EGTC GO organised an Infoday on the SANITAS project in Piedimonte (Gorizia) on Wednesday, 16 September. SANITAS is an initiative co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 Programme. The project is led by the Municipality of Ajdovščina and brings together EGTC GO, ASUGI, the Nova Gorica Community Health Centre (Zdravstveni dom Nova Gorica), and the Nova Gorica Fire Brigade as project partners.

The event presented the project's progress to local residents and, above all, highlighted some of the collaborations that have emerged thanks to the cross-border network established by the partners. Alongside its more institutional activities, the project has also fostered initiatives that have generated tangible benefits for the area and for local communities on both sides of the border.

The meeting opened with institutional greetings from the Municipality of Gorizia, represented by Silvana Romano, Councillor for Social Policies, Family, Disability, Welfare and Health Services, and by Romina Kocina, Director of EGTC GO. They were followed by presentations on the project's developments by Tanja Dimitrijević from the Municipality of Ajdovščina (via video link) and Ezio Benedetti from EGTC GO.

Petra Kokoravec, Director of Zdravstveni dom Nova Gorica, and Dr Elisa Bogatec, Head of Training and Professional Development at ASUGI, presented the first cross-border BLSD (Basic Life Support and Defibrillation) course for Italian and Slovenian citizens, which will be launched shortly. The course is the result of cooperation between the training departments of the two organisations and the Podgora Cultural Association.

This initiative is a direct outcome of the collaboration developed within SANITAS. It provides citizens with essential first-aid and defibrillator-use skills, helping to strengthen a culture of prevention and safety throughout the cross-border area.

The course forms part of a broader skills development pathway promoted by SANITAS. Earlier this year, Italian and Slovenian language courses were organised for healthcare and emergency service professionals operating in the cross-border area, with the aim of improving operational communication among professionals required to work together in emergency situations.

The training initiative attracted a high level of participation from healthcare personnel and firefighters, involving almost 50 participants overall. The BLSD course extends the same spirit of cooperation to the wider community, broadening the benefits of the project beyond the professional sphere.

Workshops organised during the summer with healthcare professionals, public authorities, civil protection services and other local stakeholders highlighted the need to strengthen coordination between services in the two countries, improve information exchange and consolidate shared operational tools for emergency management.

The recommendations collected through these activities provide an important foundation for drafting the future protocol, one of SANITAS’s key expected outputs, and confirm the partners’ commitment to developing solutions that address the real needs of the cross-border area.

During the event, a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was also officially inaugurated at the Podgora Cultural Association, thanks to the support of ZKB Trieste and Gorizia Cooperative Credit Bank.

The SANITAS project is promoting more effective cooperation between Italy and Slovenia in the fields of primary healthcare and emergency response, with particular attention to the challenges posed by climate change and natural disasters. Through training activities, new equipment, joint exercises and the development of shared tools, the project is helping to build a more integrated cross-border system capable of responding effectively to the needs of local communities.