Farewell Address

Erynia and Draconia is your Delegate-Elect, as Speaker Helvurium has no doubt informed you. With the conclusion of the election, my time serving as your Delegate has reached its definite end. I’ve spent a lot of time addressing you all over the course of these last months, but I have a few parting words left to utter, so if you’ll humor me, I’ll put them down just a bit further below, after some instructions on how you, as a member state in this moment of executive transition, can make sure it goes smoothly:

Nations with WA memberships should immediately endorse the incoming Delegate, Erynia and Draconica if they have not done so already.

Those nations without WA membership are strongly encouraged to join the World Assembly! Membership in the WA comes with an enormous range of perks, ranging from full rights as a member state to enhancing regional influence in the General Assembly and Security Council.

Discord-side, there are no actions one need take during this time. The Cabinet and I will handle that portion of the process.

Alright, if you’re done with the above, thank you! Doing so helps smooth the transition of power to your elected Delegate. What follows is not required reading and won’t be on the test.

When Great Ohio Valley joined the SLU as my first nation here in early 2020, I wasn’t sure if I’d last a month in the region. Not because any of its members were rude or unwelcoming (just the opposite was the case), but because there’s not a lot for a nation to, well, do in NationStates. Thankfully, SLU had a remedy for this situation in the form of our regional roleplay, which is home to any number of incredible worldbuilders, from long-time member Kanoria to relatively new faces like Rogueport. That was enough to draw me in and the rest, from my stint as Masdobo’s Deputy Minister of Domestic Affairs to Anaaxes’s Speaker Pro Tempore, and now, most recently, the Delegacy, is history.

In politics, it takes a special group of people to overcome all the negatives associated with that term and are so often engendered by those who usually participate in it. The membership of the SLU constitute such a special group of people. In our willingness to hear one another out (without sacrificing the principles we all hold dear), act kindly towards one another (even in the aftermath of contention), and be humble about the limits of our respective knowledge and abilities, we move beyond the worst of the political maneuvering which is so often the limits of those situated in stations similar to ourselves. To do so while still attending to all that we do, whether that be serving as a freshly minted ambassador getting their feet wet in foreign affairs or sacrificing one’s time to once again stand for a Ministerial election as new talent blossoms with the guidance of growing experience, is a great thing. To do so without becoming stagnant is remarkable.

To have the opportunity to put oneself at the disposal of such a project? A wonder and an honor.

I leave that opportunity alongside a number of others as obligations elsewhere require me to step back from the region, hopeful that, while not all of my campaign promises or personal goals were fulfilled, my successor is more than well enough equipped to handle what challenges may come.

Yours truly,
Toonela