Join us for a robust, casual discussion with Frederika Steen. As a senior public servant in Australian immigration, Frederika has worked in resettlement, including managing the immigration program for Western Europeans out of Berlin. Frederika spent 17 years in the Department of Immigration, moving to Brisbane as Director of Settlement Services; her last position was Chief Migration Officer in the Australian Embassy in Berlin.
In 1983, Frederika took a six month long service leave to teach in the Australian Orientation Program at one of Thailand’s largest refugee transit camps at Phanat Nikhom, southeast of Bangkok. It was a life-changing experience that gave her a clearer understanding of what her basic values were, and from then on she became an increasingly vocal advocate for refugee rights. Awarded the Order of Australia medal in 2014 for services to refugees and asylum seekers in a voluntary capacity, Frederika has been actively involved in human rights and refugee advocacy since 2001.
