by InTrieste
The regional government of Friuli Venezia Giulia has approved a three-year funding package aimed at expanding news and information programming in the Friulian language, a move officials say is designed to strengthen linguistic heritage and broaden access to public information.
The measure, adopted unanimously by the Regional Council through an amendment to the 2026–2028 budget law, allocates €1.2 million to support radio and television broadcasters—both public and private—that produce news programs in Friulian. The funding will be administered through Arlef, the Regional Agency for the Friulian Language, which will sign agreements with participating media outlets.
Announcing the decision at a news conference in Udine on Tuesday, Pierpaolo Roberti, the regional councillor for local autonomy and minority languages, described the initiative as a step toward safeguarding the region’s cultural distinctiveness. “Bringing Friulian-language information into people’s homes is a concrete way to defend our roots and the specific identity of Friuli Venezia Giulia,” he said.
Friulian is recognized by Italian law as a protected minority language and is spoken, according to regional estimates, by roughly half of the population of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Despite this, its presence in mainstream media has historically been limited.
Under the new measure, the funds will support the production of television newscasts and radio news programs in Friulian, expanding existing offerings and encouraging new ones. The amendment received cross-party backing, with support from both governing and opposition councillors, a point emphasized repeatedly during the presentation.
Mr. Roberti framed the initiative as part of a broader strategy rather than a standalone intervention. He said the region has developed its first comprehensive language policy plan, with “concrete and measurable objectives” to promote the use of Friulian in public life. That plan, he added, will be presented in the coming weeks before being reviewed by the advisory commission and the Regional Council.
“Claiming the right to public information in Friulian is legitimate,” Mr. Roberti said. “There is a national law that recognizes this language, which is deeply rooted in our territory.”
Regional officials linked the new funding to a series of initiatives undertaken in recent years to raise the visibility of Friulian. These include the creation of the Teatro Stabile Friulano, the inclusion of Friulian-language programming in the regional broadcasting agreement with Italy’s public broadcaster, Rai, and the organization of cultural events such as a festival dedicated to minority languages and the Europeada, an international festival celebrating linguistic minorities.
Together, Mr. Roberti said, these efforts underscore how Friuli Venezia Giulia differs from other Italian regions, not only administratively but also linguistically.
Arlef has played a central role in these policies. The agency has organized Friulian-language training courses specifically for journalists, an effort intended to improve the quality and consistency of media content in the language. According to Mr. Roberti, the agency itself has recently been strengthened through increased funding, greater autonomy and the assignment of a permanent headquarters.
In the most recent regional budget, Arlef received an additional €397,000, a move the councillor said was aimed explicitly at further promoting the everyday use of Friulian.
Another pillar of the region’s language policy is the Assembly of the Friulian Linguistic Community, which brings together Friulian-speaking municipalities, including those located in neighboring Veneto. Friuli Venezia Giulia has signed an agreement with those municipalities to promote the use of Friulian in public offices, an arrangement that regional officials say they intend to stabilize and expand, in part through Arlef’s involvement.
Tuesday’s news conference was attended by several of the regional councillors who sponsored the amendment, as well as Mauro Bordin, the president of the Regional Council, and Eros Cisilino, the president of Arlef.
While the initiative focuses on media, regional officials stressed that it reflects a wider political commitment to minority languages. In a region that is also home to Slovenian- and German-speaking communities, language policy has long been intertwined with questions of identity, autonomy and cultural preservation.
The new funding package, supporters argue, represents a further step in integrating Friulian into public life—not as a symbolic gesture, but as a living language used to report the news of the day.
