Some people have a gift for languages. Watching them dip in and out of other tongues can inspire the monoglots among us. But when it comes to literature and writing in other languages, and translating, the challenges increase, which is why support organisations and networks have been created.

The Institute of Modern Languages Research (IMLR) and King’s College London (KCL) have confirmed plans to join forces and launch a new seminar series on 21 May that will raise the visibility of modern languages research and teaching that engages with digital culture, media and technologies.

Layers of London, an interactive map-based project at the Institute of Historical Research ( IHR ) has collaborated with the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) to publish online for the first time, the London County Council (LCC) Bomb Damage Map, which chronicles the devastation of the metropolis by The Blitz – enemy bombing in the Second World War. Laurence Ward, LMA’s head of digital services and an authority on the map, says, “The London County Council Bomb Damage Map is a detailed and moving record of the damage inflicted on the capital during the Second World War.

The School of Advanced Study ( SAS ), University of London, is one of eight partners in a new and ambitious programme of action and research to counter discrimination and economic inequality against LGBT+ people in five major African cities. Funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), the £12 million ‘Strong in diversity, bold on inclusion’ project is a consortium led by Hivos , which also includes the universities of Glasgow and Pretoria, African LGBT+ networks, international NGOs and a range of organisations working with multinationals.