Supporting collaboration in multilingual ontology specification: the conceptME approach Manuel Silva 1,2 , António Lucas Soares 2 , Rute Costa 3 , 1 ISCAP-IPP - Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim, s/n, 4465-004 S. Mamede de Infesta mdasilva@iscap.ipp.pt 2 INESC Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n 4200, Porto-Portugal als@fe.up.pt 3 CLUNL - Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida de Berna 26-C 1069 - 61 Lisboa; rutecosta@fcsh.unl.pt Abstract. Despite the availability of tools, resources and techniques aimed at the construction of ontological artifacts, developing a shared conceptualization of a given reality still raises questions about the principles and methods that support the initial phases of conceptualization. These questions become more complex when the conceptualization occurs in a multilingual setting. To tackle these issues a collaborative platform – conceptME - was developed where ter- minological and knowledge representation processes support domain experts throughout a conceptualization framework, allowing the inclusion of multilin- gual data to promote knowledge sharing and enhance conceptualization. Keywords: Multilingual ontology specification, Localization, Terminology, Collaborative networks, Knowledge Representation. 1 Introduction The development of the diverse scientific and technical fields has its origin in the evolution and dynamics of knowledge and results from the constant interaction be- tween individuals pursuing common objectives, knowledge that cannot be separated from its context, experience, culture and language. This interaction, especially in mul- tinational and multicultural organizations, is increasingly taking place in collaborative and cooperative environments available online. In these environments, language, as the means of human communication, and ter- minology, as a nuclear element for the specification and dissemination of specialized knowledge, assume an increasingly important mediation role in the communication taking place between the various interlocutors and in man-machine communication, emerging as the key link for the discovery and creation of knowledge and its effective conceptualization, representation, transmission and reuse. To meet the increasing demands of the complex intra and inter-organizational pro- cesses, there was a growth in quality in the processes of interaction and sharing of resources inside organizations, on the one hand, through the implementation of inno- 27 brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Repositório Científico do Instituto Politécnico do Porto