The first training and accompaniment cycle of the SOCLAM Project - ‘Dental, cultural and linguistic support to migrants in the first reception centres’ - ended with certificates being awarded to mediators. 

The initiative saw the involvement of local associations and organisations offering a significant contribution to the migrant community in the area, and was led by UniTS and implemented under the scientific responsibility of Federico Berton (DSM) in collaboration with Caterina Falbo (IUSLIT) and Roberta Altin (DiSU).

Funded by the University's Centre for Research on Migration and Development Cooperation, the project provided specific training for interpreters in the most common languages among migrants crossing the Balkan route, focusing on dental and intercultural skills.

Thirteen mediators received comprehensive training that led to the creation of a dental glossary in 14 languages, including Dari, Pashto, Farsi, Turkish, Russian, Bulgarian, English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Greek, Kyrgyz, Albanian and Bengali. In addition, a multilingual blog with useful instructions and accompanying support services was created at the Caritas dental clinic in Via dell'Istria, where the relationship dynamics between doctor and patient in an intercultural context were also analysed.

Thanks to the project, fundamental information was also disseminated to facilitate access to dental care provided by the University Hospital of Trieste in the Clinic of Maxillofacial Surgery and Odontostomatology of the local health services (ASUGI).

The success of SOCLAM has opened up new prospects, including the training of further operators and the development of research on intercultural communication in healthcare. Among the next objectives is the development of an app for smartphones, designed to offer multilingual information in a quick and accessible way.