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The Barents Encyclopedia Project

The Barents Encyclopedia Project. Welcome to this presentation of the Barents Encyclopedia Project!

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The Barents Encyclopedia Project

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  1. The Barents Encyclopedia Project Welcome to this presentation of the Barents Encyclopedia Project! My name is Mats-Olov Olsson. I am a political scientist affiliated with the Centre for Regional Science (Cerum) of Umeå University in northern Sweden. Currently, I am the Chief Editor of the Barents Encyclopedia. My primary task is to lead the project to compile material for the encyclopedia and prepare it for publication. This is a presentation of the current status of the project that I gave at the first meeting with the members of the project’s reference group in Helsinki on November 11–12, 2009. Click on a button to proceed! Mats-Olov Olsson Helsinki11-12 November 2009

  2. For one and a half day (Nov. 11-12, 2009) the members of the project’s reference group met in Helsinki. The purpose of this meeting was to gather all members of the reference group, to get aquainted and to bring everyone up to date with the project design and its progress. We had also invited former editors of three encyclopedias who were asked to share their experiences of encyclopedia production with us. Nine of the eleven members of the reference group were able to take part in the meeting. Click on a button to proceed!

  3. Programme Helsinki • We had four specially invited guests who made presentations during the second day of our meeting. They were: • Prof. Mark Nuttall, editor of the Encyclopedia of the Arctic • Dr. Kari Marklund, editor of the Swedish National Encyclopedia • Dr. Lassi Heininen and Mr. Joonas Ahola, editors of the “Baltic Region – Conflicts and Co-Operation” • Click on a button to proceed! Day 1: Wednesday, 11 November 2009 Hotel Arthur, Topelius Room • Overview of the project, its funding and work progress • Discussion on a number of issues – some old, some new • Dinner in Restaurant Arthur (7 pm) Day 2: Thursday, 12 November 2009 Alexanteri Institute, Seminar Room • Former encyclopedia editors sharing information with us • Questions, comments on the presentations • Final discussion and decisions

  4. Some EternalQuestions Modified after the Kirkenes meeting in May What is this thing called the Barents Encyclopedia? Where did the idea come from? Why should we engage in this project? What is the purpose? Is there really a life beyond the Barents Encyclopedia ? What kind of life is this??

  5. 1. Background The original network project, The Modernisation Process in the Barents Region, worked for three years (2004–2006). The project was led by Assoc. Prof. Lars Elenius, a historian at Luleå University of Technology, and it engaged some 150 professional historians in higher education establishments throughout the Barents Region. Lars and some of his colleagues in the network of historians were subsequently able to initiate a project to write a textbook on the history of the Barents Region. Dr. Urban Wråkberg, senior researcher at the Barents Institute in Kirkenes, Norway, was one of the members of the project’s steering group. When the idea came up to produce an encyclopedia of the Barents Region as a complement to the history textbook, Urban applied for and obtained initial funding for the encyclopedia from the Research Council of Norway. Subsequently, funding for the project has been provided by the European Union InterReg IVA North programme. Click on a button to proceed! • Network of historians in the Barents Region to discuss principles of historiography • New project to produce a history textbook about the Barents Region • Somewhere in this process the idea emerged to produce an encyclopedia of the Barents Region as well • To this end Urban Wråkberg received initial funding from the Research Council of Norway

  6. The Barents Encyclopedia:Overview of concepts and work progress 1. Background 2. Personnel issues 3. Two production tools 4. Conceptualization 5. Work organization

  7. 2. Personnel Issues The Editor (Mats-Olov Olsson) leads the work to produce the Barents Encyclopedia The Editor is assisted by a Reference Group consisting of the eleven people from various academic institutions in the Barents Region: A lot of people will be engaged in the production of the Barents Encyclopedia. We expect that some 80–100 authors will contribute articles on various topics. However, some people are engaged in the project on a more continuous basis. This goes for the edtior and the eleven persons belonging to the project’s reference group. Click on a button to proceed! • Irina A. Chernyakova (History), Petrozavodsk University • Alexander N. Davydov (Culture, folklore), RAS Environmental institute, Arkhangelsk • Lars-Erik Edlund (Scandinavian languages, culture, history), Umeå University • Lars Elenius (History, Project leader), Luleå University of Technology • Lassi Heininen (Political science), University of Lapland • Maria B. Ilicheva, (Social sciences), Murmansk State Pedagogical University • Veli-Pekka Lehtola (Saami culture), University of Oulu, Finland • Lyubov A. Maksimova (History), Syktyvkar State University • Jelena Porsanger (Saami language and culture), Sámi University College, Kautokeino • Helge Salvesen (History, Tromsø University Library), Tromsø • Urban Wråkberg (Archaeology, history of technology), The Barents Institute, Kirkenes

