Camilla Venturini, PhD student studying a joint programme in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture at the University of Trieste and University of Udine, has received one of the 'Best paper under 40' awards. The award is in recognition of her contribution 'Towards a laboratory of territorial ecologies: the Trieste Karst', and was awarded during the XXVI Conference of the Italian Society of City Planners SIU which has just ended in Naples.

Camilla Venturini is currently doing a thesis in Urban Planning on 'FOODSCAPING. Rethinking territories through their food systems', tutored by Prof. Sara Basso of UniTS and Prof. Alessandra Marin of UniFE. It aims to identify how urban planning tools can contribute to regenerating local territories starting from food spaces, enhancing their identifying characteristics and mediating conflicts. The thesis examines Friuli Venezia Giulia as a context, focusing on case studies such as the city of Trieste.

In the year of UniTS Centenary, the Art relationship project continues the university’s commitment to enhancing its artistic heritage and creating a closer bond with the Friuli Venezia Giulia territory. The project is organised by the University of Trieste in collaboration with the University Museum Services (SmaTS) and the Cultural Heritage of Friuli Venezia Giulia (ERPAC).

Following the success of the artist in residency programme Shine Bright Like a Diamond in 2023, which involved the Departments of the University of Trieste in an unprecedented collaboration between lecturers, artists and students, Art Relations focuses on the relationship between important artists and the University and the city of Trieste.

The project kicks off on 18th June with exhibitions of internationally renowned artists Serse Roma and Manuela Sedmach and will continue in the coming months with Antonio Sofianopulo and Elisa Vladilo.

The six graphite drawings that make up ‘Serse. The ambiguities of representation’ will be exhibited in the right and left wings of the central building of the University of Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1.

“The form is that of still life, of the object arrested in its natural process. The figure, on the other hand, is linked to the dynamic continuity of the living being. In Serses' work, all things, even an isolated object in the most stable of configurations, are brought to life by this dynamic continuity. And it is thanks to the technique he has adopted and defended over all these years; drawing,” said art critic Alessandro Del Puppo.

The exhibition ‘Manuela Sedmach. Al di sotto della sostanza cromatica, nell'intercapedine della pittura' (Underneath the substance of colour, inside painting’s cavity wall) will instead be on display at the UniTS Department of Humanities in Via del Lazzaretto Vecchio where some twenty of the painter's works will be on display.

“It was no accident, but rather a purposeful choice by Sedmach to distribute her works in the Library of the Archive of Writers and Regional Culture of the University of Trieste in order to relate them to a cultural heritage intimately perceived and experienced over the years. Alongside the development of shelves that preserve and protect the ‘written memories’, making them available to the 'gesture' of consultation, the 'pictorial-narration' offers itself to a visual reading characterised by development within the same space, sustained by a 'stabilised wind' that intersects the top and the bottom, from the centre to the borders of the canvas, now reinforcing itself on the left with a mass moving to the right, now stabilising in a depression, and then extending horizontally, revealing itself only to a careful gaze,' stresses art critic Andrea Del Guercio.

Serse Roma

Born in San Polo di Piave on 14 November 1952, Serse has lived and worked in Trieste since 1980.

Serse Roma focuses exclusively on graphite drawing on paper. Over the years, the artist, an adopted Triestine, has produced a considerable series of images that have earned him inclusion in the volume Vitamin D, New Perspectives in Drawing, published by Phaidon Press, London (2006), and a chapter in Lorand Hegyi's new essay ‘Drawing in the Age of Uncertainty’, Silvana editions (2021), as well as participation in major international exhibitions like Pastels du 16°au 21°siecle at the Fondation de L'Hermitage in Lausanne.  His work is characterised by a consistency and recognisability that make it unique in today's national panorama. In Serse’s case, drawing is not a merely a classical tool for sketching out the invisible scaffolding of a painting, nor does he use it, like many contemporary artists, as a precarious and fragile visual note. In Serses Rome, the work in its absolute completeness is due to drawing alone. Drawing represents 'no more than this'. It is an instrument subjected to a vertiginous analysis that probes its full potential. From Serse Roma's graphite has sprung one of the most intense re-readings of landscape in contemporary art: Seas, Cloud Skies, High Mountains, Snowy Woods, Reeds, Reflections of Water. In other words, the non-human, sublime dimension of Earth in its elementary condition of first and ultimate things. Almost as if it were possible to probe, through the concrete materiality of graphite, the mineral soul of the earth, whose transformations occur on a time scale other to our anthropological one. In recent years, Serse Roma has delved even deeper into what could be included, or at least brought back, to the graphite that has marked his career. The reference to the minerality of graphite is captured in his astonishing series Diamonds, whose perfect and unalterable form recalls the crystallographic origins of the primary forms of geometry and building. We thus return to Serses' reflection on his instrument, graphite, a material that by its very nature recalls the minerality (graphite and diamond are allotropic forms of carbon) behind a not-only-human geometry of the constructed.

