Organisation of Forestian Island Nations [IC, Forest-Only]

[Monpiterre]

OOC: Here's the schedule so far:

Time	Event
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2016	.
10:00am-12:00am	Opening Ceremony
12:00am-1:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm-4:30pm	Summit Begins (topics: new members, official organisation)
4:30pm-5:30pm	Tour Outdoor Sereneville
5:30pm-6:30pm	Private Discussion Groups
6:30pm-8:00pm	Dinner
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2016	.
8:00am-9:00am	Breakfast
9:00am-12:00pm	Summit Continues (topics: see below)
12:00pm-1:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm-4:00pm	Summit Continues and Finalises
6:00pm-7:00pm	Banquet
7:30pm-9:00pm	Closing Ceremony/Celebration?

Frieden-und Freudenland, can you specify the locations of these, and give more details?

Also, Body and Soul, who will you be sending as delegates?

I've posted all this in the OP.

[Body and Soul]

Also, Body and Soul, who will you be sending as delegates?

We sending a real wild crew. Headed up by Richard Wolfsdorf. Along with Farley Funkin' Keith, Mike Ink, and Marshall Jefferson. They probably bring some girls, but they can stay out of the way if need be. These cats all do some deep work in the government and can mostly be trusted.

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

Our catering firm kindly requests all OFIN member states sending delegates to the 1st OFIN summit to declare whether any of their delegates are vegetarians / vegans / pescetarians and if so how many of them, in order to plan what kinds of food will be served at meal times, and in what quantity.

Thank you!

[Monpiterre]

The Dominion of Monpiterre

Our catering firm kindly requests all OFIN member states sending delegates to the 1st OFIN summit to declare whether any of their delegates are vegetarians / vegans / pescetarians and if so how many of them, in order to plan what kinds of food will be served at meal times, and in what quantity.

All the Monpiterrean delegates are pescetarians except for Frédéric Girardot, who does eat meat.

[Tishanda]

Our catering firm kindly requests all OFIN member states sending delegates to the 1st OFIN summit to declare whether any of their delegates are vegetarians / vegans / pescetarians and if so how many of them, in order to plan what kinds of food will be served at meal times, and in what quantity.

Thank you!

All Tishandan delegates eat meat, but Nalia Velma does have a severe peanut allergy.

[Body and Soul]

No special dietary concerns for B+S delegates.

[Chan Island]

Our catering firm kindly requests all OFIN member states sending delegates to the 1st OFIN summit to declare whether any of their delegates are vegetarians / vegans / pescetarians and if so how many of them, in order to plan what kinds of food will be served at meal times, and in what quantity.

Thank you!

Chan Island's delegates live in a state where meat, cheese and alcohol is banned. While there are no dietary requirements, serving these things to them may cause outrage back at home.

(My main nation, for reference of how things operate ICly)

http://www.nationstates.net/nation=anni ... han_island

[Shalotte]

The Royal Isles of Shalotte Office of the Gaeltyn Executing the will of our beloved Domnaeni, in faithful service to the Gods, on behalf of the loyal subjects of Shalotte. Dach Illuohit! I write to confirm to your catering peoples that the Royal Isles' delegate to the Organisation of Forestian Island Nations, Tyrrn Aefi, is very much an omnivore, but prefers unprocessed foods where possible. Most thankfully, Riagán of Damnoni Mon'gaeltyn of Shalotte

[Taco Respublic]

Taco Respublic join OFIN

[Monpiterre]

The Dominion of Monpiterre

We welcome Taco Respublic to the Organisation of Forestian Island Nations and wish to formally accept them into the association at the Sereneville Summit.

OOC: Taco Respublic, will you be attending the convention? If so, who are the delegates you will send?

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

Our catering firm has published the menus for the meals. (The banquet menu is not included here, for two reasons. First, there will be a great variety of food, so it is inexpedient to write them all down. Second, this is when our tastiest delicacies will be served, so we want to keep them secret.)

