Gorizia, 27 February 2026

Work has begun on the ResilienCE project, co-financed by the European Union under the Interreg Central Europe Programme, with the aim of transforming small social economy enterprises into drivers of change in the so‑called double transition – ecological and digital – in the peripheral areas of Central Europe.

During the two-day event on 25 and 26 February, representatives from Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland arrived in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Informest chose Venzone as an example of resilience.

The 18‑month project is led by Informest, once again acting as the lead partner of an international consortium composed of organisations from Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Its ambitious goal is to engage and connect social economy enterprises in rural and mountain areas across five regions of Central Europe, providing them with suitable tools to enhance their innovation and sustainability capacities.

Thanks to a total budget of €668,500, ResilienCE will strengthen the skills of social economy enterprises through a mentoring programme, the organisation of resilience workshops, and the publication of a transnational call for 25 enterprises, aimed at improving their ability to respond to the ongoing ecological and digital transition and become drivers of change at the local level.

In Friuli Venezia Giulia, local communities and social enterprises in the mountain areas of Carnia will be involved. As stated by Informest President Davide Lepori during the launch event, “Our goal is to help build a resilient and long‑lasting ecosystem capable of generating long-term prosperity. For us, resilience means the ability to adapt to change, but also to transform it into opportunity. It means placing communities at the centre, valuing local resources, and building strong networks beyond national borders.”

The launch event, held in Udine at the headquarters of Legacoop, an associated project partner, featured a delegation from the Interreg Central Europe Programme, which supported and guided the collective work of the partners, including Informest: the Hungarian economic development agency MGFÜ, the Slovenian Centre for Space Technologies Herman Potočnik Noordung, the Slovak Business Agency (SBA), and OWOP – the Polish Support Centre for NGOs.

On the second day, EuroVèrtice and Gal Escartons also took part. They lead two other EU-funded projects – ResilientES and LeaderCE – which are working in other European countries with objectives aligned with those of the ResilienCE partnership.

The two-day event concluded with a visit to Venzone, a symbol of resilience in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The visit clearly highlighted the strength of the local community, which, when listened to and supported by institutions, is able to demonstrate the importance of a “bottom-up approach: we want solutions to emerge from listening to real needs and enhancing the skills already present in our territories,” as President Lepori stressed.