Manuela Sedmach

Born in Trieste in 1953, she began exhibiting in the 1970s after attending the "E. Nordio" State Institute of Art in Trieste with teachers such as Ladislao de Gauss, Maria Campitelli, and Enzo Cogno. But her most heartfelt activity began in the 1980s with Officina in Trieste, Avida Dollars in Milan, Rasponi in Ravenna, Fuxia Art in Verona, Emporium in Ivrea and Arte3 in Trieste. In 1991, she was part of the Art exposition in Chicago where she featured in an exhibition of 5 Italian artists at Navy Pier. She also received the important Pollok - Krasner Foundation Grant, New York. In the 1990s, more precisely in 1992, she began her relationship with Galleria Continua, which was at that time based in a small but precious space near the Cathedral of San Gimignano.

Manuela’s relationship with Galleria Continua continues to this day with exhibitions, international fairs and exhibition relationships with other galleries such as Van Laere in Antwerp, Schroeder in Cologne, Dina Carola in Naples, G7 in Bologna, Jaqueline Arets in Knokke in Belgium. In 2003, a beautiful underwater installation 'Occhi bianchi' (White eyes) in the Ponterosso canal followed a personal exhibition at the Revoltella Museum in Trieste in Palazzo Gopcevich, kindling an important relationship with Galleria Torbandena in Trieste.

In 2009, she exhibited at Le Moulin-Boissy le Chatel (Paris) and 2005/2010 Beijing 798 Art Zone (both extensions of the Continua gallery), studio G7 in Bologna, 3G Artecontemporanea in Udine, Plurima and GAMUD – also in Udine. Her series ‘Passare al Bosco’ (A Walk in the Woods)  inspired by ‘The Rebel's Treaty’ by Ernst Junger, was developed from 2015-2017 in Tellaro (SP), in the oratory Santa Maria Telaà, in Galleria Continua, in ARCA-ITIS in Trieste, and Colonos in Villacaccia di Lestizza, before it arrived at its current title ‘Dubito ergo Cogito’,(I doubt therefore I think)  inspired by a docufilm by Werner Herzog in which he finds the characters that accompany him in his work: slowness, fatigue, doubt and many more. In 2020, she moved to Portugal in Braga where she continued her activity with an important collaboration with the Nuno Centeno gallery in Porto. The meeting with two particular artists Pedro Vaz and Filipe Cortez was especially important. In 2023 she put on the exhibition ‘Nunca pare de ver – N'arrête jamais de voir’ (Never stop seeing) with Galleria Continua. In recent years, Manuela Sedmach has brought the Portuguese atmosphere into her work.

On 15th June 2024 the voluntary organisation IRC, whose purpose is health and social assistance in times of peace and conflict, celebrates 160 years since its foundation.

Founded in Milan, the IRC is placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic and is part of the International Red Cross Movement.

Its history is intertwined with that of Italy: in the good times, during major events, in the disasters that have affected our country but also, and above all, with the individual local realities.

Millions of volunteers, aid workers and operators have worked to alleviate the suffering of those in vulnerable situations: from battlefields to assisting refugees and exiles, to disseminating hygiene and health education standards, to initiatives in schools.

The Trieste IRC Committee, with its highly specialised personnel, has always been working alongside the population in responding to social, health and civil protection needs.

The University of Trieste confirms its markedly international and professional vocation and its attractiveness for students: the most dynamic and attractive university in the region, the University of Trieste guarantees its graduates a better salary and an employment performance above the national average, ensuring an excellent post-graduate transition.

This is the picture that emerges from the Almalaurea 2024 report, which examined about 300,000 graduates from 78 universities in 2023.

In detail, as regards work and salaries, the University of Trieste guarantees employment for more than 91.1% of master’s graduates (+1.1% compared to 2023) after five years of graduation (88.2% national figure) and 81.3% after one year (Italian average 75.7%).

