2011 Intermicronational Summit
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| 2011 Intermicronational Summit | |
|---|---|
 Logo | |
| Theme: Micronationalism and its place in the Modern World: Eccentrics, Hobbyists and Free-thinkers | |
| Status | Concluded |
| Date | 24 August 2011 |
| Site | London, United Kingdom |
| Attendees | 14 |
| Previous summit | PoliNation 2010 |
| Next summit | PoliNation 2012 |
The 2011 Intermicronational Summit, also known as the 2011 Summit, was the first meeting of 11 micronationalists, mostly from the MicroWiki Community, in discussion of micronationalism, which took place in London, United Kingdom, on 24 August 2011. The summit's priorities included evaluating and discussing the progress of micronationalism and comparing the current types of micronationalism that can be found on the internet but also meeting for the first time after the establishment of the MicroWiki Community. Representing thirteen different micronations, a total of fourteen micronationalists took part in the Summit; of these, one monarch, five presidents and three prime ministers showed up. Furthermore, two of the three members of the St.Charlian Commonwealth were also present.
Prior to the summit, Taeglan I Nihilus of the Reylan Empire proposed that the theme of the London summit would be "Micronationalism and its place in the Modern World: Eccentrics, Hobbyists and Free-thinkers" referring to the recent debates on the general seriousness of the micronational movement. The theme was later adopted as the official theme by Alexander Reinhardt, one of the organisers of the event. The summit was initially proposed to be held in the Houses of Parliament, where a 2010 meeting between St.Charlie and Landashir was set to be held. The location was later deemed insufficient to provide a proper meeting place for the delegates, thus the summit was later finalized to take place Hyde Park, and then High Street Kensington.
The 2011 Summit saw the first time in the history of the MicroWiki Community that many micronationalists met in real life.
Origin
The idea of a possible real-life meeting between a group of European micronationalists of the MicroWiki Community dates back to 2009, when the Grand Unified Micronational was still the most important organisation in the sector. Initially discussed between James Stewart, Alexander Reinhardt, and Robert Lethler, the meeting was supposed to be held in a European capital, possibly London or Paris in the summer of 2010. However, the subsequent decline of the GUM and the departure of Robert Lethler following the Erusian scandal brought the project to a standstill.
A new proposal was brought up by several other micronationalists in September 2010, after the success of the St.Charlie Expo 2010 which pushed again the oldest micronations to find a place to meet. The proposal, however, was quickly abandoned, with people losing interest when other intermicronational issues arose, namely the one regarding Kyng Fyrst and MicroWikia.
Organising the summit
In April 2011 talks for a possible meeting started again, this time led by Alexander Reinhardt and Marka Mejakhansk in the Micropolitan Lounge. On April 10, a discussion[1] was opened by Reinhardt on the MicroWiki Forum asking the community for the best period in which a possible meeting could have taken place. On the same day the gathering was named the "Summit '11" and London was chosen as the most appropriate place for the meeting, also because of the tourist attractions, and therefore, the possibility to visit the city for more than just the Summit itself. Many European micronationalists quickly showed interested in the event, while others from Oceania and North America started thinking of a possible meeting to take place simultaneously in their respective areas. In the end, August was chosen as the best month for organising it.
The official talks for the Summit started on April 12.[2] The meeting was now known as the 2011 Intermicronational Summit and still saw Reinhardt as the main planner, together with Mejakhansk. At first, the second half of the month was chosen, then the days before August 26, then a date between the 20th and the 25th of August. Will Sörgel was the only non-European micronationalist who initially confirmed his presence, but later had to announce his unavailability to come, mainly due to the cost of transportation. Gordon Freeman as well announced there would have been a possibility of him attending, but no other information was later given.
On April 14 it was decided that the Summit would have been a one-day event. The particular day, however, was still unknown. Early August was proposed until Mejakhansk announced he would have been unable to participate. On April 29, the choice was narrowed to August 20–26, and later to Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 on May 11. By the 2nd of June, August 24 was decided as the official date due to the publishing of the results of the British GCSEs which will take place on the day after.[3][4]
On August 12, the Pittsburgh Summit for North America was cancelled,[5] leaving London as the only venue for the Summit.
