International encyclopedia conference
2024
Oslo, Norway, May 2024
The conference has been postponed from October 2023 to October 2024. More information to come.
The European Encyclopedia Network and The Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (SNL) invites all national encyclopedias of the world to a conference in Oslo, Norway, in May.
It will also be possible to watch a live stream of the speeches.
Can encyclopedias save democracy? We believe so!
In a time where facts are under attack, we are of the opinion that democratic participation requires open access sources of verified knowledge.
We want to make Europeans of all ages and backgrounds well equipped for civic engagement and participation. Among other topics the conference will focus on policy, EU cooperation, encyclopedic content, authoritative data, interlinking and search engine optimalisation.
Pre-bunking of false information is a lot more efficient than de-bunking. Through making facts available, being accountable and available for public debate, we are providing a joint cognitive defense against fake news, propaganda and conspiracy theories.
All over Europe, encyclopedias are fighting for their survival and their role in an information society that needs places people can go to find trustworthy, accurate and updated information. Freely available online encyclopedias with content written, verified and updated regularly by topic experts is an answer to this need. With reliable and well-known sources, everyone can find immediate answers to their questions, and avoid falling victim to false information from various sources.
Conference workshops:
- Encyclopedia participation in public debate: When and how to engage?
- Funding: Who pays to keep Europe informed?
- Search engine optimalisation: How do we best target and reach our audiences?
- Synergies: Which areas of cooperation will best serve our mission?
Where to stay, and how to get there
Dates: It’s good to arrive some time on Wednesday October 4th. The conference finishes on Friday October 6th, but there will be an informal programme on Saturday October 7th.
Travel: The main airport is Oslo Gardermoen (OSL), it takes 19 minutes to the city by train. There’s also a small airport at Sandefjord (TRF), which is 1–2 hours away by train.
Stay: There are many options. We recommend Bondeheimen (regular hotel, 3 minutes from SNL’s office, around €160), Citybox (cheaper option, clean and good, breakfast is extra; 7 minutes from SNL's office, around €100) or Cochs Pensjonat (quirky old place, 12 minutes from SNL’s office, 1 minute from the conference venue, around €140).
Food and drinks: The SNL will organise and pay for most meals.
Do: If you decide to stay a bit longer than the conference, we really recommend seeing the new National Museum (art, design and architecture), the new Munch Museum (art, see the 😱) or Norsk Folkemuseum (cultural history, lots of old buildings).
If you decide to stay a bit longer, the Norway in a Nutshell tour gives you a view of cities, mountains and fjords.
Attendees
 | Bulgarian Encyclopedia | 2 |
|---|---|---|
 | MDPI | 1 |
 | lex.dk | 1 |
 | European Parliament | 1 |
| Family Educational Services Foundation | 1 |
| National Association of the Deaf | 3 |
 | Georgian Encyclopedia | 1 |
 | Miroslav Krleza Institute of Lexicography | 2 |
 | Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania | 2 |
 | Latvian National Encyclopedia | 1 |
 | Great Norwegian Encyclopedia | 4 |
 | Swedish National Encyclopedia | 1 |
Registration
Deadline: September 20th 15:00 CET
Preliminary programme
Wednesday 4 October
19:00 Public debate about the role of knowledge in democratic society, in Norwegian (not in any way compulsory to attend).
21:00 Meet and greet: Drinks and pizza at the SNL office
Thursday 5 October
10:00–17:00 Conference and workshops, please send suggestions if you would like to speak or there are any other topics you feel we should cover.
18:30–22:00 Conference dinner
Friday 6 October
10:00–17:00 Conference and workshops
18:00–20:00 Informal dinner at Vippa, Akershusstranda 25
21:00– Drinks at the SNL office.
Saturday 7 October
11:00–15:00 Sightseeing in Oslo
Venues
Conference venue
Fritt Ord Foundation
Uranienborgveien 2
SNL’s office
Grensen 3
Friday dinner
Vippa
Akershusstranda 25
Thursday dinner
Ekebergrestauranten
Kongsveien 15
Saturday lunch
Frognerseteren
Holmenkollveien 200
Downtown Oslo
Contact us
The meeting is organised by Marion Godager Tveter, Kjersti Kanestrøm Lie and Erik Bolstad at the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia.
Contact Marion: +47 975 10 258, marion at snl dot no
Contact Kjersti: +47 404 94 211, kjersti at snl dot no
Contact Erik: +47 911 31 091, erik at snl dot no
Previous conferences
European & International Encyclopedia Conference 2022
The Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography organised the 2022 conference in Zagreb in October.
See the programme, booklet and images
European Encyclopedia Meetup 2020
The Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (SNL) invited all encyclopedias of the world to an informal video meetup on December 1st 2020. 65 people from 14 organisations in 12 countries attended the meetup.
European Encyclopedia Conference 2019
The first European Encyclopedia Conference was held in Brussels. The Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (SNL), in cooperation with the European Parliamentary Research Service and The Mission of Norway to the European Union, organised the event, which we believe was the largest meetup of encyclopedias from Europe and North America ever.
The European encyclopedias have a long and rich history. This is how Denis Diderot – the principal editor of the Encyclopédie – described an encyclopedia’s mission in 1755. It is still valid – 268 years later.
Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and so that our offspring, becoming better instructed, will at the same time become more virtuous and happy, and that we should not die without having rendered a service to the human race in the future years to come.
Denis Diderot in Encyclopédie (1755), translated by Philip Stewart