Diplomat Dealings
An Interview with Giovanniland
Written by United Vietussia
At a time when ambassadors are beginning to make their presence felt more within Europeia, especially on Discord, the EBC thought it would be fitting to sit down and talk with an ambassador who has really been an active voice as of late in Europeian channels. As such, I was given the great opportunity to interview Giovanniland, the current ambassador to Europeia from The West Pacific. Gio is someone who you would be hard pressed to miss as of late, especially amongst the Weekend Games crowd. I sat down with Gio recently, and this is the interview that followed:
For those who are unaware, you're the ambassador to Europeia from The West Pacific. In your time as ambassador, what are some differences you've noticed between your home region and ours?
I've noticed that Europeia has a more complicated political system than The West Pacific, with more positions to apply for. TWP has a simplified structure with the Guardians and Delegate protecting the region, the Hall of Nations for citizens and the ministries one can apply to join, such as WA or Cultural Affairs.
What do you want Europeians to know about The West Pacific specifically?
We want you to know that, although being one of the Pacifics, we don't have a RMB full of spam like other Pacifics, for example, and we have interesting regional themes every year which allows us to create interregional events such as the Chinese-themed festival of the 3 Perfections, which happened last month, and a regional map open to new people in which we RP our nations.
What does political progress look like in The West Pacific?
The start is to apply for citizenship on the Hall of Nations. From there, one can apply to several ministries, like Culture, Foreign Affairs, and the Newspaper, to write some examples. Those are just things one can join after being a citizen, though. TWP is a meritocracy, so you'll actually need to do meaningful things and show you are responsible. So one needs to work for some time in the ministers to get a chance to advance on higher positions. There are 2 ways: the elections (they happen every 3 months for Speaker of the Hall and Deputy Minister positions), which you need to show your [abilities] to be elected, and Delegate-appointed positions (the Minister and Guardian positions, which are the highest).
What's been the most memorable moment you've had as an ambassador to Europeia?
My favorite activities in Europeia so far have been the Yule Ball and the Weekend Games.
Tell me more about Weekend Games. You're big into Trivia around here, so what draws you in, as an ambassador, to your assigned region's cultural activities?
I like to know about a foreign region's culture, so after I am assigned a region, I first get to know their members, then some activities, and if they catch my interest I'll participate on them. Weekend Games is a nice activity to have some fun and also to know what are the foreign region's members' interests and personalities, which can be apparent if they draw well in Skribble, or answer more history/movies/etc questions correctly in Trivia, for example.
From the standpoint of a foreign ambassador, if you could change one thing about Europeia, what would it be?
This is a minor change, but nevertheless it's worth nothing. I remember when I first joined I had some trouble getting access to the Discord server and had to ask for help. While I understand the protection against unwanted people, maybe the entry could have some how-to-enter procedures.
Do you think that Europeia is "newcomer-friendly" after being here for the time that you have?
It is! Well, I do have to say that due to my lack of knowledge of how Discord worked at the time, my first contact was weird since I didn't know how to enter the server properly and had to ask for help. Other than that, I can't think of anything that isn't newcomer-friendly. I've looked at the newcomer's guide and it helped me a lot to explain the Europeian political system.
Would you rather fight 20 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?
Uhh... 1 horse-sized duck I think.
Gio is just one ambassador that our region has seen in the public eye recently, and if this interview is any testament to it, there is certainly much to be learned from any ambassador should the opportunity arise to speak with them. The next time you stumble upon the opportunity to speak with an ambassador, take it. You never know what you might learn about allied regions, or even your own region.
