The DFG-project "From 1914-1918 online to Open Encyclopedia System" was carried out by four partners, each of which has a different focus and area of expertise, from March 2016 to June 2020.

Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS)

The Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS) is the centre of excellence for e-learning, e-research, e-publishing and multimedia at Freie Universität Berlin. CeDiS is the key supplier of integrated support services relating to digital media and technology in education and academic research at Freie Universität Berlin and is well-engaged in the field of Open Access publications (Open Journal Systems, Open Monograph Press). With its wide range of experiences in the field of digital humanities (e.g. 1914-1918-online, Visual History Archive, Forced Labor 1939-1945, Digital Edition "Hannah Arendt"), CeDiS possesses profund know-how on research concerning the didactical approaches to encyclopedia, as well as offering expertise in developments of novel navigation schemes and in their implementation.

Besides co-coordinating OES (2016-2020), CeDiS was in charge of the conceptual planning and development of the system architecture "Open Encyclopedia System" regarding the structure of the online platform, the technological support for the various authoring and reviewing processes, and the operation of the platforms.

Friedrich-Meinecke Institute (FMI)

The part of the project that was based at the Division of Modern History at the Friedrich Meinecke Institute (FMI) of Freie Universität Berlin and led by Oliver Janz was responsible for conceptualizing the development and enhancement of “1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War”. The Divison of Modern History is a center of excellence for the history of the First World War and a hub for Digital History boasting numerous projects such as CENDARI or Making War, Mapping Europe: Militarized Cultural Encounters, 1792-1920.

As the first use case for the “Open Encyclopedia System”, the Open Access encyclopedia, “1914-1918-online” is expanded and enhanced with additional functionalities. The core areas of this expansion include the updating of electronic publications and the explorative development of functionalities for user participation. The editorial and publication platform of “1914-1918-online” will be migrated to the “Open Encyclopedia System”.

Center for Modern Greece (CeMoG)

The Center for Modern Greece (Centrum Modernes Griechenland/CeMoG) at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) supports interdisciplinary co-operation between Germany and Greece in research and teaching. Its activities focus on bridge-building within the context of the European integration process and include the intensification of Greek-German scientific and cultural exchange through the creation of networks of scholars and cultural actors. Its main focal points are the formation of interdisciplinary working groups which carry out international research projects, the development and deepening of Modern Greek Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin as well as the promotion and publication of Greek literature and Greek culture related books in German. The CeMoG is established at the Department of Philosophy and Humanities of the Freie Universität Berlin and could not operate without the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

The editorial environment and the publishing platform of the Online Compendium on German-Greek Entanglements (ComDeG) were designed and implemented with the “Open Encyclopedia System”.

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB)

The Bavarian State Library (BSB) is in charge of indexing the articles and assigning non-ambiguous personal identifiers via the “Gemeinsame Normdatei” (Common Authority File, GND) for the project “1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War”. This standardized indexing allows for the increased visibility of the encyclopedia´s contents by search engines. Furthermore, the indexing enables users to directly follow links to further information on the topics, people and locations mentioned in the articles. Through indexing, links are created to comprehensive library collections that contain sources and literature on a certain topic. Links to other web resources increase the visibility of the encyclopedia. In addition to subject indexing, the Bavarian State Library is also responsible for the long-term archiving and preservation of “1914-1918-online”. In the course of the DFG-project the Bavarian State Library was also involved in information enrichment of bibliographic entries.