Pallaith for Delegate: Let's Keep the Ball Rolling
Hello everyone. For the second time, I am here to ask for your vote for Delegate. It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your delegate for nearly 4 months now. I have enjoyed the experience immensely, learned a lot, and I like to think I've done a decent job of it. Your opinion in this matter is more important than mine, however, and now is the time for you to judge. How have I done? I would like to make the case for my delegacy thus far, and what another term would mean for TNP. I had a lot of plans and bright ideas when I last ran for this office, and I would like to see as many of them come to fruition as possible.
Our ministries had the synergy I had aimed for when I last ran for delegate, we had a strong team in place and I want to build on what worked while using what didn't as a cautionary tale. I leaned heavily on Culture and Communications, and they will still be key in a second term with the Friendship Fair I want to host, but I want to double down on the inroads I made in Foreign Affairs. I was concerned about what kind of mark a new generation of leaders in TNP would leave on the world, and I am pleasantly surprised by the shape it is starting to take. TNP has more opportunities to connect with the rest of the world and form new bonds in unexpected places and stronger bonds in others. I want to see where these opportunities can take us, without losing our independence and who we are as a region in the process. Our democratic ideals, our commitment to our allies and the stability of our region and those of the other GCRs will always be the core of our foreign policy. I want to touch on the various ministries again, comparing where we are now to where I wanted to go in my last campaign.
Of all the areas, this one has changed the most for me. I knew going in this ministry would need a lot of work, and thought that enhancing dialogue with regions through smaller interpersonal relationships would go a long way to improving our relations not only with our big allies, but the smaller embassies. In practice this proved to be just as difficult as it's always been. I came in with bright eyes and thought we just weren't smiling and chatting enough. Foreign Affairs is more complicated than that. The MoFA has maintained our standards for accepting embassies and we've even closed a few that did not meet them. Discord has been the main source of conversation and outreach to other regions, and it does its job well.
I also mentioned that we would deepen our ties with our existing allies. WALL has continued to be the most significant area of continued cooperation with our allies Balder and Europeia. Generally speaking, foreign policy this term has steered toward thawing the chilly ice of neglect and mistrust that we have had with other GCRs. While we may not completely agree with every GCR, I believe that we all benefit if we are at least friendly neighbors, or able to peacefully coexist, with our fellow GCRs. I have seen first-hand how setting aside differences to allow our players to work together and engage can lead to great things, and a richer gameplay experience.
I am proud that this term we were able to accommodate the Sinker regions by allowing them the opportunity to recruit from our newly spawned nations. In the process of figuring out how best to do this, we reached out to the other Feeders, and we have maintained lines of communication with them. As I will mention further down, we have cooperated with them on military operations. A few days ago we even formed a faction with the goal of uniting the feeders in the second nuclear war event. We managed to come in second even though the only other feeders to sign on were the Pacific and The South Pacific. When I came in, the last thing I expected was for us to be on better terms with the NPO, and yet, here we are.
Going forward, I am not only concerned with building stronger ties where they were weak, but making sure that we keep the strong relations strong. It takes effort to maintain any relationship, and we will not assume that the plants of diplomacy will patiently wait for us to water them. We must make a concerted effort to slake their thirst. To that end, though I was not able to get it going this term, I hope that early on in a second term I can launch the Friendship Fair, a chance for our allies to get their time in the sun and be celebrated. This would be the keystone cultural and foreign affairs event, which I will elaborate on further.
I also mentioned that we would deepen our ties with our existing allies. WALL has continued to be the most significant area of continued cooperation with our allies Balder and Europeia. Generally speaking, foreign policy this term has steered toward thawing the chilly ice of neglect and mistrust that we have had with other GCRs. While we may not completely agree with every GCR, I believe that we all benefit if we are at least friendly neighbors, or able to peacefully coexist, with our fellow GCRs. I have seen first-hand how setting aside differences to allow our players to work together and engage can lead to great things, and a richer gameplay experience.
