Virtual states meet at Helsinki micro summit

If you've never heard of Transnational Republic, the Kingdoms of Elgaland and Vargaland, Ladonia, or the State of Sabotage, the first Summit of Micronations and Modelstates in Helsinki will be a chance to brush up on the world of virtual countries.strange

These entities exist only on the Internet or in the theoretical and philosophical worlds, explained Mirva Pulkkinen, an organiser of the summit.

"They have the right to be heard too, and this is their chance to reach the public," she said. High on the agenda will be the relevance of virtual nations to our own societies, the organizers said.

"We are very interested in the phenomenon of micro nations, there are hundreds of them, and we wanted to look closer at the topic," Tellervo Kalleinen, on of the persons behind the event, told AFP.

But the three-day summit is meant mostly to parody and question the way humans organise their lives, Pulkkinen stressed.

While its opening took place on Friday at Helsinki's famous conference center Finlandia House -- home to many important international meetings -- the rest of the summit happens on a small island just off the Finnish capital.

The summit is part of the art festival Amorph, which takes place in Helsinki every other year.<

"It's a political art performance, the whole weekend. We are not criticising, but commenting on the current society," Pulkkinen pointed out.

During the event, participating nations will set up embassies in Helsinki and carry out deliberations with each other, all under the watchful eyes of artists and intellectuals, who will "excavate the questions relevant to the phenomenon of micro-nations", the festival's program announced.

"As this is the first such meeting ever, there is no set agenda, and we will seek to find some common ground among the states," Tellervo said.

She did not rule out some fiery debates however, as many of the founders of these states see them as art projects, while others take themselves more seriously, with their own flags, national anthems, money and passports.

On Saturday and Sunday the micro states embassies will be open to the public, Tellervo noted, adding that the delegations will accept applications for both citizenship and political asylum while they are open. (afp)

l'Agence France-Presse (AFP)
August 29th, 2003