  8. 3. Two Production Tools Two communication “tools” have been set up for facilitating discussion and dissemination of information among the members of the Reference Group: • The BarEnc-L mailing list • The “Editor’s Web”

  9. The BarEnc-L mailing list Currently, only the editor and members of the Reference Group are subscribers to the mailing list. Later, as work proceeds, contributing authors to the encyclopedia may also be added.

  10. The “Editor’s Web” • An unofficial website for people directly engaged in the production of the Barents Encyclopedia • The site should provide information about the goals of the project and its implementation • It should also offer information that may be useful for authors contributing articles to the encyclopedia

  11. http://bar-enc.didaktekon.se/Editor/Start.htm

  12. Examples of information found on the “Editor’s Web” Contents on the Editor’s Web include: • A short document presenting the Barents Encyclopedia Project • A detailed overview of the form and contents of the The Saami – A Cultural Encyclopaedia • A detailed overview of the form and contents of the Encyclopedia of Governance • Listing (with web links) of a number of existing encyclopedias discussing topics of relevance for the Barents Region • Listing (with web links) of a number of research institutes, government organizations and media outlets dealing with the Barents Region

  13. ...there is more on the Editor’s Web …and even more to come… • 1. Administration • Names and addresses of editorial and reference group members • Minutes from meetings with editors and members of reference group • Latest Editor’s Update • 2. The Barents Encyclopedia • The Barents Encyclopedia Project – A Brief Overview • Types of entries in the Barents Encyclopedia • Principles for entry selection • Suggested entry words • Selected entry words (and contracted authors) • Instructions to authors/contributors • Two models for the Barents Encyclopedia • 3. Related Encyclopedias and other useful Inernet resources • Useful encyclopedias • Useful resources for producing the Barents Encyclopedia • Barents institutes and projects • 4. Communication • Send comments to the editor!

  14. 4. Conceptualization • Awaiting funding decisions the form and contents of the Barents Encyclopedia were discussed for almost two years. • In April 2008: Meeting in Oslo with the editorial group. (A detailed account of the meeting is available on the Editor’s Web.) • Funding was awarded in January 2009 and work to produce the encyclopedia started during the spring.

  15. Envisaging the format of the Barents Encyclopedia Agreement was soon reached on several defining issues: • The Barents Encyclopedia should be designed to attract a broad readership. It should be of interest for experts in academia and government as well as for students and the general public. • The Encyclopedia should be published in a printed volume as well as in electronic format (as a website available via the Internet). • The total number of pages in the Encyclopedia should be 500–700 pages. The book should be richly illustrated with tables, figures, and photographs.

  16. Further decisions on the form… • The encyclopedia will contain an alphabetically ordered set of entries describing various features of interest in the Barents Region context. • The entries will be of four kinds (as envisaged today): • Four entry categories • 1. Short (S) 250 entries < 2,500 char. (c. 0.5 pages of text) • 2. Medium (M) 100 entries 2,500–10,000 char. (c. 0.5–2.5 pages of text) • 3. Long (L) 45 entries 10,000–20,000 char. (c. 2.5–4.5 pages of text) • 4. Thematic (T) 5 entries > 20,000 char. (more than 4.5 pages of text)    • 400 entries Max c. 625 pages

  17. The Purpose of the Barents Encyclopedia in two sentences… horribly long The Barents Encyclopedia will present comprehensive information about the progress of the Barents Region Project, the project to establish interregional collaboration across national borders through innovative organizational conceptualizations, an active promotion of a transborder regional identity and the introduction of new forms of regional governance in the most densely populated and industrialized part of the Arctic. Articles in the encyclopedia will discuss the historical roots of current developments and review the cultural, socio-economic, and political prerequisites for a continued and intensified transborder interaction among citizens inhabiting the Barents Regions, a territory so designated through the signing of the 1993 Kirkenes declaration. Click on a button to proceed!