[Chan Island]

Our catering firm has published the menus for the meals. (The banquet menu is not included here, for two reasons. First, there will be a great variety of food, so it is inexpedient to write them all down. Second, this is when our tastiest delicacies will be served, so we want to keep them secret.)

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Our delegates are pleased with the options presented. There will be no outrage in the homelands with them eating "opulent foreign" foods at the summit.

[Tishanda]

Our catering firm has published the menus for the meals. (The banquet menu is not included here, for two reasons. First, there will be a great variety of food, so it is inexpedient to write them all down. Second, this is when our tastiest delicacies will be served, so we want to keep them secret.)

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Sounds great!

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

Here are some tourist attractions in Sereneville that your delegates may visit during the Outdoor Tour. If you wish, certified tourist guides will be provided to keep you company.

Sereneville Botanical Gardens: Located to the Southwest of Sereneville is the largest botanical garden in Frieden-und Freudenland, which comprises hundreds of thousands of plants that grow all over Forest.



The Institute for Agricultural Studies: This is where the leading agricultural scientists of Frieden-und Freudenland are looking for ways to maintain a healthy environment while boosting the soil fertility and food production. The fascinating building of the institute has been designed by Mun Liling, a famous Frieden-und Freudenlandian architect. Our people have nicknamed the building 'The Beehive', which is a very apt name, both for its appearance and for what the people working in this building are doing. Our guests will have a chance to get information about the latest developments in agricultural science in Frieden-und Freudenland, when they visit The Institute for Agricultural Studies.



The Museum of the History of Sereneville: This small wooden house on Blueberry Street No.76 may seem too unpretentious to be of historical significance. But appearance is deceptive. This is the Museum of the History of Sereneville, which is home to thousands of interesting artifacts and documents from the prehistoric ages to modern times. Our guests will get a crash course on the history of our beautiful city of Sereneville when they visit this cozy & iconic house.




Please bear in mind that Sereneville has a bunch of other intriguing tourist attractions, but we can only visit these three because we are short of time. We hope that your delegates will want to revisit Sereneville on their vacation to immerse themselves in the charms of Sereneville.

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

The Opening Speech of 1st OFIN meeting, delivered by Dr. Barbara Kaufmann

‘No human is an island entire of itself; every human
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Forest
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any human's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in humankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.’

So wrote Joan Donatello, a Frieden-und Freudenlandian poet who lived in Sereneville in the 16th century. This is a beautiful poem as it captures what it means to be a citizen of Forest. That which hurts our fellow citizens, hurts all of us. That which gladdens the hearts of our fellow citizens, gladdens all our hearts. We are a community.

The poem also makes a statement about islands, albeit indirectly. It contrasts ‘islandhood’ with being a part of the mainland and asserts that the strong bondage between the human beings is or should be akin to that between the parts of a continent. Islands, on the other hand, are not what we are. They are solitary. They are savage. They are unwelcoming.

This notion is fairly old. In fact, tracing the etymology of the word ‘island’ takes us to the same point. The Latin word for island is ‘insula’ which is related to ‘insulation’ and the Italian word for island is ‘isola’ which is, as you must have already noticed, related to ‘isolation’. But that wasn’t always the case. In the ancient Mutinosan language of this archipelago, which is modern Frieden-und Freudenland, an island was called posota – which was derived from the word poso ‘pearl’ by the addition of the suffix ta which means ‘a part of’. So in Mutinosan, if you hold a single pearl in your hand, that would be a pososan ‘lonely pearl’ whereas if you hold a pearl necklace in your hand every pearl on the string would be a ‘posota’. Together, the posotas would make a posobon – a pearl family.
Living in an archipelago comprised of thousands of isles, and thus having no idea that there could be lonely, isolated islands out in the ocean; Mutinkas ominously called an island a posota, a pearl which must needs be a part of a string of pearls.

