Opening Address: May-September 2022
During my last time as Delegate, I sought to make sure TNP’s voice was heard, not just in WA vote numbers or military operations, but that we were present and accounted for when the issues of the day were discussed or commanded the attention of the gameplay community. There is no doubt we have improved in that regard since then, and especially during the last 8 months with my predecessor. Change is often a highly sought commodity in elections, but I ran quite explicitly on not only maintaining the course we have been set on but expanding it. We must not let up, or retreat to a more comfortable status quo. We have enormous talent in this region, we have excellent resources, and we have strong convictions. There is no reason for us to dial anything back. This game is better when everyone brings their best into the international discourse. And we cannot innovate, with our creative pursuits, our technological strides, or our diplomatic initiatives, if we are not willing to take risks and put ourselves out there. TNP has struggled to do this consistently in the last few years, but that has always been something I have made it my mission to accomplish whenever I have held this office.
We have a lot of work to do to ensure TNP continues to be in fighting shape. I am counting on our talented citizens, residents, and even good friends to step up to meet this moment. Leading that charge with me are the following:
Foreign Affairs: I ran on my experience, and I am confident that it will serve me well in foreign affairs. But diplomacy cannot rest on the shoulders of one man alone, and there is a lot of fine details and attention that must be paid while I am occupied in other things. This is the prime time to bring on new talent to continue the needed refreshing of our diplomatic talent, so that they can support my efforts and can help sharpen the skills of the next group of talented players that will have to step up in this area one day. That is why I believe Hulldom is the one for this moment. I count on his interpersonal skills, his deliberate, measured approach to issues, and his casual knowledge of a wide swath of the game to help enhance our work abroad and to improve our relations with promising new partners. His extensive experience in WA is a natural precursor to this work, and will allow him to build on existing relationships and skills that will be vital in this area.
Defense: The future of our military depends on the continued participation and success of our finest soldiers, so having the insight and leadership of those who are on the field and fighting the battles that exist today is essential. Cretox is one of our most promising rising stars in the NPA and has continued a mini-tradition of WA ministers making a successful transition to this area. Perhaps he’s even better at it than he was running our WA ministry, and he was pretty good at that. I also hope his attention to detail and natural inclination for organization will help him make the NPA a lean, mean fighting machine, and update it for the modern era.
Home Affairs: This is often an opportunity for newcomers to run a ministry and freshen up what can be, in less careful hands, a rote, repetitive series of telegrams and messages. It is time for a correction, a more experienced set of eyes and ears who can keep things focused and targeted and get the maximum effect out of one of our most crucial engines in TNP: the one that drives participation and recruitment in a sea of thousands of players whose talents and skills may be lost if we do not steer them where they need to go. Nimarya was one of the best at this, and though she went on to do other great things, this was where she started and shined at an early stage in her NS career. I am excited to have her back in this role, and confident that we will capitalize on these interesting times and refresh a lot more than just our TG lists and HA ministry. This ministry, in the right hands, can be the heart that pumps much needed blood to every other part of this region. And I believe she is the person to do that now.
Culture: I never expected Culture would be one of the strong suits of my time as Delegate, but I was quite fortunate to have dedicated and creative people running the show. Bootsie is one of our most creative minds and has been involved in every area that the ministry covers this term, including our communications and radio portfolios, which are for the first time in many years both together again in Culture. This was designed as a downsizing move, a continuation of the merger of Comms and Radio in Media last term, but Culture is poised to be larger than ever. Now our culture team, in addition to its work on weekly events and activities, holiday celebrations, and cultural events, will be able to be a part of our publications and our radio shows. We have players who never spent a moment on those projects when they were in their own ministries, and I hope now they can lend a hand and leave a mark, however small, on these projects while they are part of Culture. Ideally the contributors will grow, and these can be independent areas again, but we have an opportunity to regroup and reassess. Bootsie is no stranger to this work, they’ve done it all over the years, and I trust them to bring all that knowledge to the table while we keep everyone engaged in a greater variety of projects than we’ve ever seen before in this ministry.
Cards: This is still very much a ministry that we are trying to figure out as the cards game evolves in NS. We have never had to wait so long for new cards content, though in a pioneering field the unprecedented shouldn’t really be surprising. For much of its life this ministry could call on the expertise and passion of DGES, and he helped bring this ministry back from the brink in the previous terms. It couldn’t last forever though, and he must move on, but that doesn’t mean his cards magic has to end. He has taught Rewan Demontay everything he knows, and it is now time to put that to the test. Rewan has been a promising part of our cards guild for a long time, and has the right perspective and aspirations to help me navigate an exciting new direction for the ministry, which we need at this time where cards has largely stagnated. I know he will give everything to the role, and will be willing to go out on a limb.
In addition, I am appointing Kastonvia to the position of Lead Gameside Advocate once again. Our Vice Delegate has been more than just a bridge between the gameside and offsite community – he has been a crucial bridge between the gameside community and the Security Council. I look forward to seeing him forge an even stronger bond between players in the term ahead.
Don’t worry, I have not forgotten about World Assembly Affairs. That was where I had my start in TNP, and it is near and dear to my heart. It’s also one of our most important ministries and a major part of what makes TNP a powerhouse. But it is notorious for relying a lot on the talents and efforts of a single individual. This ministry asks a lot of its staff, but we also have a lot of tools and knowledgeable people who can be there to offer guidance and support. That didn’t really exist when I first took the role back in 2016, so any new minister has that going for them. I figured it would be a nice full circle moment if I made the same offer the Delegate did back then: for anyone interested in stepping up to run the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs to contact me directly via forum PM or Discord DM and make your pitch. I want to hear your vision, and how you would apply the principles I laid out in my platform in managing this crucial ministry. In the meantime, I will consult with our existing senior WA staff so that we continue getting out our IFVs and managing our threads.
In the weeks ahead I will be presenting new legislation to reform our legal system, we will assess existing policies and initiatives, continue our WA diplomatic initiatives, and move forward with additional NPA restructuring. I’m all ears for your ideas, and my door is always open if you want to offer your assistance. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box, we’re going to get our hands dirty this term. In a good way though – we have a lot to do. As I said last time: if you’re on board, sign up for executive staff, join the WA, join the NPA, and when we start a new activity, volunteer, take part, help organize and set it up. If you’re on the RMB but haven’t explored anything else, hop on Discord, join the Forum, become a citizen. If you’re off the site but haven’t checked the game in a while, stop by the RMB, answer a poll, join in a game. I’m eager to get to work, and like all of you I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Appointees, please take your oaths! @Hulldom @Cretox @Nimarya @bootsie @Rewan Demontay @Sir Kasto
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