The importance of linguistic data for the development of language technologies and tools based on artificial intelligence is discussed by experts from Bulgarian technology companies, public administration and academia at a seminar held today at “Prof. Marin Drinov” Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The European Language Data Space and the Institute for Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences are the organisers of the event in Bulgaria.
“In the context of increasing globalization and depersonalization of national languages, I believe that the Bulgarian language, as one of the symbols of our national identity, will find its worthy place in the digital future of the European language data space,” Assoc. Prof. Mario Ivanov, who is the Scientific Secretary in the “Cultural and Historical Heritage and National Identity” division said in his welcome speech on behalf of the leadership of BAS. He expressed confidence that the seminar would not only provoke discussions but would also become an occasion for exchange of ideas and a stimulus for establishing successful partnerships.
The first seminar to present the European Language Data Space is taking place today in Sofia and in every European country, the director of the Institute for Bulgarian Language of BAS said at the opening. The theme is not only topical but also highly significant for the future of digital transformation not only in our country but also in the whole European Union, she stressed. Prof. Svetla Koeva specified that for Bulgaria that was an opportunity and a challenge – to unite the efforts of the scientific community, the public sector and the industry in the collection, creation, processing, dissemination and reuse of quality language resources that reflect the richness and specificity of the Bulgarian language.
On behalf of the European Commission, Mr Dhafer Lahbib from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology gave a welcome speech about the Digital Europe programme and the Common European Language Data Space. On the Bulgarian side, Mr Radoslav Petkov, Chairman of the Council for Innovation, Digitalisation and New Technologies at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, gave a welcome speech.
The “European Language Data Space” platform for collecting, creating, sharing and reusing multilingual and multimodal data will be presented during the seminar. Participants are discussing various topics related to language data and language technologies in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language as well as the difficulties and challenges in creating, managing and disseminating language data.
More information about the European Language Data Space project and the workshop in Bulgaria