By the time we got to the 16th century, the wisdom of Mutinkas was replaced by a different kind of wisdom, a different worldview – the one that Joan Donatello is reacting against in her poem. As people started labeling, classifying, and analyzing things; our logic has naturally shifted its focus to properties that make things different from each other from properties that make things similar. Individuals became more important than communities. Analysis became more important than synthesis. Ironically, Donatello criticized this and said that humans had to realize that they were part of a larger whole and not just solitary beings leading solitary lives, and she tried to convey this message by saying that they were not islands.

Yes, if she had not forgotten the wisdom of Mutinkas, she would have rephrased that line. Because there was a time when the people who breathed the air we now inhale conceived of islands as pearls on a string, not as solitary pearls. Donatello’s metaphor would have made no sense for them.

Maybe it is time to resurrect the wisdom of Mutinkas.

Dear Fellow Island Nations, Dear Friends,

Today we gather here in Sereneville, the birth place of Joan Donatello, to open a new chapter in the history of cooperation between the island nations in Forest. There are issues that affect island nations more severely than other nations, such as piracy, tsunamis, sea pollution; and all these issues need to be addressed. This meeting is an important step toward achieving this goal.

For too long we have been maintaining diplomatic ties without being overly concerned about increasing our cooperation and establishing stronger ties between our nations to have a brighter future as island nations. Today we are laying the foundations of a long, enduring friendship; that will hopefully remain eternally strong. Finally we are doing something more meaningful than exchanging ambassadors and paying costly but ineffective diplomatic visits to each other’s countries. We are working toward a common goal that will help all island nations prosper.

Please keep in mind that it’s not just that we want to be a community. We have to be a community.

Because no island is an island. Each of us is a posota. And together we can be a shiny, precious posobon.

And we will be one.

Thank you!

[Tishanda]

The Opening Speech of 1st OFIN meeting, delivered by Dr. Barbara Kaufmann

‘No human is an island entire of itself; every human
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Forest
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any human's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in humankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.’

So wrote Joan Donatello, a Frieden-und Freudenlandian poet who lived in Sereneville in the 16th century. This is a beautiful poem as it captures what it means to be a citizen of Forest. That which hurts our fellow citizens, hurts all of us. That which gladdens the hearts of our fellow citizens, gladdens all our hearts. We are a community.

The poem also makes a statement about islands, albeit indirectly. It contrasts ‘islandhood’ with being a part of the mainland and asserts that the strong bondage between the human beings is or should be akin to that between the parts of a continent. Islands, on the other hand, are not what we are. They are solitary. They are savage. They are unwelcoming.

This notion is fairly old. In fact, tracing the etymology of the word ‘island’ takes us to the same point. The Latin word for island is ‘insula’ which is related to ‘insulation’ and the Italian word for island is ‘isola’ which is, as you must have already noticed, related to ‘isolation’. But that wasn’t always the case. In the ancient Mutinosan language of this archipelago, which is modern Frieden-und Freudenland, an island was called posota – which was derived from the word poso ‘pearl’ by the addition of the suffix ta which means ‘a part of’. So in Mutinosan, if you hold a single pearl in your hand, that would be a pososan ‘lonely pearl’ whereas if you hold a pearl necklace in your hand every pearl on the string would be a ‘posota’. Together, the posotas would make a posobon – a pearl family.
Living in an archipelago comprised of thousands of isles, and thus having no idea that there could be lonely, isolated islands out in the ocean; Mutinkas ominously called an island a posota, a pearl which must needs be a part of a string of pearls.

By the time we got to the 16th century, the wisdom of Mutinkas was replaced by a different kind of wisdom, a different worldview – the one that Joan Donatello is reacting against in her poem. As people started labeling, classifying, and analyzing things; our logic has naturally shifted its focus to properties that make things different from each other from properties that make things similar. Individuals became more important than communities. Analysis became more important than synthesis. Ironically, Donatello criticized this and said that humans had to realize that they were part of a larger whole and not just solitary beings leading solitary lives, and she tried to convey this message by saying that they were not islands.

