Cllr Carl Austin-Behan
Lord Mayor of Manchester, 2016-17

Manchester has a rich mosaic of well over 150 languages; 37% of schoolchildren in Manchester speak a language other than English in their homes; this opens up exciting opportunities to benefit from an appreciation of diversity; and to benefit from language skills to develop the city, its culture and its economy.

Cllr Sue Murphy
Deputy Leader
(2010-2020^†), 
Manchester City Council

Our language diversity adds an exciting dimension to our opportunities to learn from each other and come to understand each other all the more […] Manchester’s diverse population with its vast array of languages and cultures, along with the city’s affordable locations and good connections to international markets, are making Manchester increasingly attractive to businesses looking to operate in the global market place.

Cllr Luthfur Rahman
Cllr for Longsight and Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, 
Manchester City Council

Languages are an asset to our community and we are committed to supporting our communities in maintaining their languages through the work of supplementary schools and others, and our excellent Interpreting and Translation service.

Dr Rebecca Tipton
Lecturer in Interpreting and Translation Studies, 
The University of Manchester

As part of their civic mission, the universities […] reaffirm their commitment to engaging with organisations and institutions in the City of Manchester, supporting social goals through relevant and targeted research, and acting as a broker for dialogue between relevant policy makers, service users and service providers. Our students, through their dedicated societies, entrepreneurial and voluntary activities are more than ever before helping to sustain and improve community links, and contribute to linguistic and cultural diversity.