On May 13, 2025, the event “Programmazione Europea e Giovani: Il Ruolo del Friuli Venezia Giulia”, dedicated to highlighting the role of Friuli Venezia Giulia region in the context of cohesion policy and European territorial cooperation, was held at the University of Trieste.

The event was organized by the Interreg Volunteer Youth reporter for the Interreg VI-A Italy-Austria Programme, Massimiliano Dosmo, in collaboration with the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Trieste.
The objective of this CEA was to inform the youth of the territory about what Cohesion Policy is, and how it is applied in the regional territory of Friuli Venezia Giulia along with the volunteering, internships and working opportunities, showcasing the different activities and opportunities offered to young people both by European and Regional institutions. Accordingly, “Programmazione Europea e Giovani: il Ruolo del Friuli Venezia Giulia” speakers were mostly young professionals currently or previously involved in this initiatives or that are already perusing their professional career in the realm of European Territorial Cooperation programmes or projects.

Indeed, the agenda of the event was structured to firstly speak in detail about what Cohesion policy is, along with an explanation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Consequently, the audience was actively engaged in debating about the future of Cohesion Policy and the Consultation Post-27, underlining the fundamental role of young people in providing ideas to develop the future of Interreg programs.

The second part of the event was dedicated to Interreg programs and to showcase the participation and involvement of Friuli Venezia Giulia, both as an institution and as a territory, in the European Cross-border, Transnational and Interregional cooperation.

Specifically, both young officers and IVY Reporters presented in more detail the Interreg Italy-Austria Programme and the Interreg Italy-Slovenia Programme, showing the concrete opportunities offered thanks to the project financed from these program that the citizen’s benefit daily and maybe are not aware of. In support of this and also to show what this project are about, also the two European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation operating in the region GECT “Euregio Senza Confini” and GECTGO, but also making their young interns speak about their personal experience and how they are involved in European project making.

Finally, the students were shown the concrete opportunities offered by the IVY initiative, the Youth4Cooperation network and also by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region in the context of European Territorial Cooperation and Interreg programs.

The event was an important opportunity for networking and in-depth exploration: a chance for many students to discover or to deepen their existing knowledge on Cohesion Policy and European Territorial Cooperation. The success of the day highlighted the importance—and the responsibility—of promoting European territorial cooperation as a tool for regional development and for supporting the actors who contribute to making it a reality every day.