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From 7 to 8 April 2025, researchers, practitioners, and students gathered in Utrecht for a vibrant exchange about multilingualism in urban contexts during the first Languages in the City symposium, funded by the Open Cities Platform of the strategic research theme Institutions for Open Societies. The gathering was organized by Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ faculty affiliated with the Institute for Language Sciences (ILS) and the Institute for Cultural Inquiry (ICON).

The two-day event was opened by Robert Snoeijenbos, Director of the Utrecht International Center, followed by a collaborative keynote lecture by speakers from both Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ and the City of Utrecht: Dr Debbie Cole hosted a lively conversation with and Hans Sakkers. Mykola, who fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine and found refuge in Utrecht with his family, talked about the innovative ways in which he uses translation technology as part of his work as international advisor at the city municipality, while Hans, the Program Manager International Strategy at the City of Utrecht, reflected on how multilingualism could be structurally accommodated in municipal organizations, rather than remaining a matter of individual initiative.

The symposium continued with two parallel sessions across its two days, representing scholarship from 35 presenters from 14 countries – each with its own complex linguistic landscape. Their work covered a wide range of topics related to the theme, such as languages and multilingualism in education, the workplace, and other institutions; language varieties, dialects and identity in cities; as well as artificial intelligence in urban spaces. How do people from diverse linguistic backgrounds creatively use their linguistic repertoires in their daily interactions in city environments? What is the role of AI in facilitating understanding in multilingual environments? How do language policies enable and constrain multilingualism in the city? These were among the questions explored and discussed. In the interactive panel discussion that concluded the first day, presenters and attendees continued their discussions to reflect on and expand their understanding of multilingualism, linguistic landscapes, and language planning and policy in the city.

The research talks were enriched by a number of additional activities, including various city walks, a multilingual poetry performance, and a student poster session. The students (from various MA programs at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ) presented posters on a range of topics: from a critical analysis of the linguistic accessibility of Utrecht’s municipal office, to an overview of the linguistic landscape of the famous Oudegracht, to reflections on the linguistic ‘eduscaping’ of Jewish representations in Amsterdam’s public space.

Among the city walks, attendees were able to choose from the Stumbling Stones tour guided by Mirco Vantangoli in English, a street poetry tour in either Dutch or English, and the self-guided Utrecht Time Machine Tour in either Dutch or English. During the Stumbling Stones tour, attendees listened to the stories of people who fell victim to the Shoah to commemorate them. The street poetry tour showed attendees the powerful and diverse collection of street poetry in Utrecht.

The Poetry in the City session was a fitting conclusion for the symposium – and a highlight of the event. It was chaired by Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ researcher and poet Dr Mia You, with readings, discussions and performances by city poets (former poet laureate of Alkmaar), (former poet laureate of Rotterdam), and Prof dr Hanneke van Eijken (member of the Utrecht Poets Guild).

The Languages in the City symposium provided attendees and presenters from different linguistic backgrounds and with different specializations and fields of research the space to connect, share their research, and collectively reflect on why language matters in cities. The event not only hosted scholars but also students and city representatives and served as an open space for dialogue about, within, and with the city.