I am proud that this term we were able to accommodate the Sinker regions by allowing them the opportunity to recruit from our newly spawned nations. In the process of figuring out how best to do this, we reached out to the other Feeders, and we have maintained lines of communication with them. As I will mention further down, we have cooperated with them on military operations. A few days ago we even formed a faction with the goal of uniting the feeders in the second nuclear war event. We managed to come in second even though the only other feeders to sign on were the Pacific and The South Pacific. When I came in, the last thing I expected was for us to be on better terms with the NPO, and yet, here we are.
Going forward, I am not only concerned with building stronger ties where they were weak, but making sure that we keep the strong relations strong. It takes effort to maintain any relationship, and we will not assume that the plants of diplomacy will patiently wait for us to water them. We must make a concerted effort to slake their thirst. To that end, though I was not able to get it going this term, I hope that early on in a second term I can launch the Friendship Fair, a chance for our allies to get their time in the sun and be celebrated. This would be the keystone cultural and foreign affairs event, which I will elaborate on further.
Honestly, managing defense has been one of the most challenging aspects of my time as delegate. I knew the least about this area next to foreign affairs, and when I set up my cabinet, I had to select a new Minister of Defense when Gladio retired. The experience has shown me the importance of training and preparing the army you have so that no one person is the key to its success or failure. As of today Gladio is back as Minister of Defense and we have seen a return to the consistency and great results that were commonplace in the previous three terms. My main goal for this ministry in the term ahead is to train not just the NPA in ops and the various actions needed to do them successfully, but to train the leadership. I do not want Gladio to feel compelled to stay because we have no one else. And this is not to say that the ministers I had before Gladio were not capable in their own right. A learning curve and a change in how the ministry was run were inevitable after so long under the helm of the same person.
In spite of a few challenges, we managed to have a joint operation with TWP and another grand op that involved TSP, TWP, TEP, Europeia, and Albion. I had hoped to run these frequently, but the approach we should take is not to force such things to happen, but to prepare ourselves sufficiently so that when an operation comes around that we can join or invite others to join, we can work it into the plan. The NPA is still a solid, standout military in the NS world, and our soldiers have done a great job adapting to and managing the challenges that were thrown their way this term.
In spite of a few challenges, we managed to have a joint operation with TWP and another grand op that involved TSP, TWP, TEP, Europeia, and Albion. I had hoped to run these frequently, but the approach we should take is not to force such things to happen, but to prepare ourselves sufficiently so that when an operation comes around that we can join or invite others to join, we can work it into the plan. The NPA is still a solid, standout military in the NS world, and our soldiers have done a great job adapting to and managing the challenges that were thrown their way this term.
As I expected, this ministry continued to be a vital part of our region's success this term. Siwale and his team did not disappoint, and the machinery of HA continued to hum along throughout the term, silently providing a crucial service without drawing attention to itself. The changes to the mentor program didn't lead to flashy or significantly different results, but they worked better for the staff and even though we didn't really reinvent the wheel, I am pleased the program remains part of HA's mission. This term we established The North Pacific Handbook, a one-stop shop of links and information covering every important area of regional life. This was accompanied by an index of all our regional law and an index of government ministries. Each release was promoted extensively on the RMB and the dispatches have enhanced in the clearest way yet what our forum-side community is and how it works. In addition to this, HA continued its manual telegramming, expanding their work to reach out to new nation categories and in the process drafting new telegrams to fit these categories. We have more information going out on more topics than ever before, ensuring that all ministries receive attention from the gameside community and that new talent can continue to be harnessed to keep TNP thriving.
