Chugging Along: an Interview with Alan Lee
Part 3 of Welcome to Europeia, an Interview Series with United Vietussia
A newcomer that has perhaps gone under the radar but is perhaps starting to come out is Alan Lee, the self-proclaimed Phil Collins aficionado and active Discorder. His work in the States program is perhaps unmatched, leading the only truly active State as Governor, Haven.
On the heels of my interview with Lethen, I am pleased to bring you my recent sit-down with Alan Lee as we dive into part 3 of Welcome to Europeia.
You've been in Europeia for a while, but relatively speaking, you're still a newcomer, with a little over a half a year under your belt. What have you learned in this time?
Well, Europeia really taught me a lot. I get to interact with people, and their respective views, which often times are much more different than what I have. I get to learn more about different kinds of political system (especially when compared to Taiwan’s political system). Had I not have joined Europeia and instead joined another region, I may have just got bored and left, which means that I’ll miss out on all of these information and knowledge within Europeia.
Do you think Europeia's expectations of newcomers are too high, too low, or just right?
Personally, I think it’s a little bit too low. This may have to do with the fact that a large percentage of newcomers aren’t very active. In fact, a considerable amount of them just sign up for an account, post a citizenship application and never is seen again. Eventually, that leads to the general Europeian public thinking that most (if not all) newcomers are inactive people. In addition to that, there are also newcomers who run for president, lose and is gone (31%, in fact, according to a recent EBC article by GraV). This contributes to the idea that quite a lot of newcomers aren’t serious enough, even newcomers that are actually serious and enthusiastic.
You're the current Deputy Minister of the States program. Do you think this program (if it can get back on its feet) would be a good integration tool?
Yes. If the CA is the training center for future senators, Haven (and the Europeian States Program in general) is the training center for future ministers and presidents. Since Haven has its own Governor, and also a court and a Hall of Citizen (modeled after the CA), this would ensure that participants would have a balanced learning of the executive, and as well as a bit of legislation and judicial.
How would you describe your integration into Europeia?
I focused on mostly the executive, more specifically WA affairs and Radio, and these are the ministries that I still put a lot of energy in. For example, I ran for WAD on the last election, and hosted several shows for radio. Eventually, I diversified my energy to other ministries, like Interior (recruiting), Culture (Europeian States System) and Foreign Affairs (Developing UCRs). However, I have yet to have the time to get started in communications. In addition, my work on Legislation or Justice was (and still is for Justice) not really a thing anyhow, but recently, I’ve put more time and energy on the CA, and I have a proposal that is currently going through the Senate. This lack of focus (in the beginning) on Legislation and Justice is one of the reasons I want the States Program to continue, to assist our newcomers in learning all of Europeia, not just a specific part of it like I did.
What is your favorite aspect about Europeia?
Activity. I can talk with Europeians at 3 AM EST and still there will be a lot of people from all over the world. It is ultimately this aspect that really taught me a lot, whether in politics or other things. In fact, had I not joined Europeia at first and joined another region, I may not even play the game after June. And this activity really brought me to the world of NS, as I live in Taiwan, so most Americans are sleeping when I’m on.
If you could change one thing about Europeia, what would you change?
Increase of non-spam activities in the Cultural Hub. There are many things in it, and many opportunities for discussion and interaction, from Haven, the Art Gallery to the place for Philosophical Discussions, the Cultural Hub has the potential to be something magnificent. However, the only thing that’s active is the Spam Zone, and to a lesser extent, Haven (though mainly its application form in the past few days). I would like to see more non-spam activities there, as it would have more intellectual discussions among Europeians.
Although we've yet to see, the recent branch out to other Ministries and activities in the region could point to a rise for Alan in the upcoming year. His willingness to try everything the region has to offer is something not typically seen from newcomers, as most prefer to stick to one branch of the government. He's certainly someone to watch in the upcoming year as he transitions out of his status as a newcomer.