77.2% of bachelor’s graduates find work twelve months after their degree, compared to 74.1% of the national average and 79% of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Finally, the University of Trieste ensures a salary higher than the local and Italian average with € 1,437 for bachelor’s graduates and, for master’s graduates, € 1,513 after one year and € 1,826 after five.

41.5% of university graduates come from outside the region, compared to the regional average of 34.1% and the national average of 24.8%, with an excellent 4.5% coming from abroad (regional average 3.6%). Particular mention should be made of the number of foreign bachelor’s students: with its 3.9%, the University of Trieste exceeds the Italian average (3.2%).

More than 12.2% of bachelor’s graduates (+2.2% compared to 2023) undertake study experiences abroad, compared to 9.3% of FVG and 7.3% of the Italian average. Moreover, the total number of graduates who took a mobility period abroad recognised by their degree course also confirms the internationalisation of the academic experience promoted by UniTS: with an average of 11.9% (the previous year it stood at 9.5%) the University of Trieste is more than two percentage points higher than the national average (9.8%).

 The knowledge and skills acquired in Trieste and abroad result in an excellent rating for the effectiveness of the qualification, particularly in terms of its applicability within the relevant sector: more than 66% of bachelor’s graduates define their qualifications as ‘effective’, compared with the FVG average of 62% and 61.7% in Italy. This trend is also confirmed by master’s graduates, reaching more than 73% after one year of their degree (national average 69.5%; regional 71.7%).

In addition to its international vocation, UniTS confirms the markedly professional nature of its degree courses: in particular, 76.6% (an increase of 2.2% compared to 2023) of two-year master’s graduates (63.6% national; 70.5% regional) and almost 60.2% of integrated master’s graduates (national 58%; 59.3%) have, in fact, been able to benefit from a wide range of curricular internships offered to students by the university.

As for the relationship with the teaching staff, study workload, available facilities: more than 87.7% of students are satisfied with their overall university experience in Trieste. 

Opening tomorrow in Zuglio (Udine) Luci Celesti Radici Terrestri + Stelutis Alpinis, FVG's first astronomy-themed science festival, which will continue until 19th October 2024. The scientific contribution will be made by the Physics Department of the University of Trieste and the INAF-Trieste Astronomical Observatory, while the artistic direction is by the Amalgama Collective. Among the organisers is the Municipality of Arta Terme.

The initiative, created to investigate the relationship of human beings with the starry sky, which spans from the myths of antiquity to the most recent discoveries, will propose lectures, astronomical observations, installations, performances and workshops combining scientific and cultural aspects and local history. The next four months will also feature the theatrical and musical performances of the Amalgama Collective and a series of activities involving local associations. The programme includes meetings with UniTS lecturers, visits to historical and natural sites, immersive experiences with virtual reality visors, orienteering activities with the stars, art installations and performances. Participants will also be involved in an experiential teaching workshop organised by the Amalgama Collective, starting with Gianni Rodari's work ‘Via Lattea Quaraquarinci’, which will lead them to create stories and nursery rhymes. The works will then be collected together with drawings and thoughts of the children to form the Almanac of the New Poetic Astrophysics School. A rich and varied programme of free events will offer multiple approaches to the astronomical theme.

The University of Trieste, with the Department of Physics, is the lead partner in the project ‘Stelutis Alpinis. Let's discover the Cosmos from the Mountains of Carnia’, financed by the University through the Public and Social Commitment - Third Mission call, a new initiative of the University created to support with ad hoc funding projects that have an impact and a relationship with the community, in this case the regional one. The initiative complements Luci Celesti/Radici Terrestri, a festival funded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region in which the University participates as a partner and which has Alexandro Saro as its scientific director.

For more information

Programme:

Saturday 8th June, 21:00, Zuglio, Polse di Côugnes 

‘Is there life in the galaxy?’ lecture by Prof. Giovanni Vladilo. Followed by astronomical observation.

Sunday 9th June, 21:00, Rivalpo 

‘Close Encounters with the Second Kind’ performance with artistic incursions, by the Amalgama Collective, Daniele D'Agaro and Marzio Tomada. The evening is held at Rivalpo, which celebrates the traditional Festa della Madonna on the morning of the same day.