Yes, if she had not forgotten the wisdom of Mutinkas, she would have rephrased that line. Because there was a time when the people who breathed the air we now inhale conceived of islands as pearls on a string, not as solitary pearls. Donatello’s metaphor would have made no sense for them.

Maybe it is time to resurrect the wisdom of Mutinkas.

Dear Fellow Island Nations, Dear Friends,

Today we gather here in Sereneville, the birth place of Joan Donatello, to open a new chapter in the history of cooperation between the island nations in Forest. There are issues that affect island nations more severely than other nations, such as piracy, tsunamis, sea pollution; and all these issues need to be addressed. This meeting is an important step toward achieving this goal.

For too long we have been maintaining diplomatic ties without being overly concerned about increasing our cooperation and establishing stronger ties between our nations to have a brighter future as island nations. Today we are laying the foundations of a long, enduring friendship; that will hopefully remain eternally strong. Finally we are doing something more meaningful than exchanging ambassadors and paying costly but ineffective diplomatic visits to each other’s countries. We are working toward a common goal that will help all island nations prosper.

Please keep in mind that it’s not just that we want to be a community. We have to be a community.

Because no island is an island. Each of us is a posota. And together we can be a shiny, precious posobon.

And we will be one.

Thank you!

*All the Tishandan delegates clap for Dr. Barbara Kaufmann's speech*

[Monpiterre]

Véronique stood up out of her seat and clapped along with all the other OFIN delegates for Kaufmann's rousing speech-- it had given her such a feeling, of hope, of pride; she sensed that this was exactly where she wanted to be, this was her duty.

Slowly the hall quieted down again, and Véronique looked around at all the faces in the room. She knew almost none of them, only her friend Suvit Thévenet, a fellow delegate from Monpiterre. Even the other Monpiterrean delegates she didn't know well; most of them she'd only met yesterday. But everybody looked eager to begin the discussion and work together.

Véronique brushed a strand of hair aside from her face. Looking back up at the podium, she saw Dr. Kaufmann begin to call out each Head of Delegation to come up and represent their nation. Body and Soul, then Chan Island, then Tishanda, then Shalotte--wait, are they wearing a wool coat? She'd heard Taco Respublic was attending, but the flag of Taco Respublic, unlike all the other nations' flags which were standing next to their respective delegations, was nowhere to be found.

Huh, she thought, maybe they'll come later. After all, it is pretty far away....

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

After giving her speech, Dr. Barbara Kaufmann left the stage and started to welcome the heads of delegations and delegates one by one. She seemed happy and proud. She shook hands with everyone with a big smile on her face.

She was a little surprised that the delegation from Taco Respublic hadn't arrived yet, but then she thought of those old jokes people used to tell about the epic laziness of Taco Respublicians. 'Maybe they decided to perpetuate the stereotype.' she thought. The impropriety of her thought amazed and amused her. After all, she was the minister of commerce of Frieden-und Freudenland, she had to be dignified in word and deed - and in thought, though that wasn't easy.

Even doing the word and deed part wasn't easy when she walked to the end of the line of delegates and had to shake hands with Tokugawa Min, the ambassador from Chan Island and the head of their delegation. One could see the smile on her face fade away, and a sheet of ice was formed between her and Mr. Min as they reluctantly shook hands. Mr. Min didn't seem to care, though one could not tell whether he had failed to notice her coldness or whether he noticed it but considered it wiser to ignore it. Dr. Kaufmann could not understand how Mr. Min could so shamelessly smirk at her and congratulate her for her 'inspiring speech,' especially considering the implication of her aversion to piracy that she did not hesitate to include in that speech. While she pronounced the word 'piracy,' she had taken care to look into Mr. Min's eyes with a piercing, accusing glance; to make sure he would understand what she would focus on in the discussions. She was the minister of commerce, and wasn't seen as the most successful minister in the cabinet - though it was not her fault, as she did her best. With a bunch of crazy pirates interceping merchandise ships, commerce affairs did not fare well. And she was determined to fix that during this summit.

