Adam I, Editor
TURING, Lagentia – During a state visit by the Emperor of Austenasia to Adammia’s capital, Imperial City, on Wednesday the 4th of October, the two nations signed the charter of the Association of British Micronations, a new organisation.
Emperor Jonathan and Emperor Adam immediately after signing the ABM Charter
Emperor Jonathan I and his wife, Empress Hannah, were welcomed to White Gold Palace by Emperor Adam I. In addition to signing the charter, the guests were given a tour of County Tytannia, and the two nations exchanged gifts. Furthermore, Adam and Hannah, in her capacity as Princess of Wildflower Meadows, signed a mutual recognition treaty between Adammia and the Austenasian protectorate.
Details about the new Association of British Micronations were unveiled in a joint press release issued by the Adammic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Austenasian Foreign Office on Friday the 6th. They have been keen to stress that, unlike many more general-purpose micronational organisations such as the Grand Unified Micronational, the ABM won’t have a deliberative chamber (like the GUM’s Quorum) or regular elections. Instead, its primary purpose will be to organise an annual in-person British micronational summit, the first of which is expected in the summer of 2024. In between these summits, the organisation’s affairs will be managed by a Board of Trustees; Adammia, Austenasia and Lundenwic, as founding members, shall be permament trustees on this Board (Lundenwic has not yet signed the Charter, but is expected to do so in the near future). The presidency of the Board is to rotate between trustees – Emperor Adam I is the inaugural President, and shall serve until the close of the first summit.
An unusual aspect of the new ABM is that it will charge a membership fee to member states, currently expected to be £10 per year. This is intended to cover the cost of a website and contribute towards the cost of the summit. However, this fee, alongside a series of membership requirements, also mean that the ABM will have some of the strictest standards for membership amongst current-day micronational organisations. Requirements include member states being at least a year old, having at least one delegate over the age of sixteen, being primarily located in Great Britain, and being in good diplomatic standing (including complying with the Wrythe and Edgbaston Conventions). The main benefit to membership is that non-members will have to pay a higher registration fee to attend the annual summit, whereas member states will be able to register up to three delegates for free. Furthermore, only official members will have voting rights at the ABM’s annual general meeting, which will be part of the summit. In an effort to keep the membership fee reasonably low, Adammia and Austenasia have both provisionally agreed to provide additional funding if necessary to cover the cost of the summit. Membership applications are due to open in January 2024, by which time it is expected a website and social media accounts will be set up.
Emperor Adam formally welcomes the Austenasian Emperor and Empress to Adammia at Tytannia’s border with the UK
After the treaties were signed and official photographs were taken, the national leaders were served food, before retiring to a pub in Wakefield for a couple of hours before the Austenasians returned to their hotel and the Emperor returned to Lagentia. Emperor Mother Jayne, in her capacity as Director of Events at the Cabinet Office, oversaw the catering and official photography for the state visit, whilst Lord Colonel Reginald Hall chauffuered everyone between Imperial City and Wakefield.
The long-standing relationship between Adammia and Austenasia dates back to Adammia’s earliest days, when, in May 2013, Emperor Jonathan sponsored Adammia’s initial application to join the Grand Unified Micronational. Due to Austenasia’s “imperium” doctrine, it took until 2018 for the two empires to formally recognise each other, and in that same year Emperor Adam made his first state visit to Austenasia, as part of that nation’s tenth Independence Day celebrations. The two empires have subsequently become close diplomatic partners, with Emperor Adam serving as a groomsman at Jonathan and Hannah’s wedding last November. Last week’s visit is only the second state visit hosted by Adammia, following shortly after the visit by the Rector of the Serene Beaconite Republic, James Frisch, to the Adammic capital in April as part of the tenth Foundation Day celebrations.
Adammic Express 