Tuesday 25th June, 21:00, Valle, Social Centre 

‘Three walks in the woods of stars’ lecture by Fabrizio Fiore, director INAF Trieste, artistic interventions by the Amalgama Collective.

Wednesday 26 June, 17:00, Zuglio

Municipal Archaeological Museum guided tour of the museum and the Roman forum.

Thursday 27th June to Saturday 29th June

Rivalpo, Zuglio Archaeological Museum, 14:00: opening of the festival's art installations.

Friday 28th June, 17:30, Zuglio 

Archaeological Museum guided tour of the museum and the Roman forum.

Thursday 29th June

17:30. Rivalpo ‘Close Encounters with the Second Kind’ performance with artistic incursions by the Amalgama Collective.

21:00. Zuglio, Polse di Côugnes Astronomical observation at the observatory.

Saturday 13 July, 11:00, Rivalpo 

'Food and wine walk' at the fair. Visit to exhibitor stands and tastings.

Saturday 10 August, 21:00, Zuglio, Polse di Côugnes 

‘Star Maps Carved on a Protohistoric Stone: The First Astronomer?’ lecture by Prof. Paolo Molaro. Followed by astronomical observation.

Saturday 14 September, 21:00, Zuglio, Polse di Côugnes

‘The variable sky: Exploring the frontiers of contemporary astrophysics’ lecture by Prof. Francesco Longo. Followed by astronomical observation.

Saturday 19 October, 21:00, Zuglio, Polse di Côugnes

‘Journey to the dark side of the universe: from Einstein to Euclid’ lecture by Prof. Stefano Borgani, UniTS. Followed by astronomical observation

From Monday 14th to Friday 18th October: educational week for pupils and teachers of the schools of the Istituto Comprensivo Linussio - Matiz

The book ‘Prehistoric Caves of Friuli Venezia Giulia’ maps, describes and places in a precise but explanatory scientific context the caverns from which artefacts and animal remains exhibited in the museums of our territory originate.

Readers of the free downloadable publication, will also find some easily accessible itineraries for total immersion in one of the most fascinating and mysterious treasures of our natural heritage.

The book is the final act of a collaboration between the Central Directorate for Environmental Protection, Energy and Sustainable Development, the Geological Service and the Interdepartmental Centre for Science and Technology Applied to Cultural Heritage SCICC of UniTS for the implementation of the Regional Cave Database (CSR) with data on caves of archaeological interest related to the CRIGA (Computerised Annotated Database of Archaeological Caves) project, developed in the past for the Karst caves by UniTS. In the realisation of the project and the drafting of the publication, coordinated by UniTS, it was essential to collaborate with the Scientific and Archaeological Museums of Trieste and Udine, the Speleological Groups and Associations, as well as scholars from different scientific fields, who made it possible to extend the database to the entire region.

In animals, as in humans, each individual has its own personality. The personality of small mammals – i.e. the boldness, curiosity and aggressiveness of an individual – influences all stages of seed dispersal. This has been shown by numerous studies conducted by Alessio Mortelliti, Associate Professor of Ecology at the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste and former Associate Professor in Wildlife Habitat Conservation at the University of Maine.

The relationship between rodents and plants is ambivalent. In some circumstances mice are antagonistic as they prey on acorns, in other circumstances both mice and trees benefit and then the relationship is termed mutualistic. Past studies have shown that certain individuals, the more daring or curious ones, are more likely to disperse seeds, meaning that these individuals are particularly important for the functioning of an ecosystem. Understanding which characteristics are crucial to ecosystems and how to conserve them is of primary importance for the adaptation of species to global changes. 

The aim of the research project is to study this relationship between the individual personality of small mammals and seed dispersal. The project is entitled ‘Predicting the range-shifts of woody plant species by incorporating the critical role of small mammal scatter-hoarders’ and is financed by a PRIN (Research Projects of National Interest) – NRRP. Research is currently underway in the Alba Valley, but will be conducted for the first time in Europe by the research group from the University of Trieste, under the leadership of Professor Alessio Mortelliti and in collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome and the Julian Pre-Alps Park.

The hypothesis is grounded on numerous studies that Professor Alessio Mortelliti's research group has conducted over the past decade in Maine (USA). In particular, the researchers have discovered that courageous individuals are those who travel greater distances with their seeds and hide them in optimal sites for germination. Within a species and an ecosystem, therefore, some individuals are particularly important for seed dispersal and, consequently, also for a plant's adaptation to climate change. It is these individuals, in fact, that will allow plants such as oaks and beeches to adapt to climate change by migrating in latitude and altitude.