[Shalotte]

Aefi was exhausted and grouchy. Tying her fierce, curly red hair behind her in a loose ponytail as she made her way to the conference - late, as per usual - she reflected on the lengthy journey she had undertaken to get to this strange, foreign country. Technically any journey from Shalotte was doomed to be a lengthy one given its remoteness, especially in that ancient propeller-driven plane they were stuck with, but this journey was in a whole other league. Frieden-und Freudenland was, after all, on the opposite side of the entire region from Shalotte, more than 2,000 miles distance, making for an agonising plane ride of almost seven hours. It should go without saying that there is no in-flight entertainment on a second-hand, 1960s vintage Shalotte aircraft.

And the seats weren't comfortable either, as evidenced by the laboured manner in which the green-wool-clad woman walked. Still, Sereneville was an unusual place, and she was glad to have been given the chance to visit. Most noticeable was how much warmer the place was than home, and it was littered with trees of all hues and sizes. So too were the buildings impressive, at least to her. Stone blackhouses and earthen, hollow mounds were the norm in Shalotte, so these structures of glass and steel were utterly bizarre to a woman who had never left home.

Interesting as it is, I hope this trip manages to offer something more productive than sightseeing, she thought to herself grumpily.

She managed to enter the conference centre and was guided to the location of the summit just in time to walk in at the end of Dr. Kaufmann's speech, which frankly, she was quite happy about. If there was one thing Shalottes hated, it was prevaricating and throwing fancy words around for the sake of filling a silence. Just say what you mean! Aefi always thought whenever a foreigner began waxing lyrical about something.

Watching the doctor 'groom the room', she quietly placed herself somewhere out-of-the-way, and slipped off her green wool jacket, to reveal a creamy cotton undershirt - it was far too hot in this country. She tossed the coat on a nearby chair and began studying the other delegates subtly, as she tried to figure out where they had all come from.

[Nakad]

The Federation of Nakad has sent the following delegates to the summit.

Head of Delegation: Claus Welder, Nakad Council Representative for the Island of Fyre
Delegate: Cate Rhodes, Minister of Foreign Affairs

If Claus Welder was at all furious for being late for the opening speech for the 1st meeting of the OFIN, he was certainly hiding it well. He was a tall man looking to be in his late 40s, stern faced, well built and sporting a rather cheap looking suit and tie. Which was unusual for him and his fellow delegate Cate Rhodes, a younger looking woman probably in her late 20s who was also wearing a cheap looking outfit. This was unusual as clothing in the Federation was entirely outlawed. They certainly looked uncomfortable. But as their saying goes, Naked where required, clothed where appropriate. This certainly was latter. Both clapped along with the audience while making their way to their assigned table as the speech was concluded

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

John McClair stealthily glanced at his watch. 'Times goes by too slowly,' he murmured to himself. He wasn't happy to be at this OFIN meeting. He would rather sit at home and play his video games. He was just the kind of person who would come up with the craziest plans to avoid fulfilling his duties. For example, just a few days ago he had been feeling a little under the weather, he had a cold - nothing to worry about. Still, he had thought how he could use this little ailment to take a paid leave from his teaching job at the Institute for International Relations. Suddenly he had a brilliant idea: he thought all diseases sounded scary when their names were in Latin and he looked up the Latin name for diseases like 'common cold' in a Latin dictionary and looking at several options, he decided that rhinitis acuta catarrhalis sounded frightening enough. Just as he was drafting a petition to give to the administrative office of the institute to get a leave for a few days, he had been greeted by the chair of the institute who told him that he was commissioned to go to Sereneville as part of a delegation for OFIN. He had listened to her patiently as she explained what OFIN was in the most complicated way possible. If she ever uttered a short sentence, it would go down in history. That's for sure. After a brief hesitation, John recalled a friend of his who had been teaching at the University of Sereneville during his sabbatical and who had told her that the girls in Sereneville were very pretty. Then he had eagerly accepted the offer and never mentioned his rhinitis acuta catarrhalis.