  18. Elaborating the contents of the Barents Encyclopedia Discussions since our Oslo meeting in April 2008 have led to a decision to include a limited number of themes that would be made the topic of longer overview articles. These articles will “frame” the contents of the encyclopedia. Tentative topics for such thematic articles include: • The “Barents Project” • The ecology and environment of the Barents Region • Geopolitical developments and the Barents Region • A broad historical overview of the Barents Region • Culture in the Barents Region • Demography and economic development in the Barents Region • An overview of minority issues in the Barents Region • Education in the Barents Region

  19. Entry words selected should be possible to refer to one (or more) of the following thirteen categories: 1. Places (counties, cities, towns, villages, places with special qualities) 2. Persons/individuals (people who made an impact on the Barents Region and its development) 3. History, incl. polar history (overview of old history, focus on post-war history, Svalbard, Arctic explorations, natural resource extraction) 4. Demography (population development, nationalities, ethnic groups, minorities) 5. Languages 6. Culture, education and religion 7. Architecture 8. Politics (incl. Cold War legacy) 9. Economy and economic geography (incl. infrastructure, regional development, econonomic structure, current and future potential economic development, maps) 10. Environment/Ecology 11. Geopolitical situation 12. Legal issues (e.g., regarding natural resource extraction, the sea border between Norway and Russia, fishing rights) 13. Political repression (consequences, remanining legacy)

  20. 5. Work Organization A number of people and “tools” interact in the production of the Barents Encyclopedia. ReferenceGroup Meetings Mailing List Editor Bookpublication Editor’s Web OfficialWebsite WebPublication

  21. Five Stages of Work • Work to produce the Barents Encyclopedia has now started. We have (roughly) until the end of 2011 to finish the work. • One could envisage (at least) five stages in the production process: 1. The first step in the process is to identify a number of entry words (basically words that everyone considers necessary to include in this kind of publication).

  22. Five Stages of Work • Work to produce the Barents Encyclopedia has now started. We have (roughly) until the end of 2011 to finish the work. • One could envisage (at least) five stages in the production process: 2. In a second step the editor (guided by the advice of the reference group) must take the decision to include or discard the various suggested entries. He will also identify and engage (by contract) competent authors to write articles on the selected entries. The process to generate additional entry suggestions will continue.

  23. Five Stages of Work • Work to produce the Barents Encyclopedia has now started. We have (roughly) until the end of 2011 to finish the work. • One could envisage (at least) five stages in the production process: 3. During the third stage of the process, the authors who have agreed to write articles on the selected entries do their work and start to deliver. Authors will also be encouraged to supply (or at least suggest) tables, figures, or photos that they believe could illustrate their articles.

  24. Five Stages of Work • Work to produce the Barents Encyclopedia has now started. We have (roughly) until the end of 2011 to finish the work. • One could envisage (at least) five stages in the production process: 4. In the fourth stage the articles received from the authors will be assessed with respect to their relevance and accuracy by special “readers” engaged for the purpose. Approved articles will then be edited with respect to language and style (readability) by a native English speaking editor. This will be a continuous process through 2010 and 2011.

  25. Five Stages of Work • Work to produce the Barents Encyclopedia has now started. We have (roughly) until the end of 2011 to finish the work. • One could envisage (at least) five stages in the production process: 5. The fifth and final stage of the production process will be to actually put everything together to a printable volume. This work will entail the creation of cross-references between various related entries, the construction of an index, developing an attractive layout for the whole publication, etc.

  26. Finally, two more points… • Web version of the Barents EncyclopediaAccording to current plans the Encyclopedia is aslo going to be published on the Internet (a website). Work to establish this website will start this autumn with a presentation of the whole encyclopedia project and an overview of the production process. The site will then be continuously elaborated so that eventually (by the end of the project) it will actually be an electronic version of the encyclopedia. • Who will publish the Barents Encyclopedia?We have not yet found a publisher for the Barents Encyclopedia. But we have good hopes to find an international publisher that can take care of the printing and distribution of the book. We are right now approaching publishers in the Nordic countries and we believe that the publication issue will be settled in the near future.

  27. Later this afternoon … …we will discuss a number of practical issues related to the production of our encyclopedia, and then …finish the day with a dinner in the Hotel restaurant.

  28. Contact information The Editor: Mats-Olov Olsson Centre for Regional Science (Cerum) SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden Phone: +46 90 7866982 Email: Mats-Olov.Olsson@cerum.umu.se The Editor’s Web: http://bar-enc.didaktekon.se (use password “barents”) http://bar-enc.didaktekon.se/Editor/Start.htm How to contact members of the Reference Group: Address and email information is available at the Editor’s Web.

  29. End of project overview! Umeå University: October view of campus area

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