This project has its roots in the philosophy of another project that began more than 200 years ago when it was first released: The Encyclopedia, the most representative work of the Enlightenment. Its original name was ?L?Encyclopedie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers? and it was published between 1751 and 1772. It contained much of the knowledge of the eighteenth century and represented an enormous effort by the authors to illuminate the steps that Western society should take to move forward. The objectives of this work were: to bring together knowledge from many sources and make it accessible for most people. The situation and resources at that time are far from our current time. Present tools and facilities would simplify the job and effort needed to create the majestic work of Encyclopedia today.

This proposal takes and updates the goals and principles of the original Encyclopedia, so that they may serve as the cornerstone of a big digital health literacy (DHL) project, hence the name: HEALTHPEDIA. Our intention is not to collect all knowledge in one place (the Internet does that already); instead, we aim to teach people how to obtain relevant information and apply it to their own health circumstances. It was hard work in the eighteenth century and now too, while we do not face the exact same challenges, the challenge of making information accessible and motivating remains timeless and is even more critical today in an age of information overload.