Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Finland - Estonia - Latvia - Sweden (Central Baltic)

Date of latest update: 2023-11-11

Description

Description (EN):

Different statistics show that in 2014 up to 65 000 Estonians were living in Finland, a vast majority of them being work-related migrants. This type of migration from Estonia to Finland has grown rapidly in the last 5-10 years, causing a variety of social problems (especially among families where one or both parents have moved) that haven’t been properly addressed in either of the countries. According to studies these issues include social exclusion, broken families, depression etc., which in turn cause unhealthy and broken communities. This is the challenge we want to tackle. The general objective of the REGI project is to support Estonian migrant families that for work-related reasons are either divided between Estonia and Finland or that have moved to Finland. As families are cornerstones of communities we expect to build stronger and healthier communities and societies both in Finland and in Estonia. The project takes a “hands-on” approach in addressing these issues and preventing problems relating to it. Social problems will be resolved and prevented by developing supportive group activities and social networks for Estonian migrants and families in both countries and training professionals to understand the circumstances in both countries and noticing challenges the families are facing. The common challenge of divided families is viewed from perspectives of both countries and thus handled as a whole. The project’s emphasis lies heavily on preventative and community-based work. Cross-border cooperation is vital for successful execution of the project since the families of migrant workers are divided between two countries and they have to be addressed across borders. In order to get comprehensive understanding on the challenges and enhance wellbeing of Estonian migrant workers in Finland and support their families we need to involve both countries in the developmental work.

Achievements (EN):

REGI Support for Estonian families living in Finland: Work-based migration from Estonia to Finland has been growing in the last decade. As a result family members might be separated by the distance and suffer because of that. Project REGI was implemented to support Estonian families affected by this issue. The project approached this challenge by developing ad hoc solutions such as information events for Estonians, peer support group activities as well as events for families and their children. Professionals dealing with migration-related issues — social workers and health care workers — as well as students, were also instructed on the matter. They received information about the kind of challenges Estonian workers in Finland and their family members may face, whether in the new homeland or at home and what kinds of information they need to experience a smoother transition in case they decide to move to a new home country, in this case, Finland. The project also produced short videos aimed at describing the supportive group method used by the project as well as a book aimed at improving Estonian children's perception of their new life situation. Altogether 566 Estonians both in Finland (Turku region) and Estonia (Rakvere region), 189 professionals working with them as well as volunteers, were involved in these activities.

Website: http://centralbaltic.eu/

Expected Results (EN): R4.1. Communities with improvements

Expected Outputs (EN):

Main results of the REGI project are:1. improved wellbeing of Estonian people working in Finland and their families in both countries as a basis of creating stronger communities around them; 2. new and universal methods reaching and supporting target families in both countries;3. more competent support network of professionals (i.e. social workers, doctors, school personnel) with increased knowledge and understanding on the situation and needs of Estonian workers and their families both in Finland and in Estonia; 4. deeper and more comprehensive cultural and social consciousness in both countries to promote positive attitudinal change on work-migration in broader context; 5. established active and fruitful cooperation between target groups, relevant NGOs, public institutions and educational institutes promoting wellbeing and integration of Estonian families in both countries; 6. publication targeted for children and families about life of Estonian people in Finland. REGI’s emphasis is on families which by nature are the cornerstones of communities. Successful implementation and execution of project activities will improve the wellbeing of families and their members on grassroot-level, thus inevitably improving wellbeing and wholesomeness on community-level as well. Wellbeing of migrant families has direct benefits for neighborhoods since the trust and community support are increased, and for employers since their employees are more productive. Group activity and training methods developed in the project will be tested and carried out in practice already during the project and will be in full use when the project ends. The number of communities with improvements will still rise when the piloted methods and practices are disseminated and adopted throughout Estonia and Finland. While concrete in practice, the methods developed will be universal and transferable on the general level and can be used in training respective professionals.

Thematic information

Demographic change and immigration Social inclusion and equal opportunities

Specific Objective: More people benefiting from stronger Central Baltic communities

Thematic Objective: (10) investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning by developing education and training infrastructure

Investment Priority: (10 ETC) ETC specific, for cross-border cooperation: investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning by developing and implementing joint education, vocational training and training schemes

Partners (4)

Lead Partner: Turun ammattikorkeakoulu Oy

Department: Faculty of Health and Well-being

Address: Joukahaisenkatu 3, 20520 Turku, Finland

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.turkuamk.fi

Total budget: EUR 117 717.87

ERDF budget: EUR 88 288.40

Itämeren alueen Terveet Kaupungit ry

Name: Itämeren alueen Terveet Kaupungit ry

Department: WHO Collaboration Centre for Healthy Cities and Urban Health in the Baltic region

Address: Vanha Suurtori 7, 20500 Turku, Finland

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.marebalticum.org

Total budget: EUR 15 054.35

ERDF budget: EUR 11 290.76

Varsinais-Suomen Viro-keskus ry

Name: Varsinais-Suomen Viro-keskus ry

Department: -

Address: Vanha Suurtori 3, 20500 Turku, Finland

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.viro-keskus.fi

Total budget: EUR 63 696.50

ERDF budget: EUR 47 772.38

Tallinna Ülikooli Rakvere College

Name: Tallinna Ülikooli Rakvere College

Department: -

Address: Pikk 40, 44307 Rakvere, Estonia

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.tlu.ee/rakvere

Total budget: EUR 55 780.86

ERDF budget: EUR 47 413.73

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Baltic Region Healthy Cities Association

Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Partners and Projects info

Estonian Center of Southwest Finland

Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Partners and Projects info

Tallinn University Rakvere College

Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Partners and Projects info

Turku University of Applied Sciences

Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Project acronym: REGI

Project start date: 2015-09-01

Project end date: 2017-08-31

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 252 249.58

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 194 765.27

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 194 765.27.

Documents

Documents on this project are listed below, and organised by category. Please note field "Data source", attached to each document. Keep.eu users are free to use these documents as long as they mention the data source and keep.eu.

Books

Children's book in Estonian and English

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Book

Data source: http://database.centralbaltic.eu/results

Publication date: 2020-01-27

Document date: 2017-08-31

Languages: et, en

Attachment file: Download

Children's book in Estonian and Finnish

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Book

Data source: http://database.centralbaltic.eu/results

Publication date: 2020-01-27

Document date: 2017-08-31

Languages: et, fi

Attachment file: Download

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Finland - Estonia - Latvia - Sweden (Central Baltic)

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2023-11-11

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

137 / 137 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

663 / 663 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (http://centralbaltic.eu/), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-11-08, 2023-01-12 and 2024-03-08.

The financial data featured in keep.eu for this programme, it's projects and its partners is not exact and should be taken as a reference only.

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Reacting to Growing Immigration - Strengthening social inclusion of Estonian migrant families in Finland and Estonia

Description

Thematic information

Partners (4)

Partners map

Summary

Documents

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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