Health emergencies, resource shortage, social vulnerabilities: challenges know no boundaries. Representatives from the worlds of volunteering, associations, fire services, civil protection and institutions came together to react to environmental and climate challenges of the modern age. Many voices, one common goal: to make our territories resilient.  

On September 10th, the final workshop of the CONNECT project (Cooperative networks for cross-border engagement, climate adaptation and territorial resilience) - funded by the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) and Mission Opérationelle Transfrontalière (MOT) as part of the Resilient Borders Cross-Border Spatial Planning & Crisis Management programme - took place. The aim of the project is to strengthen the territorial resilience of the cross-border area.  

Thanks to the valuable collaboration of stakeholders from the cross-border area as well as other territories, the previous workshops provided an opportunity to gather stimulating ideas and insights, which were analysed and edited by ISIG – the Institute of International Sociology of Gorizia. The final workshop began in the morning with a presentation of the results obtained from the previous meetings, which showed that the most sensitive areas requiring intervention concern the response to health and environmental emergencies, the management of natural resources and social vulnerabilities.  

Once again, participants were actively involved. The ISIG team invited those attending to reflect on specific objectives to be achieved, divided into the five dimensions around which territorial resilience develops: environment, economy, governance, infrastructure and society. Each dimension represented a topic to be discussed, on which participants had the opportunity to express their point of view and share suggestions.  

The afternoon session was held in working groups to facilitate discussion and encourage active participation by those who were present. This session was dedicated to discussing concrete interventions and sharing project ideas to be financed, possibly, with funds from various sources. It was a moment of fundamental importance, reiterating that this latest workshop was not a point of arrival, but rather a solid starting point for establishing new collaborations and encouraging the creation of new projects, to be extended beyond the borders of the cross-border area. The workshop was attended by representatives from various local areas and sectors, both public and voluntary, as well as representatives of institutions, including the Mayor of the Municipality of Sagrado (GO). 

The decision to hold the last workshop in a less formal and more welcoming space, namely the Borgo Gradisc'iutta facilities, was dictated precisely by the desire to encourage the establishment of new links between the parties involved, thereby sowing the seeds for future collaborations.