The Walk of Peace Foundation has been unfolding the story of the Walk of Peace for many years together with the Soča Valley Development Centre, ZRC SAZU Institute, PromoTurismoFVG, GECT/EZTS GO and other partners from Slovenia, Italy and other countries. The aim of this initiative is to preserve the heritage and memory of World War I. Moreover, through research, education, creativity and promotion, the partners wish to bring together former battlefields around a common European idea, contribute to the restoration of once-destroyed places, and bring people together. The idea of merging individual local historical paths, which emerged during World War I centennial commemoration (2014–2018), grew into a successful Slovene-Italian initiative with the support of various EU Interreg programmes and is now spreading to other European countries.
Research, preservation and presentation of the heritage of the Isonzo Front, and the creation of the cross-border trail Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic, began in 2005 within the framework of the Phare and subsequently Interreg Italy–Slovenia programmes. In 2020, the strategic cross-border project WALKofPEACE (2018–2022) was selected as the best Interreg project from among 140 submissions, as part of the 30th anniversary of the Interreg programmes.
With the NETWORLD project (2017–2019), implemented under the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme, the partnership expanded from a cross-border to an international level. Among other achievements, the project identified around 200 World War I monuments in Central and South-Eastern Europe that are suitable for further integration into sustainable development initiatives and into a European network. The Walk of Peace was also one of the key themes of the European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica–Gorizia 2025.
In the EU financial perspective for 2021–2027, the Walk of Peace+ capitalisation project and the Beyond Walk of Peace (BeWoP) standard project are being implemented under the Interreg Italy–Slovenia programme, alongside the GOV4PeaCE project as part of the Interreg Central Europe programme. These three projects, implemented between 2023 and 2027, build on and capitalise on the results and experience of previous projects, creating synergies and thereby generating greater impact.
One of the objectives shared by all three projects is to improve heritage management at all levels, establish sustainable solutions for the further development of the cross border Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic, and create new cooperation structures for the development of a transnational network.
Among other achievements, we have developed an online map of World War I heritage in Europe, featuring descriptions of tangible heritage sites and the routes connecting them. To support better governance, the exchange of knowledge and experience, and the development of new projects and partnerships, we have also developed a range of digital tools and platforms.
More about the GOV4PeaCE project >>
