Eliisa had been a journalist for over ten years when she earned a grant offered by the DEAR project I Am European, and started developing articles and podcasts on the conditions of foreign workers in Estonia.

With the resources she needed to support her investigative work, Eliisa confirmed that employers were frequently violating migrant working rights. And the situation was worse than she thought. Data showed that a case of workforce abuse was found every three days. Despite this, employers were often immune to police investigation due to unfit legislation.

Eliisa’s work showcased the mistreatment of migrants in the workplace, and employers’ immunity. This and other stories fostered public debate and increased media coverage on migration and diversity issues, with nuanced and evidence-based reporting.

Her investigative work caught the attention of Estonia’s Minister of the Interior, who took the case to heart and proposed changing migrant labour rights legislation to empower police and courts to investigate and prosecute employers more swiftly.

The law was changed a few months after Eliisa’s story and podcast were published. The Estonian Association of Media Outlets awarded her “Best Podcast” in 2021. Eliisa continues to report on human rights and workforce mistreatment.
In the same vein, more than 1 000 young journalists and social-media influencers engaged through national and international trainings and study trips providing knowledge and first-hand experience of migration.

Supported by the project, they created content and news on the topic, committing to a fairer and more balanced representation of migrants. Articles and posts reached 8 million+ people.