Statefree: From then to now.
Statefree began with an idea and a small group of friends who wanted to counter the invisibility of statelessness. It started with a forum. A place where stateless people could connect, network, and realize they weren't alone.
Today, Statefree has grown. The community organizes events and campaigns, working together for a statelessness determination procedure in Germany. Our work ranges from community outreach and visibility to research and political engagement. Our goal remains the same: belonging and equality for stateless people in Germany.
The team
Christiana Bukalo
Christiana is a social change maker and founder of Statefree e.V. As a stateless person herself, she launched Statefree to create visibility, community, and belonging for and with stateless people.
Charlotte Sievers
Charlotte is a board member at Statefree and one of its founding members. Together with Christiana, in Statefree's early days, she was responsible for setting the organization up sustainably, both structurally and financially. Today, her responsibilities include developing Statefree's organizational culture and providing volunteer support at events.
Hannah Reuter
Hannah is the vice chair of Statefree. She is responsible for everything related to finance and administration. Without her holistic thinking, her focus on the big picture, and her organizational skills, we would certainly miss things more often!
Margarida Farinha
As Head of Research and Community at Statefree, Margarida contributes articles and research and also organizes the Statefree community. As an anthropologist who has researched statelessness, she ensures that we present our facts correctly. She is one of the founding members of Statefree e.V.
Denis Neselovskyi
Denis is Statefree's expert on legal policy issues. With a background in human rights and law, as well as work experience at the UNHCR in Strasbourg, he has the expertise and experience to ensure that Statefree's policy advocacy is always in line with national and international legal requirements.
Miriam Kugland
As Head of Brand & Communications, she is responsible for the communications strategy, public image, and media relations. She translates our work into impactful communication, focusing on making Statefree's community-centricity visible and bringing the perspectives of stateless people into public discourse.
Gunter Miegel
As Head of IT & Digitalisation, Gunter ensures that technological solutions and digital processes are provided and continuously developed at Statefree.
As a people-oriented IT generalist and creative problem-solver with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry, his central task at Statefree is to establish a digital statelessness determination process in Germany.
Katha Treubrodt
Alongside her master's degree in Gender, Intersectionality, and Politics, Katha is working as a student employee at Statefree. With a background in political science and a focus on (queer-feminist) state theory, Katha broadens the perspectives in Statefree's political advocacy work.
Mary Ruf
Mary is a working student in Communication & Social Media at Statefree. She supports the communication team in managing and further developing the social media channels and helps to make the topics and stories surrounding statelessness visible. In addition to content creation, she participates in various areas of communication work, from strategic planning to creative implementation.
Aleksandra Semeriak Gavrilenok
As a Project Manager for Legal Empowerment at Statefree, Aleksandra accompanies the conceptual and strategic development of the digital Case Assistant, as well as collaboration with technical partners, testers, and the community, to design digital solutions for access to rights. With a background in political science with a Master's in Migration Studies and over ten years of experience in the asylum and statelessness sector in Europe, she combines practical expertise with strategic thinking.
Dragana Jalovčić
As Executive Assistant to the Board, Dragana supports the founder, board, and team at Statefree. She ensures that internal processes run smoothly, projects are successfully implemented, and fundraising and partner relationships are effectively managed. Additionally, she serves as the central point of contact for volunteers and maintains team flow.
Julika Likus
Juli is a working student in the research department at Statefree. She supports the team in the development and implementation of research projects on topics such as belonging, identity, and social participation. In doing so, she contributes her interest in political science and anthropological research and its practical application, helping to shed light on new perspectives on statelessness.
Victoria Bukalo
Hi, I'm Victoria Bukalo!
I've been supporting Statefree with Office & Community Support for nearly two years. Whether it's administrative tasks, organizing events, or helping build connections within our community, I'm here to ensure everything runs smoothly. If you have any questions about our operations, need help with community management, or just want to brainstorm ideas, feel free to reach out to me—I'm always happy to assist!
Ichane Aboubacar
Ichane supports Statefree in planning and coordinating internal processes. In her role as Manager of Project Management and Organization, she keeps track of deadlines and resources, ensuring that the team's various projects proceed in a structured manner. With her organized approach, she contributes to the reliable functioning of Statefree's daily operations.
Dave Schmidtke
Dave is active in the Statefree network and strategic partnerships. His main focus is on organizing a working group on statelessness, which aims to work long-term towards an orderly procedure in the recognition process. With his experience in political lobbying for NGOs, he tries to win over more stakeholders for Statefree.