en
Slovenščina
ItalianoTelevision beyond Cold War Blocks: the role of TV Koper-Capodistria in overcoming Upper Adriatic Border divisions
HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-02 – 101180568
Duration: 1. 1. 2025 – 31.12.2026
Participating Institute at ZRS Koper: Institute for Historical studies
TransborderTV seeks to deconstruct the history of the Cold War in Europe by conducting an in-depth qualitative analysis of the activities and transnational impact of TV Koper-Capodistria (TVKC). This Yugoslav television channel, broadcasting in the Italian language, was established in 1971 with the initial aim of addressing the cultural and informational needs of the Italian national minority living in Yugoslavia. However, it soon evolved beyond its original purpose and became a crucial instrument for cross-border communication between socialist Yugoslavia and Western Europe—particularly Italy.
TVKC was the first broadcaster to offer Italian audiences color television programs, well before the major Italian networks. Its innovative and varied programming drew considerable attention, and its weekly schedule was regularly featured in the national Italian press. As such, TVKC played a unique and often underestimated role in shaping the cultural landscape across the Yugoslav–Italian border during the Cold War.
The scientific work of the project »Television beyond Cold War Blocks: the role of TV Koper-Capodistria in overcoming Upper Adriatic Border divisions« (101180568) is funded by the European Union.
Principal Investigator:
Research activities:
The primary goal of the TransborderTV project is to reconstruct the intentions and strategies pursued by the personnel behind TVKC’s operations throughout the different historical phases of the channel’s existence—from its foundation in the early 1970s, through the transformations of the 1980s, and into the period surrounding Slovenian independence in the early 1990s. This reconstruction will rely on a combination of available archival documentation and oral history interviews with individuals who were directly involved in the channel’s operations.
In addition to this central aim, the project will pursue a series of complementary research objectives, including:
- Reconstructing any lobbying activities carried out by Yugoslav diplomatic staff towards Italian authorities, using archival material available primarily in Rome. This will help assess the extent to which TVKC was integrated into broader strategies of Yugoslav foreign policy and cultural diplomacy.
- Analyzing the roles played by national minorities, specifically the Slovene minority in Italy and the Italian minority in Yugoslavia, in shaping and mediating cross-border media production and consumption. Relevant archival material, especially in Trieste and Rovinj, will be key to exploring these dynamics.
- Assessing the impact of TVKC broadcasts on Italian audiences, with a focus on selected geographical areas. This will be carried out through the organization of targeted focus groups, designed to explore audience memories, interpretations, and the socio-cultural significance of the channel’s content.
To address these objectives, the project will adopt a flexible and interdisciplinary methodological framework, combining tools from historical research—such as archival analysis and oral history—with approaches and techniques drawn from the social sciences, including qualitative fieldwork and media studies.
Finally, TransborderTV will be distinguished by a sophisticated and inclusive dissemination strategy, aimed at reaching both scholarly and general audiences. Academic dissemination will be ensured through the participation of the principal investigator in international conferences and the publication of findings in peer-reviewed venues. At the same time, a public-facing exhibition will be designed and curated to make the project’s insights accessible and engaging for a broader audience, including those living in the border regions most directly affected by the themes explored.