Cross-border Expert Working Group for Joint Pilot Activities in Terminology Standardisation in the Field of Urban and Spatial Planning
On Wednesday, 2 April 2025, as part of Activity 2.4 of the CrossTerm – Crossborder Standardisation of Institutional Terminology project, co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Italy–Slovenia Programme, a series of terminology meetings began. These were organised by the Central Office for the Slovenian Language of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and brought together the cross-border expert working group for joint pilot activities in terminology standardisation in the fields of urban planning, construction, spatial planning, and public investment.
The first of five online meetings was well attended by representatives of the project partners, as well as by representatives of the associated partners. The meeting, prepared and moderated by Tanja Sternad, a translator at the Central Office, featured valuable contributions from external experts from both the Italian and Slovenian contexts. These included architect Marko Korošic, Chief Inspector at the Inspectorate for Natural Resources and Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia; independent architect Aleš Plesničar from Trieste; legal translation expert, court interpreter and Associate Professor at the University of Primorska, Alenka Kocbek; and surveyor Urban Hrvatin from the Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia. Their experience was instrumental in identifying more accurate and appropriate solutions for the translation of selected terms.
The input of representatives from bilingual municipalities in both Italy and Slovenia was also highly valuable to the discussion, as they regularly face challenges in translating and harmonising sector-specific terminology in their daily work. The debate proved to be extremely engaging and productive: of the 50 selected terms, around 10 already received appropriate translations, and the group also standardised at least 10 additional terms not originally on the list.
The upcoming meetings of the working group on urban planning will take place on 9 and 17 April, and 7 and 14 May 2025.
