Bulgarian Encyclopedia Scientific Information Centre formally presented the new Project No. BG-RRP-2.017-0023 “The Bulgarian Online Encyclopedia. Connected and accessible encyclopedic knowledge”, Contract No. RRP – 45 from 6/12/2024 /BG-RRP-2.017-0023-C01/, executed in accordance with Procedure BG-RRP-2.017 – Funding of scientific research projects in the field of green and digital technologies. The event was held jointly with researchers from the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT), a lead partner of the project, in the “Acad. Ivan Evstratiev Geshov” hall at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The project activities were presented by Dr. Ralitsa Geleva-Tsvetkova, Еditor-in-Chief at the Bulgarian Encyclopedia Scientific Information Centre, Prof. Ivan Lirkov, the Lead Project Manager at IICT, and Prof. Kiril Simov, also from IICT, who spoke about the software system development. The event was attended by Acad. Yulian Revalski (President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in the period 2016-2024), Prof. Emanuel Mutafov, Vice-President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Neli Koseva, Chief Scientific Secretary of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Representatives of the wider academic community joined the discussion.
The aim of the project is the development of a specialised online platform, including multifunctional databases. Thus, Bulgarian Encyclopedia’s rich scientific encyclopedic resources, archive documents and photographs, which have been stored for 70 years at the Centre, will be digitalised. New encyclopedic content will be created and processed entirely in an online environment. It will be openly accessible and continuously updated in accordance with the FAIR principle of free data.
A website of the Bulgarian Online Encyclopedia, based on the online platform, will also be built. It is expected to serve the educational needs of pupils, students, and to assist businesses in finding reliable information on various topics. The website will provide general reference information to help wide groups of researchers. The Bulgarian online encyclopedia will support the fight against fake news, disinformation, propaganda, conspiracy and unscientific theories on the Internet and will contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge and its transfer.
The project implementation will have a long-term impact by providing open online access to scientifically-proven and verified information in Bulgarian, prepared by academic experts. The project will create a favourable environment for improving the education level in Bulgaria and will support cognitive processes in Bulgarian schools. It also has the potential to facilitate the spread of comprehensive scientific knowledge into all areas of life and lead to the realisation of new products and processes, as well as to give impetus for development of innovative enterprises.
The Bulgarian Online Encyclopedia project will improve the digital environment in Bulgaria and will help the digitalisation of scientific knowledge accumulated over the years. It will have a beneficial impact on the educational process in schools and universities, as well as on doing business through digital transfer of scientific knowledge and achievements. The implementation of the planned project activities will improve the ecosystem for scientific research and innovation and will meet businesses‘ needs of more educated personnel in the pursuit of new products, processes and services development.
