PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE OCCASIONS OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PRESERVATION OF THE MEMORY AND HERITAGE OF THE ISONZO FRONT AND THE SELECTION OF THE WALK OF PEACE IDEA AMONG THE BEST 6 INTERREG PROJECT STORIES

Thirty years ago, a group of locals and experts from Kobarid began to preserve systematically the memory of the events, victims and heritage of the First World War in the Soča Valley region.

In October 1990, the Kobarid Museum of the First World War was inaugurated, and has developed since then into the central presentation collection of the Isonzo Front. Its successful and recognizable work led to the establishment of the Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation; since 2000 this institution has been in charge of the immovable heritage of the Isonzo Front outdoors which has been entered on the UNESCO Tentative List since 2016. The Foundation develops the cross-border Walk of Peace and through EU projects successfully spreads the values of peace and cooperation in Slovenia and Italy as well as other European countries.

In recent years, two EU projects have been important in which the Foundation has joined forces with the Posoški razvojni center (The Soča Valley Development Centre) in the leading of the Walk of Peace idea: the NETWORLD transnational project which was implemented within the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme, and the WALKofPEACE which is implemented within the programme Interreg V-A Italy-Slovenia. As part of the two projects, study-research and educational activities are carried out, the First World War heritage is restored and cultural tourism is developed under the Walk of Peace brand.

At a conducted press conference, organized as part of the LAS project “Doživetja v Dolini Soče” in Kobarid on August 6, 2020, the directors of the two institutions, Martin Šolar, MA, and Maša Klavora, presented the activities and main events celebrating the joint jubilee. The PromoTurism FVG representative Nicola Revelant, a guest at the press conference, emphasized the importance of the cross-border cooperation in the valorisation and promotion of the First World War heritage and the significance of the Walk of Peace. Special attention was paid to providing information that the project WALKofPEACE was selected from 150 registered projects among the six best Interreg project stories. For the first time, a promotional film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN7evq1A4PU  was released, made by the Foundation jointly with the Posoški razvojni center, which highlights the mission and vision of the Walk of Peace. Until the end of September, it is possible to vote for this film via the Facebook profile of the Interact Programme https://www.facebook.com/InteractEU, and the six ideas will all be presented in Brussels in mid-October, when the winner will be announced.