Farewell Address
September 10, 2020
We are once again at the end of the term. Before I continue, I want to thank @Sanjurika for releasing our last monthly report. I really feel that he should be given a lot of credit not just for the last month, but for the others too, as one of the most hardworking and stalwart members of this ministry. This is a good illustration of what the future of this ministry looks like, and I believe he will play a large role in it going forward. Great job, I really couldn't have done it without you. I did not want to detract from any of that but I did want to leave some parting remarks, which I felt belonged in a separate address that could look back at the full picture of this previous term. Things seemed to move really fast, but I hope we made the most of that time. There was, as is typical, a lot of staff turnover among our diplomats, but I am proud how many new and aspiring ambassadors got a chance to serve. I saw their eagerness and their pride in their work, and I am sure that no matter how rough things get, how difficult staffing may become in the future, we still have a really cool job in FA and there will always be people curious and brave enough to give it a shot.
The World Factbook Entry, I feel, stands out as the greatest area of progress the FA ministry has seen this term. I want to thank once again @Owenstacey for his fantastic stewardship of the factbook. We learned a lot about it, both the mechanics of updating the pages and better approaches for setting it up. I hope that these lessons will prove useful for the FA ministry in the days ahead. As the factbook becomes mostly complete, we will of course have to look to better and faster ways to keep it updated and relevant. There’s a lot of opportunity for the factbook to evolve and improve and I am confident our staff is up to the challenge. It takes time to change patterns and old ways, but with all the talk of FA handbook construction, I think the factbook has earned its place in those pages and we will set a standard that will be a foundation for diplomats going forward.
The whole deputy team stepped up when we needed to prepare a report for the events that transpired between TEP and TWP. We were proud to bring to the region a comprehensive report in the style @mcmasterdonia taught us with his great report work during his delegacy, and it was an eye-opening experience for all of us. We were fortunate that the state of the game was such that we did not have many occasions to put this kind of work together, and that most foreign developments could be discussed and addressed quickly and without much fanfare. I want to express thanks to our senior diplomats and to my deputies for their attention and their advice in attending to these developments.
Of course, some of the best ways we learn is by experiencing setbacks, and figuring out how to improve upon our mistakes. The ongoing election shows us that everyone has learned an important lesson from the experience of this term, and above all else, more consistent education for our diplomats is the one thing we are in greatest need of. This was something that we knew when I last had this job, and sought to have a mentor for every ambassador to learn the trade. Experience on the ground is valuable, but knowing the basics is essential. We can understand where things went wrong, which logistical and time constraints forced us to change our plans, but at the end of the day, this ministry should have spent more time drafting educational materials and making sure ambassadors were aware of our principles and our standards. Too often these were forgotten or not known by our ambassadors, creating potential for great embarrassment and a multitude of unforced errors. I feel this is the biggest area where I did not live up to expectations, and given what I had tried years earlier, this was doubly unacceptable. I am glad I can serve as a cautionary tale for the next FA minister, and that no matter who wins the delegate race, this sorely-needed aspect of our work will be properly addressed.
We had a great team throughout, but we lacked the good fortune to capitalize on their talents. @Pierce was our way to update the onboarding of ambassadors and improve communication, but he was called away by the duties of real life. @Dar Es Saalam was a much needed boost to the editing and development of the World Factbook, but the same fate befell him. @Cretox State kept our updates going strong, @Owenstacey made sure the World Factbook was a project that would continue to be a permanent part of this ministry’s work, and @Sanjurika was the engine that kept the whole ministry singing. We were able to keep the ministry operating mostly along the same lines it has in the past, but we were left with very little occasion to develop it further. This isn’t essential for the functioning of a ministry, but I believe constant evolution and reimagining are very important for keeping interest and adding value to our work. These people have vision and they obviously have commitment, so I hope they can continue to play a role in this ministry in the days and months ahead. You guys did what you needed to do, and what I asked of you, and in some cases this ministry simply could not function without you. I think it is fair to say you probably didn’t even need me most of the time, and I think that’s the best compliment you can give to deputies.
I didn’t single out @TlomzKrano earlier because he managed what was probably the least understood, and most undervalued project this term, the UCR Outreach Program that he began when he was FA minister. I leave it to him to explain his vision for it, because it was always his baby, and no one understood its goals like he did. We did not have much to report on because for most of the term, nothing happened with it. It was the one area we had by far the most setbacks – every time we thought we reached a breakthrough, activities abroad stopped things in their tracks, or we needed to abandon the course we were on. As time went on I realized that this effort didn’t work well in a vacuum, and would be best done in concert with other areas, most significantly WA affairs. We were unable to retool the program this term but I believe we can see it again in a better form. The program can only work if it is completely rethought and implemented with other efforts, culture or defense or the world assembly. Whether Tlomz wins the delegate election or not, I believe forming bonds with UCRs is a worthy goal, important, and would naturally come out of the output TNP can provide to the world. Any delegate would approach it that way, whether there’s a formal program for it or not.
Once again, I have to marvel at the people we had serving in our ministry this term. In NationStates, FA work is sometimes considered stuffy and prone to problems, posturing in GP threads or Discord. Many wonder what the point is anymore, or how people can find a way to engage in this work outside of posting in forums once a month or slapping a title on their chest. My experience this term and most of my time in TNP tells me that our ambassadors are often made of stronger, more substantial stuff. We have motivated, well-meaning and invested people stepping up to fill these roles, and they serve as fine examples of who TNP is to the rest of the world. It means a lot to me how much you guys care about this work, and the fact you even volunteered in the first place is awesome. I believe that we have an obligation to play a part in the larger game, and that our views and projects deserve to be shared, and doing so makes NS a better game. I believe that FA is one of the best conduits for us to accomplish this, and that’s what makes it so important. And I believe the game too often is sorely lacking fun, positive FA experiences. That’s why your work means so much to me, and why it will continue to be important for this region as long as this game is around. One last time, I want to acknowledge you for playing your part in it these past four months, and I encourage you to keep going and keep doing this much needed work. I hope you will always be an example for your fellow TNPers, and for other players in this game. You have my thanks, and I wish you all the best.
-Pallaith
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