Babylon has been established in 2002 by the Faculty of Humanities (FacHum) and the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSBS) as the multidisciplinary and interfaculty Centre for Studies of the Multicultural Society at Tilburg University. The research focus of Babylon is on the characteristics and management of cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in the multicultural society, taken from an international comparative perspective. The following departments constitute the corner stones of Babylon:

• the Department of Language and Culture Studies (FacHum);
• the Department of Religious Studies (FacHum);
• the Department of Psychology and Society (FSBS);
• the Department of Organisation Studies (FSBS).

It is Babylon's ambition to become one of Europe's leading centres for the study of multilingualism and multiculturalism in the context of globalisation. Babylon uniquely combines theoretical and methodological innovation as a result of strong multidisciplinarity with problem-oriented research and valorisation at the interface of science and society. Babylon has consistently looked at research domains and topics of immediate relevance to society: education, welfare and immigration issues, policy reviewing, the structure of organisations in relation to sociocultural and religious diversity. Such issues gain even more relevance in the context of globalisation.
Both Babylon and the research programmes/groups participating in Babylon have been evaluated by several external visitation committees, with very positive outcomes for Babylon in September 2005, for the former Faculty of Arts (now Humanities) in December 2006, and for the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences in October 2006.
The added value of Babylon is that it creates a focused and innovative meeting ground within a strongly developed international research network for multidisciplinary cooperation:

• in generating research ideas and conducting research projects;
• in publishing research outcomes;
• in supervising PhD students;
• in acquiring external research funding;
• in developing international research cooperation;
• in developing educational innovation at the level of Bachelor and Master programmes.

The presence of Babylon leads to a high visibility of Tilburg University in the domain of multiculturalism and globalisation, at the interface of science and society. In the scientific domain, Babylon is visible through a range of national and international research networks. In the societal domain, Babylon members frequently participate in workshops, symposia and conferences that focus on the multicultural society. This holds for initiatives at the international level (in particular in cooperation with European Union agencies, the Council of Europe, the European Platform for Education and UNESCO), at the national level (in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental agencies such as ministries, FORUM/Utrecht, CITO/Arnhem, and SARDES/Utrecht), and at the local level (in cooperation with municipalities). At the regional level, institutionalised cooperation occurs between Babylon and Palet, advisory agency in diversity. The regularly organised Palet/Babylon seminars are widely announced and appreciated, both in terms of participation and evaluation.
In addition, cooperation has been initiated between Babylon and the University's Office of Public and External Affairs in order to highlight upcoming prominent activities and publications of Babylon members at the interface of science and society.