The researchers will conduct two field experiments, also helped by scholars from the University of Maine, who are visiting Italy in early June. In the first phase they will measure the personality of rodents and expose them to new seeds. The chosen seeds belong to a woody species not yet present in the ecosystems under investigation, but which may arrive in the future precisely as a response to climate change. The hypothesis is that the boldest individuals will be the ones to interact the most with these new, unfamiliar seeds. By tracking the seeds with a fluorescent powder and measuring germination rates, the researchers will associate each individual rodent with the final arrival point of the seeds. In addition to assessing whether certain personality traits increase the likelihood of dispersal, the researchers will also identify seed traits (e.g. mass, shape) that increase the likelihood of seeds being preyed upon or dispersed. Finally, by conducting a series of simulations, they will evaluate the potential effects of personality on the composition of forest communities and the adaptability of species to global changes.

The project will also lead to the creation of a guide on how to exploit the role of rodents to improve assisted migration, (i.e. the human-assisted movement of plants to more climatically suitable habitats) and a checklist of traits and plant species with a high probability of successful expansion.

Alessio Mortelliti has cultivated 20 years' experience in studying the ecology and behaviour of mammals and how this knowledge can facilitate their conservation. In the past, he has carried out numerous field projects in Italy, Austria, the United States, Indonesia, Kenya, Tunisia and Mauritania.

Yesterday, Thomas Parisini, Full Professor of Automation at the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Trieste, was dubbed a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere al Merito della Repubblica Italiana).

The honour was awarded to the UniTS professor on 2 June in Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia, during the official ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The insignia was presented by the Prefect of Trieste Pietro Signoriello and UniTS Rector Roberto Di Lenarda.

The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (OMRI), established in 1951, is the highest of the orders of the Italian Republic and is intended to ‘reward merits acquired on behalf of the Nation in the field of literature, the arts, economics and in the performance of public service and activities carried out for social, philanthropic and humanitarian purposes, as well as for long and distinguished civil or military service’.

This prestigious civil award sits alongside a number of other awards that have characterised Thomas Parisini's academic career, which began at the University of Genoa, where he graduated with honours in Electronic Engineering (1988) and a PhD in Electronic and Computer Engineering (1993).

He subsequently became Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Milano and is currently Full Professor of Automation at the University of Trieste, a position affiliated with the Danieli Group. He is also holds positions as the Chair of Industrial Control, and as the Head of the Control and Power Group at Imperial College London (UK).

Parisini was also Deputy Rector for Business Relations at the University of Trieste from 2009 to 2013.

In 2018, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Aalborg University (Denmark).

Some of the main positions held by Parisini include President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Society in 2021-2022 and Chairman of the Editorial Board (Editor in Chief) of the international journal IEEE Trans. on Control Systems Technology.

He has also received several scientific awards such as IEEE Fellow, IFAC Fellow, the 2007 IEEE Distinguished Member Award, the IFAC Best Application Paper Prize from the Journal of Process Control, Elsevier, and the 2004 Outstanding Paper Award from the IEEE Trans. on Neural Networks.

The University of Trieste is opening enrolment for the next academic year fromMonday 3rd June: students can find all the information on the UniTS website https://portale.units.it/en/study/courses-and-programmes. 

A wide-ranging and multidisciplinary course catalogue will be made available to all future students, including 43 bachelor’s and integrated master’s degrees, as well as 37 master's degrees in the three main areas of technology and science, life and health sciences, social sciences and humanities.

NEW COURSES

The University of Trieste's educational offerings are extremely dynamic, with 8 new degree courses having been activated in the last three years. 

The first level course in Dietetics (awaiting official accreditation) will be new for the 2024/25 academic year, and will be running at the Pordenone Campus. 

The course qualifies students as dieticians, a profession which aims to promote proper nutrition in the various stages of life and in both preventive and clinical settings, including catering, research and teaching. There are 30 places available and the student must pass the National Health Professions Test. 

The University of Trieste is organising a free preparation course on 17th and 18th July for the admission tests to healthcare courses (Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics and Healthcare Professions). Prospective students can enrol so long as places are available (460 places in total) by filling in the form on this page no later than 15th July 2024: https://portale.units.it/en/studiare/orientarsi/preparazione-test-area-medico-sanitaria. 