Almost as soon as my term began, it became clear that relations between the RMB and the rest of the region were so strained that a few firebrands could enflame passions and resentment without much effort. It was true that we had to prove ourselves to the RMB regulars that we were serious about reaching out to them and addressing their concerns. Through the RMG Guardians and then the Gameside Advocate, we ensured that there would always be a dedicated presence on the RMB. Under the guidance of the players who signed on to the Gameside Advocate program, we have had several game nights with RMB players and have seen smoothing over of the tensions between them and the rest of TNP. We even came to an understanding about roleplay on site and off-site. I am proud of what we have accomplished so far with the RMB. In another term, I would hope to build on what we've started, by bringing in more people, forming a habit of these events, and also bringing the great communication work HA already provides to more frequently keep the RMB in the loop.
Almost as soon as my term began, it became clear that relations between the RMB and the rest of the region were so strained that a few firebrands could enflame passions and resentment without much effort. It was true that we had to prove ourselves to the RMB regulars that we were serious about reaching out to them and addressing their concerns. Through the RMG Guardians and then the Gameside Advocate, we ensured that there would always be a dedicated presence on the RMB. Under the guidance of the players who signed on to the Gameside Advocate program, we have had several game nights with RMB players and have seen smoothing over of the tensions between them and the rest of TNP. We even came to an understanding about roleplay on site and off-site. I am proud of what we have accomplished so far with the RMB. In another term, I would hope to build on what we've started, by bringing in more people, forming a habit of these events, and also bringing the great communication work HA already provides to more frequently keep the RMB in the loop.
I am particularly proud of what we have accomplished with Communications, but it remains an area where a large part of what I hoped to do has not been realized as fully as I envisioned, and I hope a second term will change that. In the past term we have managed to release The Northern Light every month of the term, a new record. I hope to keep this going in a second term. Less successful was establishing a habit of regular voice chat events, or a return to regular weekly radio broadcasts. We had a little of both but they never became a regular thing. I am hoping that we can figure out the best way to change that in a second term. The biggest thing I hoped Communications would do this term was help organize the Friendship Fair and handle the recording of the voice chats that would ensue. I still hope to see that event happen, and Communications will play a large role in it.
To my great surprise, Culture has been one of the strongest areas this term. This is thanks in large part to SillyString's vision, and because this term saw a lot of holidays to celebrate. I am pleased with the events we put on (and are still putting on) and glad that our Culture staff had a chance to brainstorm and hopefully start traditions that can be employed in future years. Culture will play a large role in the Friendship Fair I hope to launch next term, and figure out the unique events and themes to represent each of our allies. With the help of our Communications ministry, I hope to host panels featuring the allied regions and our own cabinet. It will involve the usual games and Q&As, but we will hold them live in voice chat and record the sessions (to be broadcast by Communications as a Northern Broadcast Service show). We're light on holidays next term, so I hope this and smaller events of this kind can dominate the next term.
I have been quick to vote, many times the first to vote, and in almost every case, we have come out on the winning side of WA votes. WALL is going strong, and I am glad that it gives us a chance to work closely with friends and allies. We saw some interest in greater WALL membership but haven't really sketched out what more nations in WALL would look like. I hope we can figure that out in the term ahead. There has been additional interest and meager success in using the WALL forum to help draft new resolutions, but it hasn't evolved much past the state it was in prior to my becoming delegate. As before, I hope we can foster that and make TNP a destination for prospective WA authors, or at least another source of WA writing talent.
Being delegate the last 4 months has been an eye-opening experience. I discovered the job was both not as impossible as I imagined it to be from afar, and far more nuanced than I could have imagined. Being delegate requires a good blend of skills and temperament, and there were certainly times when I felt I may be taking it too personally and slipped into too casual an approach. The position comes with awesome responsibilities and it is not to be taken lightly. I knew that going in, but even this job can start to lend a certain level of comfort which tempts one into being a little overconfident at times, taking the job and one's relation to other players for granted. Continuing on as delegate I will aim to remain grounded and use the level of comfort I have developed getting used to the role to more quickly accomplish the things TNP needs to continue leading players into the future. With that, I welcome your questions and comments. Let's keep the ball rolling!
The classics never go out of style, so here's the awesome button from last election.
