Europeian Success Stories: SkyGreen24






Europeian Success Stories: SkyGreen24
A journey of self-exploWAtion

Questions created by the Ministry of Interior, interview conducted by the Ministry of Radio




SkyGreen24 (Sky), the current minister of communications and mayor of Arnhelm and former senator, is perhaps best known for his two terms as minister of World Assembly (WA) affairs. Having worked as deputy during Maowi’s term, Sky delivered two highly acclaimed terms of his own, leaving the role of the minister in order to pursue a new beginning in communications. So how did a promising newcomer become a highly respected figure both within and without World Assembly Affairs in a matter of months? In a collaboration between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Radio, Xecrio interviewed Sky live on Europeian Broadcasting Corporation Radio to find out.

2020 was not when Sky first found Europeia. His “first days in Europeia were in 2018.” but he does not feel like he did anything significant back then, dismissing that period as “another matter entirely.” He rejoined the region in April 2020 under the split executive. It was not a walk in the park for him to get started, which is a sentiment shared by many people new to Europeia; “the first days I spent trying to find out what I wanted to do.” Soon, however, one particular ministry caught his eye: “I noticed [the Ministry of WA Affairs] seem[ed] easy because you have a maximum of two IFVs [Information for Voters] to write every 3 days, so I joined that.”

Sky would not have understood all the ins and outs of the ministry without support from more experienced members. “I tried to figure out what to do and with the help of [then-Councilor of World Assembly Affairs] Izzy and [then-Deputy Councilor] Maowi, I did. Once I started endlessly signing up to write the next IFV, [...] my effort was noticed and [next term under Councilor Maowi] I was promoted to deputy councilor.” From there, things went easier for Sky: “after that, it was just a matter of continuing what I’d been doing. During that term I actually started writing even more IFVs and just based on that effort and dedication to the ministry - since it was basically the only ministry I was involved in at that time - I was able to further develop my career or rank up.” Soon, Sky’s involvement in the ministry was noticed on an all-Europeian level and he reached the top spot, as “Maowi recommended [him] as a candidate for the role of minister of World Assembly affairs to pretty much all presidential candidates back then and that's how [he] became the first minister of World Assembly affairs after the remerge of the Executive.“

When asked to reflect on whether he knew right away that he wanted to join the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs, Sky gave a two-folded answer: “Well, yes and no. I didn't specifically look for the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs but rather looked for a ministry where I could contribute periodically with small bursts of activity.” Sky’s initial goal is relatable to many newcomers - “to find a thing to do in my free time but not trying to get too involved” - and for him personally, there was a particularly good fit for this goal: “after looking at all the ministries and what they all do, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs seemed like the perfect amount of effort needed.”

It is also important to know why Sky himself was fit to lead the ministry and which qualities helped him achieve such resounding success. Sky named one factor that he felt was most important. “Honestly, it’s just about organisation; most of the time you have people who can do the job. You just need to guide them to the necessary tasks.” He elaborated on his point with some examples. “The main thing [...] was to keep track of the IFVs and figure out when to notify people that we need something written. And for example, when there were multiple people who were willing to write something, I needed to make a good choice on who gets to write it.” Training a new generation of leaders is sometimes the deciding factor, as “[Sky] could probably just have the most experienced members write IFVs all the time, but you need to make sure that you give newer staff members a chance.” As Sky summed up eloquently, the keys to success in World Assembly Affairs are “really just organising and recognising the potential in people.”

World Assembly proposals play a central role in the ministry, whose task is both evaluating existing ones and encouraging Europeians to draft resolutions of their own. Thus, the next question asked was why it is important to be precise in drafting and evaluating proposals. While Sky has so far only done the latter, he admitted that, while “newer WA proposals have flexibility [...] vagueness is never a good thing.” Specifically for GA (General Assembly) proposals, “you need to define what it is you're regulating, mandating, or recognising, and that's important because you don't want someone to prepare a repeal right after you submitted your proposal, but also because you are trying to create something that will definitely be a good thing and a benefit to the members of the WA.” For the SC (Security Council), “you also want to be sure that you will be able to achieve the goal you are aiming for. For example, you may want to Liberate a Fascist region, but people will still expect you to be precise about what you want to do. Otherwise, even though the idea behind it is a good one, if the execution isn't as well then you're going to have a rough time getting your proposal passed.”

