An informational kit for municipalities and social media posts are being used to amplify the message and reach as many citizens as possible, reminding them in a simple yet effective and multilingual manner, in Italian and English, of the risks that make swimming in the Piave River prohibited: the Province of Treviso and President Marco Donadel are relaunching the informational campaign on the swimming ban and the reasons why the river is unsuitable for swimming.
We join the entire community of San Biagio di Callalta in mourning the tragedy that claimed the life of a 30-year-old man in the waters of the Piave, a second tragedy to strike the Province of Treviso within the span of just a few weeks. This month’s intense heat and the arrival of summer are tempting residents to seek relief along the Piave River: a practice that, unfortunately, is not permitted, given the swimming ban already in effect, as stipulated by Legislative Decree 116 of 2008 – states President Donadel. – Swimming in the river is prohibited because, due to its natural configuration, the river environment poses significant dangers: risks that the Province of Treviso highlighted last year through a dedicated campaign on both social media and in print, shared with all municipalities, which summarizes the reasons why entering the waters of the Piave is prohibited, in both Italian and English, precisely so that it could be understood by all citizens, including those who have recently moved to the area.
Among the dangers of the river:
- unexpected currents and rip currents,
- often unknown depths,
- the presence of siphons and submerged obstacles,
- low water temperatures that can cause hypothermia,
- unstable and slippery boulders,
- debris and obstructions on the riverbed,
- quicksand, and, last but not least, issues related to water quality.
We have relaunched the campaign on social media and through the Province of Treviso’s channels, and in just the last two days, the informational reel about the swimming ban has reached 20,000 views, certainly due in part to the community’s heightened awareness of the issue following the tragedy in Fagaré: Naturally, we’re urging municipalities to repost and reshare the informational kit, including all the graphics and videos we made available last year. It’s a simple yet meaningful action that we believe can truly help spread the information even more widely: I’ve seen that many municipalities that had already promoted the Province’s campaign last year are now reposting the content on their own channels, receiving positive feedback from citizens who are, in turn, sharing the campaign themselves – Donadel points out.
It might seem like a trivial action, but it’s not at all: today, the device we all carry with us at all times is the cell phone: the internet and social media are a powerful platform, and by working together to explain, in a simple, multilingual way, that a river is not the ocean and that swimming is prohibited because there are serious risks to life, I believe this is truly an effective strategy for reaching citizens (across all age groups, social media views reach an audience ranging from the very young to those over 65) more effectively than a simple piece of paper that might end up being thrown away. On these issues, constant collaboration between institutions, local authorities, and communities is essential, with the understanding that protecting people’s safety is an absolute priority for everyone – concludes Donadel.
