New Episode of the Central Baltic Stories Podcast 🎙

The Central Baltic Stories podcast explores cross-border cooperation, innovation, and community-building in the Central Baltic region. Hosted by Viola Mickos, the national Contact Point for Finland, each episode features inspiring stories, interviews, and insights from project partners, experts, and change-makers.

In the second episode of the series, Tinka Ullbro (Research Coordinator, Arcada) and Sofia Gylfe (Researcher, Arcada) share their experiences and insights from working on the EASWork project. This Central Baltic small project aims to improve equal access and support in the workforce for migrants and international workers.

One of our tasks is to just make companies aware of what they could be doing better. A lot of companies have really good anti-discrimination policies, but somehow they tend to be just a piece of paper in a drawer. So we want to bring that up and make it more concrete, visible, and viable,” says Ullbro.

The EASWork project commenced in October 2023 and has since conducted 60 in-depth interviews with international workers living in Finland and Estonia. The next step, after analyzing the interview results, will be to establish contacts and initiate collaboration with companies. The response from the companies contacted so far has been very positive; they are eager to improve and recognize the need for better practices.

Finding external companies to collaborate with can be challenging, but internal collaboration within the project is equally crucial. Teamwork has been a key factor in the smooth collaboration within EASWork. Ullbro and Gylfe highlight that working with a smaller team can be one of the greatest benefits of a small project. Finding the right partners who will contribute and establish a well-functioning team across several organizations is essential.

The application process for small projects is smooth. You get help very easily. You have a contact person that you know by name. They know you. So that’s been really good for us during the whole process. And also with the team you’re working with. You get to know each other really well. Just pick up the phone and call if there’s anything. You really work as a team.

To hear more about EASWork and their journey, listen below or tune in on Spotify or Apple Podcasts for the full episode.

Would you like to share your or your project’s story in the podcast?

Please contact Viola at viola.mickos@uudenmaanliitto.fi. Episodes are recorded in Finnish, English and Swedish.