Hi there. As some of you may know, I work in a supermarket and as you can imagine that's quite stressful and hectic right now. I've had to do more overtime than I expected I would have had to do this past week, meaning I've been pretty swamped. Unfortunately, this has meant I've not had the time to processes the interview with Istillian nor conduct an interview with HEM (an interview was conducted with Verteger before he dropped out of the race). Because today is election day, I've done some work on the interview with Istillian so that his answers can be read by voters (I know most people have already voted but there will be some voters still to vote and a run-off is possible). Apologies to the region for the lateness in this release and for a lower quality article having to be released.
Lime: Hello and welcome to our interview with current Second Minister, and candidate for First Minister Istillian. Second Minister, welcome.
Istillian: Hi there, it’s great to be here.
Lime: We start tonight, by asking about your early history in Euorpeia. When did you join the region and how quickly did you get involved?
Istillian: I joined Europeia in May of 2019, but it took me a little while to get my head around everything there was to do in the region. My first recognisable activity was with the ERN, also the first thing in Europeia that I signed up for. There was a callout for sailors to take part in a raid, so I thought I’d jump in, but my citizenship had just lapsed on the forums. I had a really quick turnaround from both HEM and Lethen to waive me back into the region, to then take part in a raid. I was incredibly impressed at everyone’s willingness to help me out, and loved the general positivity and helpfulness from both HEM and Lethen in particular - I have continued to have a deep respect for these two because of their help in keeping me involved in the beginning. I soon began chatting to people through Discord, and after someone suggested I join communications, I found a new home in Europeia writing articles shortly after that.
Lime: That takes us to our second question, tonight. What kind of roles have you taken up while in Europeia?
Istillian: As I mentioned I found a new home in Communications and in August of 2019, I made my EBC debut by writing a weekly update, but it wasn’t until September that I wrote an article on my experience joining Europeia From then on I became very passionate about writing more, and learning about the editing process from some experienced staff. I was working alongside some star newcomers in the Communications field, and luckily working with people that were having their breakout moments as leaders in the region, those such as Maowi and Hezekon, and even Astrellan. From there I continued my service in the ERN, having tried to remain committed with an active readiness as a sailor; I still hold the belief that this is one of the areas of our region that we can use to engage newcomers the most, as it has given me some of the best experiences I’ve had in Europeia. After joining Communications I branched out to join the Council of World Assembly Affairs, Council of Foreign Affairs, and what was then the Ministry of Recruitment too. So you’ll have seen my activity scattered across the region for some time, writing IFV’s, recruiting regularly, jumping in to our internal an external affairs.
Lime: Looking more specifically then, can you provide our viewers a brief overview of your experience within the Executive branch?
Istillian: My passion has always been with Communications, and I feel very fortunate to have worked under Hezekon when he was Minister, to then work as an EBC Editor in Chief and then Deputy Minister under Maowi. Through this process I saw a quick rise to become Minister of Communications under Pichtonia, and while this rise was sudden for some, there was a very clear path for developing leadership for me, and for me to recognise how to help others develop in their own way too. This shift through the ranks gave me some insight into what it takes to be not just a minister, but a good leader for others. I remember at one point thinking I had to write as many articles as I could as minister, but I soon found out it was more about having creative ideas and assigning people to work on projects and giving them the ideas that they were interested in most, while also maintaining a high degree of involvement in the field too. Honestly, I burnt out fairly quickly at one point with the demands of the role, the pressure I was putting on myself, and my personal life taking a spin out of control at the end of last year, and I could no longer meet the demands as Minister. While this was difficult for me to face, I think it’s taught me to manage my own expectations and demands, and how to be understanding of my expectations of others too. So making a comeback at the beginning of the year, I promised myself that I wouldn’t take on anything I didn’t feel prepared for. Although in saying that, I started working again fairly rapidly, became a deputy councilor of foreign affairs, Minister of Communications again, and then Second Minister.
Lime: It’s clear therefore that you have limited experience within the executive branch, how do you know you have the administrative and managerial skills to lead the executive branch?
Istillian: A few times I’ve had to make difficult calls in these roles, regarding people management, how much investment of time I would have to make in a position, and admitting to failures or mistakes - I would expect there would be a risk of this as First Minister. I know I have the administrative experience, I know I can manage staff, but mostly, I know that I have the ambition and the drive to be first minister, and I have the passion to see a brighter and better region.
Lime: Can you tell us how strong a chance you think you have of winning the election?
Istillian: I don’t necessarily know if I will win the election, although I do know it will be a challenge - but I have to remain confident and let nothing sway me at this point. I remain committed and focused now, and I remain committed for the next term.
Lime: And if you lose the election, what then?
