Recent Work - LuxCitizenship
LuxCitizenship.com
LuxCitizenship
When I recovered Luxembourgish nationality through my ancestry in 2013, I realized that there were no materials explaining the process for someone that didn’t speak French. I wrote the first model application letters and program that was widely shared around the English-speaking part of the internet.
By November 2016, I became aware that the political changes happening around the world and specifically the USA would drive more Americans to look for dual citizenship and that I could use my knowledge to share life changing opportunities with others.
LuxCitizenship was originally launched as a side project. I leveraged my unique background in branding, marketing, web design, graphic design, entrepreneurship and international relations to create every part of the business myself, from the website, to all of the advertising, all of the articles, all the video content, all the management, and all the citizenship procedures. Over time, I have been able to create a well oiled and automated machine, driven by SEO, the website brings about 100 qualified inquiries a month.
The prediction that the US political shift would drive demand would prove justified. Across 2017, we only received a few inquiries. Then in October 2017, RTL Luxembourg broadcast a report about all the Americans applying for dual citizenship and that there may be a reason behind this – as there was a huge increase after November 2016.
I can’t say for sure if what came next was because I was featured in the report or not. But what I can say is that after only receiving a few inquiries in the year, on Saturday, December 23rd, 2017, my phone exploded with inquiries. This is both peculiar because it was a Saturday and two days before Christmas. So what was the cause? The only immediate guess I can make is that the day before the Senate passed the major reform of the US tax code. This was the only major legislative achievement of the Trump presidency before Covid.
Whether or not politics inspired the spark, I will never know. However, it was like a rocket lifting off into space after this date. In the first six months of 2018, I signed over 300 new clients. Growing from less than 10 in the previous year, it was huge growth.
While 2019 was less active by comparison, 2020 was by far the largest year for the organization, adding over 350 new clients. This most likely is also attributable to the current events in the United States and the world. In 2020, a New York Times editorial claimed the new status symbol of the US middle class was to go into the attic and find pictures and documents of great-grandparents to figure out where it was possible to get a foreign passport.
The outcomes have been much more concrete. We have experienced two years with over $150,000 in sales, allowing LuxCitizenship to also create work opportunities in diverse communities and impacting the lives of over 700 North American clients.
But our reach is so much further than just helping 700 individuals obtain a dual citizenship. We are also educating and crating connections with families and professional opportunities for these 700 people as well as their families and spouses (56% of clients are married). In doing so, we are forging a strong transatlantic ecosystem and spreading awareness about Luxembourg to the communities around these individuals.
Some particular achievements I am proud of at LuxCitizenship include:
-I helped Arno Meyer, one of the world’s foremost professors and writers on the Shoah, confirm his Luxembourgish citizenship one of his greatest wishes for the end of his life
-Each year we produce an interactive study on the immigration history of the Luxembourgish ancestors providing for their descendants’ citizenship as well as these applicant’s lives and career paths: the American-Luxembourgers study
-In 2020, I organized an international community video campaign across the US and Brazil for indviduals to explain why they are becoming Luxembourgers and why their Luxembourgish citizenship matters to them. Over 56 different people recorded videos for the campaign.
The LuxCitizenship Story
In May 2020, I organized a webinar to mark the launch of our community video campaign. The webinar was attended by 110 people and 89% stayed for over 90 minutes for our conversation simultaneously translated in Portuguese. During the webinar, I broke down the European covid situation, the Covid regulations in Luxembourg and the jurisprudence of the Luxembourgish nationality law. In this section of the webinar, I introduce our business and my story as a dual citizen.
What Makes Luxembourg So Special
In this video, I personally crated with the assistance of a professional voice actress, we break down some of the amazing things that Luxembourg has to offer especially for future dual citizens.
What Makes Luxembourg So Great
In this video I designed and completed myself with the help of a professional voice actress, we review what makes Luxembourg such a special place and what are the unique characteristics it has to offer for future dual citizens.
RTL Report on American-Luxembourgers
In August 2017, RTL recorded a report in New York City on the huge increase in American citizens obtaining dual citizenship through ancestry. I was selected by the Consulate-General of Luxembourg to be a focus of the report, I got to take the TV crew around to my work and in the kitchen as I made Bouneschlupp while recounting my great-grandmother’s story. When this report was broadcast on RTL, my long lost relatives in Luxembourg saw it leading to a story that completely changed my life.
RTL Report on American-Luxembourgers
In August 2017, RTL recorded a report in New York City on the huge increase in American citizens obtaining dual citizenship through ancestry. I was selected by the Consulate-General of Luxembourg to be a focus of the report, I got to take the TV crew around to my work and in the kitchen as I made Bouneschlupp while recounting my great-grandmother’s story. When this report was broadcast on RTL, my long lost relatives in Luxembourg saw it leading to a story that completely changed my life.
