Visit of the Latvian
National Encyclopedia

Members of the Latvian National Encyclopedia’s editorial board paid a study visit to the Institute of Lexicography on 5 and 6 September. The visit was organised as part of the Erasmus+ programme, the largest European Union programme for education, training, youth, and sport.

The Latvian National Encyclopedia, whose chief editor is Valters Ščerbinskis, is a general online encyclopedia that currently contains around 4000 articles. The National Encyclopedia’s editorial board was founded in 2015 within the framework of the National Library of Latvia.

The aim of this study visit was to acquaint Latvian encyclopedists with the work of the Institute of Lexicography, primarily the Croatian Encyclopedia, one of the Institute’s fundamental editions.

After an introductory presentation about Croatia, its natural features, history, and culture, the guests were told about the context in which the Institute of Lexicography was founded in 1950 and about its major projects from then until today, with emphasis on the Croatian Encyclopedia. The editors of the Latvian National Encyclopedia were then individually introduced to the lexicographical work of their colleagues from the Croatian Encyclopedia, and thus exchanged experiences regarding the process of encyclopedia content creation. In addition, a tour of Zagreb was organised for the guests.

This visit was also an opportunity to define possible areas of cooperation between the two institutions, which would enable the exchange of encyclopedic content in the future as well as the design and implementation of interinstitutional projects.

Photo: Andrea Holenda