It was interesting to find out what impact exactly the NationStates (NS) community as a whole had on Sky’s term as minister, as the WA is often described and used as an effective foreign policy tool. To Sky, there is no clear answer, but one part of the community, in particular, stands out as the one that played a substantial role during his term. “My main interactions were with people from the World Assembly Legislative League [voting bloc consisting of Europeia, The North Pacific, Europe, Balder, and International Democratic Union].” However, Sky believes that with the rest of the NS community, “it’s mostly just figuring out how [it] is going to view a certain proposal” because it “is just such a big group of people that you can't always have all the information about.” As an example, “you might just write the perfect IFV and get it upvoted but you still might not affect a lot of people because it just clashes with their ideas.” Diversity of views is definitely a characteristic of the NS community, not only with regards to the WA but also in military gameplay and foreign affairs, and it cannot be ignored. To sum up, “the NS community does have an influx but it’s very hard to properly define [...] how to get the best out of the relationship with it.”

Recently, social engagement with other players has become increasingly important for success in most areas of NS, and the WA is no exception, which is why Sky was queried on whether being Minister of World Assembly Affairs impacted that part of his NS experience. “I've definitely been much more socially engaged. I used to talk a lot with our allies about the drafting of WA resolutions or proposals. Starting with that I became more active in certain discord servers where WA proposals were discussed and I just became more aware of the NS world and all the different people in it.” The WA forums are another place where discussions happen; “I've noticed a lot of regions during my time as minister as I used to check the forums and see how other people were reacting to different proposals during the drafting period.” Sometimes foreign affairs or even out of character personality is closely intertwined with the WA, as the “conversation is not about the proposal itself but about the person behind the proposal or the person who is the target of the proposal.”

The social aspect is only one side of the coin. In an online game such as NS, the technical aspect is sometimes decisive. In the case of WA, as with many other things in Europeia, the road has already been paved by past members with technical prowess. “The main tool I’ve been using during the time was that special Google Doc sheet - there's a similar one for Communications - something I used very often for the various dispatches.” In addition to tools by past members, present members in leadership positions or with a lot of experience sometimes need to be consulted when managing the ministry. Sky highlights two individuals from whom he got advice, namely former President Sopo and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Common-Sense Politics (CSP), who were in their respective positions during Sky’s first term as minister. “For example, during some more interesting SC resolutions I would contact Sopo and CSP to be aware of why we’re recommending the vote because sure I [...] need to understand the background to be properly aware of what we’re actually doing or [...] trying to achieve and why we’re trying to achieve something like that.”

Sky definitely believes he is appreciated in the region and “[feels] like [his] contributions have been noticed - for example, the presidential candidates have sometimes mentioned [him] in their platform or rather how the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs has been on an upwards trend.” However, he does not consider attention the crux of the matter. “I don't really think too much about what people will say, rather, I [...] try to do a good job, and [it is nice] if people are going to praise me after that, I love getting attention, but I'm not too hung up on that.”

Finally, when asked about how role models can influence newcomers to Europeia, he cannot relate to having one, as he “generally [does not] look up to people, it's just not something [he thinks] is a good idea of doing.” Speaking about other people, Sky does concede that it may be “beneficial” for them to “have some role models to be aware of what the region appreciates or what the region thinks is a good person, a good contributor.” However, Sky’s ultimate advice for integration is that “if you want people to develop you need to figure out who they are rather than who they want to [be like].”

That last piece of advice sums up Sky’s own career in Europeia really well. Having found the ministry that he loves, and honed his skills, he rose to the very top of the political ladder. His journey shows how the Europeian environment fosters growth and is an example for any newcomer wanting to rise up the ranks.

 
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Thank you for transcribing the interview, Seva. It's very good to have this in the EBC too, I think this is certainly a Europeian Success Story to look back on!
 
This is a lovely write-up Seva!!! And of a lovely success story too. It's very interesting to hear Sky's perspective on his extremely impressive career so far.
 
Thank you Seva!! I listened to the interview live and it is wonderful to have this article as a summary and analysis!
 
Great article, Seva! I haven't been involved in WAA much in the past (Something I'm trying to change), so it's always interesting to hear about stories like these how people who were passionate about WAA got involved.
 
This was a wonderful article Seva. Sky has had a great career, and I've always enjoyed working with him in whatever capacity, or just chatting about life in general in our downtime - I loved reading a personal take on his rise in the region though!
 
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