But now he was starting to regret his decision. The meeting promised to be very tedious, as he could deduce from the blandness of the opening speech that Dr. Kaufmann gave. He also didn't think he would have time to explore the city. The meeting would occupy his whole weekend, and on Monday he had to be back in Civitas Pacis to teach his class at the institute. The women at the meeting, too, seemed unattractive to him. It was certainly a bad idea to come to this meeting.

As Dr. Kaufmann's speech concluded, he clapped his hands lethargically and hoped that he could at least go into a more joyful mood once this opening ceremony was over and the wine was served at the lunch. He didn't think he could survive this boring event unless he was intoxicated.

[Body and Soul]

To whom it may concern in OFIN, Frieden-und Freudenland and/or Sereneville,

We are pleased to report that our delegates were pleased to report that the conference was a great success in their eyes. Despite a few dull moments, many great ideas were discussed and Body + Soul is greatly looking forward to the further endeavors of OFIN. We have begun to set-up our own in-house OFIN offices, which will remain open at all times to other OFIN member nations.

We regret that a few of our delegates and their hangers-on may or may not have been involved in some raucous behavior and damage to hotel rooms, a pool, four rented cars, several bars, a restaurant, and three private homes (to which they were invited). We send with this letter more than ample money to cover the expenses and/or repair and hope there is no bad blood.

We also would like to find our one delegate, Farkley Funkin' Keith, who has yet to return to B+S. Last reports put him shacked up with a few wild women somewhere in a less that favorable part of town. He doesn't answer his phone, nor email and while we do not believe he is in any danger and probably not too much trouble we would like him to return to his homeland post asap. If you encounter him, encourage him to return if you will.

Thank you again,
Wasserman Voigt
B+S Government

[Nakad]

(Is this still going on? Or have we concluded that it is a successful event?)

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

(Is this still going on? Or have we concluded that it is a successful event?)

I guess people just dropped out. Perhaps a diplomatic meeting wasn't really interesting for everyone, as Mount Seymour told me. Though it's also possible that the meeting was scheduled at an inappropriate time. It kinda fell into oblivion due to excitement about the zombies, you know.

I am personally in favor of reviving the thread, not least because the citizens of Sereneville have put so much effort into hosting this event:)) We had previously agreed that we wouldn't care about real world time and that two days in the RP thread can extend over longer periods of time IRL. I think we could do this. To keep track of the RP time, we could post our messages with a time indication in the beginning, as follows.

Saturday, 11.30.

Dr. Kaufmann walked across the hall...

etc.

We could prohibiit other players from posting a message the reference time of which is earlier than the reference time given in the most recent post. And it would work, I think. But that's my opinion. It's possible that the other players just lost interest.

[Tishanda]

(Is this still going on? Or have we concluded that it is a successful event?)

I guess people just dropped out. Perhaps a diplomatic meeting wasn't really interesting for everyone, as Mount Seymour told me. Though it's also possible that the meeting was scheduled at an inappropriate time. It kinda fell into oblivion due to excitement about the zombies, you know.

I am personally in favor of reviving the thread, not least because the citizens of Sereneville have put so much effort into hosting this event:)) We had previously agreed that we wouldn't care about real world time and that two days in the RP thread can extend over longer periods of time IRL. I think we could do this. To keep track of the RP time, we could post our messages with a time indication in the beginning, as follows.

Saturday, 11.30.

Dr. Kaufmann walked across the hall...

etc.

We could prohibiit other players from posting a message the reference time of which is earlier than the reference time given in the most recent post. And it would work, I think. But that's my opinion. It's possible that the other players just lost interest.

I would love for this to be revived. Like you said, I think people just lost interest in it.