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Project - We Want to Stay What We Are Campaign
Mir Wëlle Bleiwe Wat Mir Sinn
A Community Video Campaign from the American-Luxembourger Community
Campaign: We Want to Stay What We Are
Creative Direction: Daniel ATZ
Producer: Daniel ATZ
Video Editing, Production: Lauren LOWELL
Project: Campaign of 4 compilation videos based on 51 crowdsourced videos
Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, thousands of people in the USA and Brazil risked to permanently lose out on the opportunity to reclaim Luxembourgish nationality.
Under Luxembourg’s nationality law, applicants to recover Luxembourgish nationality through ancestral origins had until December 31, 2020. Realizing that due to the pandemic global travel would not be possible in 2020, I decided that I needed to do something. Obtaining Luxembourgish nationality through my own origins was one of the most important things I did in my life. I wanted to make sure that the hundreds of my clients and thousands of other people entitled to nationality did not lose out on this opportunity.
Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, thousands of people in the USA and Brazil risked to permanently lose out on the opportunity to reclaim Luxembourgish nationality.
Under Luxembourg’s nationality law, applicants to recover Luxembourgish nationality through ancestral origins had until December 31, 2020. Realizing that due to the pandemic global travel would not be possible in 2020, I decided that I needed to do something. Obtaining Luxembourgish nationality through my own origins was one of the most important things I did in my life. I wanted to make sure that the hundreds of my clients and thousands of other people entitled to nationality did not lose out on this opportunity.
Working through my business LuxCitizenship, I announced a webinar to discuss the Covid-19 impact on dual citizenship applications. Realizing that thousands of Brazilians were affected by this matter and speaking Portuguese, I also reached out to the Brazilian-Luxemoburgish community.
In the end, 111 people joined for a webinar that was planned for 1 hour but lasted 93 minutes because I had to speak slowly for the Brazilian simultaneous interpreter. 89% of guests stayed for the entire 93 minutes. In the webinar, I made a direct appeal to applicants to record an up to three minute video of themselves and what their future citizenship, Luxembourgish heritage and future opportunities in Luxembourg meant to them.
We registered over 3,000 unique hits to the campaign page within 48 hours. In the end over the course of 10 days, we collected videos from 51 people across the US and Brazil. This amounted to 118 minutes of content of different formats and messages.
Working through my business LuxCitizenship, I announced a webinar to discuss the Covid-19 impact on dual citizenship applications. Realizing that thousands of Brazilians were affected by this matter and speaking Portuguese, I also reached out to the Brazilian-Luxemoburgish community.
In the end, 111 people joined for a webinar that was planned for 1 hour but lasted 93 minutes because I had to speak slowly for the Brazilian simultaneous interpreter. 89% of guests stayed for the entire 93 minutes. In the webinar, I made a direct appeal to applicants to record an up to three minute video of themselves and what their future citizenship, Luxembourgish heritage and future opportunities in Luxembourg meant to them.
We registered over 3,000 unique hits to the campaign page within 48 hours. In the end over the course of 10 days, we collected videos from 51 people across the US and Brazil. This amounted to 118 minutes of content of different formats and messages.
We spent another week of nonstop work sorting through the videos to create a unified message to share with the Deputies of Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies about why all these individuals care about Luxembourg and why they hoped the nationality deadline would be changed.
The Campaign was featured on RTL’s De Journal in an interview along with The Honorable Minister of Justice and Minister of Culture Sam Tanson (see right).
Outcome: On June 18th, the Chamber of Deputies voted to prolong the deadline for individuals to travel to Luxembourg until December 31, 2021. Not only did these videos contribute an important message of solidarity from the new Luxembourgish community in the Americas at a difficult time, it also caused many of these future citizens to discover the Luxembourgish language and current events in Luxembourg for the first time.
We spent another week of nonstop work sorting through the videos to create a unified message to share with the Deputies of Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies about why all these individuals care about Luxembourg and why they hoped the nationality deadline would be changed.
The Campaign was featured on RTL’s De Journal in an interview along with The Honorable Minister of Justice and Minister of Culture Sam Tanson (see right).
Outcome: On June 18th, the Chamber of Deputies voted to prolong the deadline for individuals to travel to Luxembourg until December 31, 2021. Not only did these videos contribute an important message of solidarity from the new Luxembourgish community in the Americas at a difficult time, it also caused many of these future citizens to discover the Luxembourgish language and current events in Luxembourg for the first time.
