Since 1 May 2019, Cyprus has formally joined the European CLARIN infrastructure. The country is represented by the UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at the Cyprus University of Technology and on 3 December 2019 the kick-off of CLARIN Cyprus took place at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation in Nicosia.
During the kick-off, representatives of Cypriot universities, institutions and research centres were briefed on the European CLARIN-ERIC mission, objectives and how it aims to create an integrated and interoperable research infrastructure for Language Resources and Technologies at the service of researchers of all sciences. The event was followed and addressed by Bente Maegaard from the University of Copenhagen, one of the early founding members of CLARIN ERIC, a well-known ambassador of the infrastructure and formar Vice Executive Director of the Board of Directors. The National Coordinator of Cyprus, Dr. Marinos Ioannides (Director of the Digital Heritage Research Laboratory at the Cyprus University of Technology), highlighted the urgent need for this initiative in the Digital Humanities. This involves the development of networks in the field of digital humanities not only in Cyprus but in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region.
