Project
CrossTerm – Crossborder standardization of institutional terminology is a project co-financed by the Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia programme. The lead partner of the project is the Slovenian Research Institute – SLORI. The main aim of the project is to improve the quality of multilingual public services in the area where Slovenian, Italian and Friulian are intertwined on a daily basis. The project focuses on the harmonisation of legal and administrative terminology, as inconsistent terminology often makes communication between institutions difficult and causes ambiguities in official procedures.
Interreg
Partners
Associated partners
Diplomatic Representations
Consolato Generale d'Italia a Capodistria
Generalni konzulat Republike Slovenije v Trstu
Cross-Border and Public Institutions
GECT GO / EZTS GO
Partenariato transfrontaliero EURADRIA tra Italia e Slovenia, capofilato dalla RA FVG – Direzione Centrale Lavoro, Formazione, Istruzione e Famiglia
Zavod Republike Slovenije za zaposlovanje, Območna služba Koper
Universities and Higher Education Institutions
Università degli Studi di Trieste
Univerza na Primorskem – Università del Litorale
Univerza v Novi Gorici
Municipalities in Friuli Venezia Giulia
Comune di Codroipo
Comune di Doberdò del Lago – Občina Doberdob
Comune di Duino Aurisina – Občina Devin Nabrežina
Comune di Gemona del Friuli
Comune di Monrupino – Občina Repentabor
Comune di San Dorligo della Valle – Občina Dolina
Comune di San Floriano del Collio – Občina Števerjan
Comune di Savogna d'Isonzo – Občina Sovodnje ob Soči
Comune di Sgonico – Občina Zgonik
Comune di Udine – Comun di Udin
Slovenian Coastal Municipalities
Mestna občina Koper – Comune città di Capodistria
Občina Ankaran – Comune di Ancarano
Občina Izola – Comune di Isola
Občina Piran – Comune di Pirano
Activities
The CrossTerm project began in June 2024 with an introductory meeting attended by all project partners and participating institutions. It was followed by a public and expert-facing launch event, where the lead partner highlighted how clear, harmonised terminology can improve the day-to-day functioning of cross-border public administration
In the second half of 2024, activities under WP1 focused on understanding the concrete needs of public administration. Through focus group meetings, partners gathered the experiences of public employees and identified the most common terminological difficulties in multilingual work. The were presented at a joint conference in Koper and published in a dedicated volume.
Building on these results, cross-border working groups (WP2) were established. In the first half of 2025, they focused on standardising terminology in several thematic areas labour law, urban and spatial (territorial) planning, and academic degrees and professional qualifications. During the meetings, participants compared terms across languages, verified their use in legislation and official documents, and worked towards clear usable translations. The outcome is the gradual development of multilingual glossaries to support cross-border cooperation across public administrations, alongside a shared model and practical guidelines for more effective terminological standardisation.
Two working groups focused on toponymy, the promotion of minority languages and multilingual practices. In parallel, another working group developed the online platform and the terminology consultation tool (WP3).
Currently (January-February 2026), we are running workshops for the technical services of public administration and the wider public. The final conference is scheduled for late March or early April 2026, when the project’s strategic document will be presented (WP4).