With a budget of 120,000 euros, courtesy of the European Social Fund, the project succeeded in bringing back 27 people, reported Postimees.

"Considering that coming back is not easy, this result is good and should encourage the more people to come back,“ the project's Artur Elme said at the closing reception. "We have learned that people are willing to come back to Estonia with the presumption that they have a good salary and challenging job.“

Elme said 743 people have posted their resumes on the project's website, which was the main platform for reaching out to the foreign Estonian community. He said the website has gets around 100 visitors per day.

Speaking at the closing reception on Thursday, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who has promoted the initiative, expressed regrets over the negative light that was cast on the project and noted that even the prime minister had called it a failed campaign, reported Postimees.

Furthermore, he said, a negative attitude in society has discouraged people of Estonian origin from returning to their roots.

"Why should anyone come back if there is a dominant negative attitude toward those coming from elsewhere?“ said Ilves, who was born in Sweden and raised in the US.

He continued: "I have personally felt this negativity in Estonia [...] My son has also experienced this attitude. He has not been saved by the fact that he speaks Estonian, has graduated from Stanford University and served in the Estonian military. This mocking attitude that second-generation emigrant Estonians experience when they come here, even if they speak Estonian, is scary.“