fellow for Translating Cultures, Professor Charles Forsdick, commented that the award “will provide an urgently needed contribution, from an Arts and Humanities perspective, to our understanding of some of the most pressing issues in the twenty-first-century. The aim of the project is to interrogate, analyse and demonstrate the central place of languages and culture in contemporary life. The project will transform academic and public understanding of the theories and practices of translation and interpreting in innovative, exciting and, I anticipate, often unexpected ways.”Principal Investigator Professor Angela Creese welcomed the award, saying “This award gives researchers at the University of Birmingham the opportunity to lead a major, ground-breaking study of multilingualism in superdiverse cities across England and Wales. The research will make a significant contribution to knowledge about the potential of multilingualism as a resource for communication, creativity, and civic participation”.For more information about the project visit,http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/education/translation-and-translanguaging/index.aspxThe project will be formally launched at the University of Birmingham on July 18th 2014. Please register for the Launch Conference at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/education/events/2014/07/research-project-launch-registration.aspxContact Professor Angela Creese:  a.creese@bham.ac.uk