(ANSA) - TRIESTE, MAY 23 - "The pilot program for Italian-German bilingual classes will begin in September in Paluzza, Sappada, and Sauris/Zahre," Friuli Venezia Giulia's Education Councilor, Alessia Rosolen, announced. "The pilot program will last eight years and will begin in preschool and primary schools, gradually extending to middle schools.", she added. With the favorable opinion of the Higher Council of Public Education, the preparatory process for launching Italian-German bilingual schools in Friuli Venezia Giulia has been concluded. The project will begin in the Michele Gortani school in Comeglians, the Val Tagliamento school in Ampezzo, and the Jacopo Linussio-Angelo Matiz school in Paluzza. "This is a previously unseen result," Rosolen stated, "which marks a fundamental step forward in protecting the German-speaking minority. This further implements the Region's Special Statute, which is rooted in the protection of minority languages." The CSPI, Rosolen explained, "appreciated the Region's efforts to protect and strengthen the German-speaking minority language and emphasized the importance of a dedicated German teaching staff, which can be achieved by focusing on the specific training of preschool and primary school teachers. For this reason, we have launched a working group with the Universities of Udine and Trieste to train future teachers with German teaching skills." To ensure the launch of the program as early as next school year, the councilor confirmed that "the Region has established fruitful collaborations with the German Superintendence of Bolzano and the Education Directorate of Styria (Austria) to provide native-speaking experts, recent graduates or undergraduates, who will support classroom teachers in the vehicular use of German integrated into the curriculum. Furthermore, a meeting is planned shortly with the Klagenfurt University of Teacher Education, which has expressed great interest in this project." (ANSA).