Istillian: If I don’t get there as First Minister this time around, there’s still so much to do, and I’m still passionate about work in the region! Maybe I’ll write an article about it, run a few raids, run up more recruitment telegrams, and after that, maybe I’d compete in the next election!
Lime: Second Minister, thank you for your time.
Istillian: Thank you for having me.
Meet the Candidates
Interview with Istillian
Interview with Istillian
Lime: Hello and welcome to our interview with current Second Minister, and candidate for First Minister Istillian. Second Minister, welcome.
Istillian: Hi there, it’s great to be here.
Lime: We start tonight, by asking about your early history in Euorpeia. When did you join the region and how quickly did you get involved?
Istillian: I joined Europeia in May of 2019, but it took me a little while to get my head around everything there was to do in the region. My first recognisable activity was with the ERN, also the first thing in Europeia that I signed up for. There was a callout for sailors to take part in a raid, so I thought I’d jump in, but my citizenship had just lapsed on the forums. I had a really quick turnaround from both HEM and Lethen to waive me back into the region, to then take part in a raid. I was incredibly impressed at everyone’s willingness to help me out, and loved the general positivity and helpfulness from both HEM and Lethen in particular - I have continued to have a deep respect for these two because of their help in keeping me involved in the beginning. I soon began chatting to people through Discord, and after someone suggested I join communications, I found a new home in Europeia writing articles shortly after that.
Lime: That takes us to our second question, tonight. What kind of roles have you taken up while in Europeia?
Istillian: As I mentioned I found a new home in Communications and in August of 2019, I made my EBC debut by writing a weekly update, but it wasn’t until September that I wrote an article on my experience joining Europeia From then on I became very passionate about writing more, and learning about the editing process from some experienced staff. I was working alongside some star newcomers in the Communications field, and luckily working with people that were having their breakout moments as leaders in the region, those such as Maowi and Hezekon, and even Astrellan. From there I continued my service in the ERN, having tried to remain committed with an active readiness as a sailor; I still hold the belief that this is one of the areas of our region that we can use to engage newcomers the most, as it has given me some of the best experiences I’ve had in Europeia. After joining Communications I branched out to join the Council of World Assembly Affairs, Council of Foreign Affairs, and what was then the Ministry of Recruitment too. So you’ll have seen my activity scattered across the region for some time, writing IFV’s, recruiting regularly, jumping in to our internal an external affairs.
Lime: Looking more specifically then, can you provide our viewers a brief overview of your experience within the Executive branch?
Istillian: My passion has always been with Communications, and I feel very fortunate to have worked under Hezekon when he was Minister, to then work as an EBC Editor in Chief and then Deputy Minister under Maowi. Through this process I saw a quick rise to become Minister of Communications under Pichtonia, and while this rise was sudden for some, there was a very clear path for developing leadership for me, and for me to recognise how to help others develop in their own way too. This shift through the ranks gave me some insight into what it takes to be not just a minister, but a good leader for others. I remember at one point thinking I had to write as many articles as I could as minister, but I soon found out it was more about having creative ideas and assigning people to work on projects and giving them the ideas that they were interested in most, while also maintaining a high degree of involvement in the field too. Honestly, I burnt out fairly quickly at one point with the demands of the role, the pressure I was putting on myself, and my personal life taking a spin out of control at the end of last year, and I could no longer meet the demands as Minister. While this was difficult for me to face, I think it’s taught me to manage my own expectations and demands, and how to be understanding of my expectations of others too. So making a comeback at the beginning of the year, I promised myself that I wouldn’t take on anything I didn’t feel prepared for. Although in saying that, I started working again fairly rapidly, became a deputy councilor of foreign affairs, Minister of Communications again, and then Second Minister.
Lime: It’s clear therefore that you have limited experience within the executive branch, how do you know you have the administrative and managerial skills to lead the executive branch?
Istillian: A few times I’ve had to make difficult calls in these roles, regarding people management, how much investment of time I would have to make in a position, and admitting to failures or mistakes - I would expect there would be a risk of this as First Minister. I know I have the administrative experience, I know I can manage staff, but mostly, I know that I have the ambition and the drive to be first minister, and I have the passion to see a brighter and better region.
Lime: Can you tell us how strong a chance you think you have of winning the election?
Istillian: I don’t necessarily know if I will win the election, although I do know it will be a challenge - but I have to remain confident and let nothing sway me at this point. I remain committed and focused now, and I remain committed for the next term.
Lime: And if you lose the election, what then?
Istillian: If I don’t get there as First Minister this time around, there’s still so much to do, and I’m still passionate about work in the region! Maybe I’ll write an article about it, run a few raids, run up more recruitment telegrams, and after that, maybe I’d compete in the next election!
Lime: Second Minister, thank you for your time.
Istillian: Thank you for having me.