American and Oceanian summits
In response to the fact that many micronationalists from North America and Oceania couldn't make it to London, talks of other summits began. Summits in Brussels,[6] Dresden, Cape Town and Timor-Leste were all suggested, but were all rejected.
In May 2011, North America adopted Pittsburgh as the location for its conference, ahead of Chicago and New York, mainly as it was central and was the location for several micronations, including the Republic of Ultamiya. However, the Pittsburgh summit was later cancelled, and the New World Summit was moved to late-2011. Cincinnati OH, Columbus OH, Toledo OH, Chicago IL, and New York City NY were all possible candidates.
Micronationalists in Oceania were also seen in the process of deciding upon a host city, with Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide all being discussed as part of a TASPAC summit. Auckland was supported most by New Zealand members while Australian delegates were split between Melbourne and Sydney. However, nothing official was published and the idea discarded.
Location
Already from the beginning, the question of the location of the Summit was seen as the most important to consider. Initially, Reinhardt proposed Hyde Park's Speaker's Corner as a gathering place, in order to find all the participants easily, followed by a café, restaurant, or the Houses of Parliament (Westminster Palace). Hiring a conference room was also proposed, but quickly rejected due to the costs, "unless 30 people showed up".[7] A pub was also rejected, due to the presence of underage micronationalists. Barnaby Hands, who visited London for family reasons in mid-April, gave ideas for various other locations to visit, but these were eventually all rejected as they were not only a distance away, they cost excessively.
Attendees
Initially, the participants of the London summit included several core members of the Grand Unified Micronational and the Organisation of Active Micronations. Several micronations such as Erephisia and Nemkhavia who were initially likely to participate later announced their impossibility to attend due to personal reasons.
The people who showed up at the meeting were the following:
| Flag | Nation | Delegation | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
 
|
Austenasia Orly |
HIH Crown Prince Jonathan | Proposed the signing of the Treaty of Universal Peace during the meeting, later abandoned. |
 
|
Dorzhabad Broughtopia |
Daniel Morris | The Dorzhabadic delegation was able to sign diplomatic papers with St.Charlie, the USLSSR and Landashir |
|
Egtavia | Petya d'Égtavie | |
|
Landashir | James von Puchow | Assisted organisation; distance from Landashir to London is 30 minutes. |
|
Murrayfield | Ben Lawson | |
|
Renasia | Jacob Tierney Luke Hackel |
|
|
Reylan Imperial Triumvirate | HIM Taeglan I Nihilus | By request of Colby Fisher, the Reylan Empire represented also the Oxi Dependency and opened the summit with an introductory speech, which was well-received. Also signed diplomatic papers with St.Charlie |
|
Rukora | Joe Foxon Liam Turner |
|
|
St.Charlie | Alexander Reinhardt Heinrich Schneider |
Organiser of the Summit. The meeting coincided with Reinhardt's first official visit to the Federation of Greater Ridgeway since the unification between the old federation and Royal Beresford. Signed diplomatic documents with Dorzhabad and the Reylan Empire. |
|
Union of South London Soviet Socialist Republics | Alex Ulbricht | The USLSSR is a 10-15 minute train ride from the centre of London. Ulbricht was credited for providing detailed information on the riots that took place in Britain weeks before the meeting. |
|
Zonian Confederacy | Tom Turner |
Gallery
Delegation leaders
-
St.Charlie
Alexander Reinhardt -
Landashir
James von Puchow -
Dorzhabad
Daniel Morris -
Reylan Empire
Taeglan I Nihilus -
Austenasia
Crown Prince Jonathan -
Egtavia
Petya d'Égtavie -
USLSSR
Alex Ulbricht -
Renasia
Jacob Tierney -
Zonian Confederacy
Tom Turner -
Rukora
Joe Foxon -
Murrayfield
Ben Lawson
Other participants
-
St.Charlie
Heinrich Schneider -
Renasia
Luke Hackel -
Rukora
Liam Turner
