What is Globalex?

Globalex is an organisation with the aims of fostering and facilitating collaboration between people who are involved, professionally or academically, with the making of dictionaries and other language resources. The initiative was launched at the eLex 2015 conference in England — following earlier calls for Peoplex (by I. Kernerman in 1997) and Pangaealex (by G-M de Schryver in 2008) — and includes representatives from all the existing continental associations of lexicography in Africa (Afrilex), Asia (Asialex), Australasia (Australex), Europe (Euralex), North America (DSNA), as well as South America and the Caribbean (Americalex-S).

Globalex aims to facilitate knowledge sharing and cooperation among its members and with others concerned with language and language technology; promote the creation, research, exchange, dissemination, integration and usage of lexicographical resources and solutions; and enhance interoperability between academia and industry worldwide.

Why Globalex?

Globalex was initiated in recognition of the fact that the challenges which lexicographers face are basically the same all over the world. Through coordination and collaboration between the various associations, and with the help of modern technologies, it is possible to facilitate knowledge sharing and provide access to resources for a much broader audience, to the mutual benefit of everyone with an interest in the field.

The core idea of Globalex is to work on lexicography in global contexts and bring together different segments that operate on their own, on a regional, topical or any other level.

How can Globalex promote knowledge sharing?

We aim to provide easy access to papers and articles from conferences and journals. That is why we have installed the elexiFinder search tool  — developed by the European Lexicography Infrastructure (ELEXIS) project. We recommend the use of video recordings from ongoing and past congresses. And we will promote virtual communication for people who cannot attend a conference personally. These are just some of the motivations that got Globalex started.

Can I join Globalex?

No, Globalex is not an association with its own membership, conferences or journal, but a framework for cooperation among existing associations and conferences. If you support the idea of Globalex, the best you can do is to support the continental lexicography association in your part of the world.