Opening session

Dear colleagues,

 

Welcome to Lisbon!

Welcome to the 15th edition of ICHLL!

 

Three years ago, the four of us—Ana, Esperança, Rute and I—agreed to propose Lisbon as host for this year’s conference.

We chose the theme ‘Selected Pages of Selected Dictionaries’, and we truly believed we could offer an edition just as successful as the ones that came before.

 

Thank you, Fredric, and thank you to all the members of the ISHLL scientific board for placing in us the same trust we then placed in ourselves.

 

Last year, when we launched the call for papers and invited our three keynote speakers—whom we warmly thank for saying yes right away—we began to wonder if we had been a little too confident.

But the response was overwhelming! That’s why we now have such a rich and stimulating programme.

 

Thank you to all who submitted proposals.

Thank you also to the scientific board of ICHLL15 and to all the generous reviewers for your time, your expertise, and your openness.

And to all of you who managed to travel here—we are truly looking forward to hearing your talks.

 

Then came the moment to make it all happen. And, I’ll be honest, there were times when we wondered if we could really pull it off.

But somehow—we did! And we were fortunate to find many helping hands along the way.

 

First and foremost, we want to thank the Lisbon Academy of Sciences for welcoming us to this beautiful building.

Our special thanks go to the current President, Professor José Francisco Rodrigues, to the previous President, José Luís Cardoso, and to all the staff who helped make ICHLL15 a reality.

 

Over the next three days and a half, we’ll inhabit these historic walls, and we hope they’ll be filled with good conversation, fresh ideas, and lasting memories.

 

We are also deeply grateful to the University of Lisbon, through its Faculty of Arts—my second home for the past 47 years—and to NOVA University of Lisbon, through its Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, for their essential support in organising this event.

 

A warm thank you as well to Turismo de Portugal and to the IILP, Instituto Internacional da Língua Portuguesa — for their important contributions to this conference.

 

And now—it’s time to begin!

 

Today, we’ll start with a short visit to the Academy itself, preceded by Ana’s presentation on the role this institution has played in the history of Portuguese lexicography.

 

Later this afternoon, just before the welcome cocktail—what we traditionally call a Porto de Honra—we’ll hear from Simeon Tsolakidis, who will introduce us to another academic dictionary: the Dictionary of Modern Greek, published by the Academy of Athens nearly 100 years ago.

 

Tomorrow, we’ll begin with Philip Durkin’s keynote, which—using his own stimulating words—will “highlight the vital importance of a healthy culture of historical lexicographical research.”

And after that… the tough part: choosing! We’ll have three parallel sessions running throughout the day.

 

On Thursday, those parallel sessions will fill the programme, until we reach the pitch presentations of the posters.

These posters will be on display throughout the conference in the cloisters, where we’ll also enjoy our coffee breaks and lunches.

 

We hope the extended time for the posters will spark lots of conversation and exchange.

 

That same day will end with a short musical performance in the Salão Nobre, followed by a dinner back in the cloister. We’ll try to recreate a bit of the lively spirit of Lisbon and Porto street festivals, especially those for Santo António and São João.

 

On Friday, our final day—and yes, the hottest one, according to the forecast—we’ll wrap up the parallel sessions and close with Marco Passarotti’s talk, which will take us into the world of historical dictionaries seen through a technological lens.

 

One last note before I close:

 

Very soon, we’ll be opening a call for papers for a new volume in the World Histories of Lexicography and Lexicology series.

The first volume—just published and in my hands now!—features papers from the Lorient edition of ICHLL.

And we hope the next one will include contributions from this very event.

 

When we first began preparing this conference, the world felt like a kinder place.

Today, there are dark clouds over us—wherever we come from.

But these next few days offer us a chance: to pause, to reflect, and to celebrate the work we do together.

 

We invite you to make the most of your time here—with us, and with each other.

 

And please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the four organisers—Ana, Esperança, Rute, and myself—we’ll be wearing green lanyards.

 

You can also count on our wonderful, generous, and tireless team—Leonor Reis, Leonor Martins, Magie Bertolacci, Matilde Canelas, Anna Kernerman, Susana Barão, and Filipa Pedroso—all wearing red lanyards.

They are truly exceptional.

 

Thank you very much. Muito obrigada.