On 1st July, the Master's degree courses in Engineering for the Energy Transition and in European Policies for digital, ecological and social transitions will be officially introduced, two absolute firsts respectively at international and national level.

NO TAX AREA RAISED TO 30,000 EURO, SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE AND MERIT-BASED GRANTS

For the academic year 2024-2025, UniTS has further increased the no-tax area (accessible to all students with an Equivalent Financial Situation Index – ISEE – specific for universities up to € 30,000), and has maintained its comprehensive system of total and partial exemptions, fee reductions and merit-based grants.

The total tax and fee exemption for the winners of ARDIS scholarships (Regional Agency for the Right to University Education) remains in force. In recent years these scholarships have been awarded to 100% of eligible candidates.

Merit-based grants have also been confirmed, which account for half of the total contributions for partial exemptions and fee reductions. This reflects both the excellent results achieved by UniTS students and the University's commitment to rewarding deserving pupils.

TOP EMPLOYMENT RATE AMONG GRADUATES

The employment rate of UniTS bachelor’s graduates twelve months after graduation was 81.6%, compared to the national average of 75.4% and 80.2% in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Finally, 90% of master's graduates are employed five years after graduation (88.7% national figure) and 83% one year after graduation, surpassing the Italian average of 77.1%.

This is the clearest picture emerging from the Almalaurea 2023 report. 

GUIDED TOURS OF THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS AND ORIENTATION TALKS

During the summer, the Unit for Prospective Student Support and School Liaison are organising guided tours of the Campus in Piazzale Europa by course tutors. Booking is compulsory at https://portale.units.it/en/studiare/orientarsi/vieni-a-conoscerci.

Students can also meet UniTS guidance professionals and student tutors in person at their front office, open Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 12:30 and, additionally, on Mondays from 15:00 to 17:00. They are also available remotely in a virtual classroom on the days and times indicated in the compulsory booking form, available at https://www.units.it/aula-virtuale.

Lastly, two free sessions of Summer Training Modules (Moduli Formativi Estivi) have been scheduled (in July and September). This is the orientation initiative dedicated to third- and fourth-year high-school students who want to get to knowthe University of Trieste better and learn more about their favourite topics, test their interests and get a taste of the university world. All information on programmes and timetables can be found at https://www.units.it/moduli-formativi. Enrolment is still open!

Brochure on UniTs course catalogue

For more information please contact the Unit for Prospective Student Support and School Liaison, tel. +39 040 3473787, mail: orientamento@units.it

Inclusive and accessible tourism to meet the needs of people with disabilities and elderly people with limitations due to age and health problems: this is the aim of the new project ‘DATIS: Digital Frontiers for Inclusive Tourism’, involving the Department of Political and Social Sciences (DiSPeS) at UniTS.

The kick-off meeting of the two-year project, financed with over one million euros from the Italy-Slovenia Interreg Programme 2021-2027, was held on 28th May in Ljubljana, at the Beletrina publishing house.

The actions planned aim to improve digital accessibility and social inclusion in tourism in the cross-border region through an innovative, multidisciplinary and participatory approach, including the definition of guidelines and shared strategies.

Other matters planned include organising training workshops for tour operators, setting up a web portal on the accessibility of tourist services and implementing two pilot actions at the museums of San Michele sul Carso and the industrial heritage of Aidussina to test innovative solutions for users with different types of disabilities.

The project is led by Beletrina, a leading Slovenian organisation in the field of publishing and digital innovation, and sees as partners, in addition to DiSPeS, the regional agency PromoTurismoFVG, the consortium of social cooperatives Il Mosaico, the Tourist board of Nova Gorica and the Vipava Valley, and the Union of the Blind and Partially Blind of Slovenia. They are joined by the Municipality of Sagrado and Aidussina.

The DiSPeS, under the scientific direction of Prof. Moreno Zago, professor of Tourism Analysis and Planning and of Cross-border Relations and Local Development, will contribute to the administration of quantitative and qualitative questionnaires on travel experiences, the identification of best practices, and the analysis of the potential of the tourism sector.

He will also be responsible for the development of guidelines and a multilingual handbook on digital accessibility for tourist and institutional operators and for communication and dissemination activities of the results.

The project aims to reach a wide catchment area and to raise awareness among institutions and operators on the importance of digital accessibility and social inclusion.