Applications are underway for people who want to become citizens of the European micronation Liberland.
The new nation was found in April 2015 when founder Vit Jedlicka noticed that due to an administrative area, 80,000 square meters of the former Yugoslavia had gone unclaimed when the country separated.
Liberland is a small corner of land nestling between Serbia and Croatia on the banks of the River Danube. Maps label the area Gornja Siga.
Jedlicka claims neither nation staked a claim to Liberland and that the land is free for him and other citizens to claims as their own – along with the right to make laws.
However, international lawyers suspect Liberland is really part of Serbia.
The attraction of moving to Liberland is the proposed government intends to charge no taxes but to fund the running of the state from crowdfunding or by offering contracts for state services to private companies.
International recognition
So far, 400,000 applications for citizenship have been received by Jedlicka.
“We expect to grant citizenship to somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 people, although we do not necessarily expect all of them to live in Liberland,” said Jedlicka.
The government, unsurprisingly headed by Jedlicka, claims to have raised $45,000 from crowdfunding which has been spent on setting up embassies in Prague and Belgrade. Some cash has also gone towards paying for the president and a personal assistant to travel to the recent G-7 summit in Germany and Freedom Fest in the United States.
Jedlicka wants Liberland to gain international recognition as a sovereign state and is working to persuade sovereign nations and international organisations, such as the United Nations, to accept his claim to Liberland and to designate the land grab as an official country.
The main issue for prospective citizens is Croatian border police are arresting anyone attempting to cross into Liberland, although plenty seem to try.
Find out more about crowdfunding Liberland
One small suit for mankind
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC has launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise $500,000 to preserve and display astronaut Neil Armstrong’s space suit that he wore when he first stepped on the moon.
The museum plans to have the suit restored and on display for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing by a man in 2019.
In less than a week, the appeal has raised $312,000 from 4,370 backers
