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This volume features papers from the 13th International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management (EKAW 2002), held in Sigüenza, Spain, from October 1-4, 2002. The conference invited submissions on Knowledge Acquisition, Knowledge Management, Ontologies, and the Semantic Web, receiving a total of 110 papers. Each submission underwent evaluation by at least two reviewers, leading to the acceptance of 20 long and 14 short papers, with an acceptance rate of approximately 30%. Additionally, there is one invited paper from a keynote speaker. The collection includes 8 papers on Knowledge Acquisition, 4 on Knowledge Management, 16 on Ontologies, and 6 on the Semantic Web. This event marked the second instance of EKAW being organized as a conference, reflecting its growing significance in the scientific community, as evidenced by the substantial number of submissions compared to previous workshops. EKAW's focus on Knowledge Technologies positions it as a vital platform for sharing insights and experiences among key players in the Knowledge Economy, emphasizing the ongoing importance of such conferences in fostering collaboration and innovation in the field.

Ontologies provide a common vocabulary of an area and define, with different levels of formality, the meaning of the terms and the relationships between them. Ontological engineering refers to the set of activities concerning the ontology development process, the ontology life cycle, the methods and methodologies for building ontologies, and the tool suites and languages that support them. During the last decade, increasing attention has been focused on ontologies. Ontologies are now widely used in knowledge engineering, artificial intelligence and computer science; in applications related to areas such as knowledge management, natural language processing, e-commerce, intelligent information integration, bio-informatics, education; and in new emerging fields like the semantic web. The book presents the major issues of ontological engineering and describes the most outstanding ontologies currently available. It covers the practical aspects of selecting and applying methodologies, languages, and tools for building ontologies. Ontological Engineering will be of great value to students and researchers, and to developers who want to integrate ontologies in their information systems.

This volume features papers from the 2nd European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC 2005), held in Heraklion, Crete, from May 29 to June 1, 2005. The Semantic Web aims to enhance the current Web by utilizing machine-processable metadata. By explicitly representing data semantics and incorporating domain theories (ontologies), it aspires to create a web that offers a new level of service, interconnecting a vast network of human knowledge with machine processability. Automated services will assist users in achieving their goals by providing information in a machine-understandable format, potentially leading to highly knowledgeable systems with specialized reasoning capabilities. Various technologies and methodologies from artificial intelligence, human language technology, machine learning, databases, software engineering, and information systems are being developed to support this vision. The conference showcased the latest research and applications in Semantic Web technologies, with a notable increase in participation compared to the first edition. Out of 148 submissions, 48 papers were accepted for publication and presentation, reflecting a 32% acceptance rate. Contributions came from both Europe and other continents, highlighting the global interest in this field.