Author Topic: EM and Fleur  (Read 3732 times)

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Offline DaveIronside

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EM and Fleur
« on: June 17, 2020, 10:39:04 PM »

To:- The Government of Fleur

It has been brought to my attention that in recent days there have been discussions between your own diplomatic service and my ambassador to your nation about arranging a formal visit between our two nations. East Moreland is always pleased to talk with any nation in friendship. As such we would like to extend an invitation to you for a delegation from your nation to visit East Moreland during our upcoming visit to the city of Silverhills. We look forward to meeting and hearing what Fleur is keen to discuss as well as presenting some of our ideas for future relationships between the two of us.

May The Gods Watch Over You and Your Nation Know Peace

King David III of East Moreland


OOC -Sorry for the delay. 

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2020, 01:33:11 PM »
The Silverhills Guild Hall was often used for many of the formal occasions the city found itself hosting, in addition to being where the cities Duke meet it also had a room set aside for the royals to use when in town. The Hall was stood in a large cobble stone square which today was home to a market which was bustling with people buying fresh produce, hand crafted jewellrey, linens and everything else you could imagine. While the meeting had not been advertised to the public it was clear to those in the know that something important was happening as the usual sight of patrolling soldiers was increased and the more eagle eyed noticed the usual ceremonial blue jacketed members of the Silverhills Rifle's that guarded the gate seemed to be in slightly less well fitting uniforms the role today being filled in by disguised Red Legionnaires.

The helicopter touched down at the centre of the park next to the Hall and was meet by Captain Robbie Peacock of Red Legion who escorted the guest to a waiting vehicle which took them through the park and across the front of the bustling market place before turning into the Hall itself where the two gate guards saluted by presenting arms. Once inside the secure gate the King and Queen where waiting at the top of a short flight of steps that lead to the interior of the Hall. "Good morning Monsieur le Directeur" David said in a rather poor accent. "Welcome to Silverhills" he extended a hand to the guest. "Allow me to introduce Queen Stasya"

The Queen stepped forward and extended her own hand, "Welcome to my favourite city in East Moreland" she smiled, "Northfort is wonderful and historic but I find Silverhills far more exciting." prior to becoming Queen the Lodjain had lived in the city which was the centre of the Morelandish entertainment and hospitality industry. It was a city of 24 hour bars, world class night spots and the best fashion houses the nation had to offer, to Stasya it was as close to a Lodjain city that East Moreland could offer, but still worlds apart. "Please step this way." Stasya guided them up the steps and into the Hall which was exactly that. A large polished wood floor that filled the entire downstairs of the building with only a wide spiral staircase leading up to the 2nd floor breaking up the vastness. The Hall was traditionally used for the various guilds in Silverhills to have their events and tests on who could be admitted to them. Today though it was used more for banquets and exhibitions. The group made their way over to the staircase and made their way up to the 2nd floor where a large lounge was waiting for them.

"Please take a seat" The King motioned to one of the armchairs that were set up around a coffee table from which Stasya was busy pouring drinks. "I trust you found the journey from Northfort a comfortable one." the King asked, "I'm afraid your nations indication that you wanted to meet came as we're currently touring the cities of the Kingdom, I think it'll be a few weeks until we're back in Northfort as long as everything goes to plan. Yesterday was opening a school, today though its more business. So what exactly would you like to talk about"

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2020, 09:45:45 PM »
Stasya paused as Debeauson spoke, "I'm sorry but my wedding day was such a blur what with the public nature, the coronation and then the banquet after I spoke to what felt like thousands of people. I do hope however you enjoyed the day. I know I did."

As the guest turned to the historical question Stasya was more than happy to let her history nerd of a husband deal with that question. "The Guild system sprang up in the 12th Century as a kind of quality assurance thing" David said as he admired the hall. "In one shape or form there has been a Guild Hall here since about 1180 as far as we can tell. The latest form however was constructed sometime in the 1700's when the Lord of Silverhills built this over the old small hall and then dismantled the former one to leave this. The old one was only a single story tall. We still have the Guilds but they are, with the exception of the Swordsmith's , a largely ceremonial and symbolic thing. Back in the anales of history you could only ply your trade if you were a Guildsman, today certain companies still brag that they are members of certain guilds but its more of a marketing gimmick." David smiled and faced Debeauson and opened the right hand side of his jacket to reveal the lining and the label. There sewed in was a label stating the manufacturers name and below it a emblem showing a pair of scissors, thimbel and sewing thread the mark of the tailors guild. "I try and always support businesses that keep up the old traditions." David said as he finished his historical explanation.

"Forgive my husband" Stasya apologised, "When it comes to history he seems to think he's always back at University and has a need to show off." By now they were seated and Stasya was busying herself with being a good host. "I love Rotar One" she added, "It's much more comfortable and a lot quicker than a car for sure." she finished the drinks, poured herself a small wine and took a seat and it was the Queen who began the response to Debeauson. "Life as a Queen is in truth not that different to being a Lady in Waiting in Lodja only with slightly more handshaking and speaking to people. Thankfully I'm given a lot more freedom than my husband how to spend my days. Unless its meetings such as this he allows me to skip meetings of government and focus on my own projects, things like supporting charities our family supports or being the public relations side of the Ironsides. It does mean though that most of the day we're doing different things but we make sure we spend time together." she took hold of her husbands hand. "David is keen to tour East Moreland, he says its a case of showing the people their new Queen, but it gives me an insight into government and a chance to spend most of the day with him." Truth be told she found meetings like this largely boring once they got going and would much preferred to have been visiting the city itself than sat in an antique room.

David continued. " It is important our people know their Queen. You're effectively the mother of our nation" David squeezed her hand, "So far we've visited Ostlake and Silverhills but we've a few more to do in the coming weeks. In two days time we head to Keepton which will be Stasya's first time there." David was keen to get there, he loved Keepton, it was the best preserved city in East Moreland and a history geeks dream to wander its walls and ancient beer halls. Stasya meanwhile was less excited by the prospect of seeing another dusty castle.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2020, 11:40:34 PM »
As Debeauson spoke of Rhiannon's wedding David thought of how that was a long way off and he hoped she had less issues than he had with the media. "Well Rhiannon has at least what....40 years before that." David smiled "after all she's a loooong way of even thinking about anything like that and we'll not be exploring arranged marriages despite what some in our nations media would call for." he added. "In my nearly 40 years of life I've visited every city in East Moreland, most several times,  there are however so many little towns dotted across our countryside I can always find somewhere I've never been before which is something I rather enjoy." What happened next took the King by surprise. He was aware of his guests had some kind of ranking for nations based on the pereception of democracy and that East Moreland enjoyed some kind of lowly ranking, therefore the presentation was rather touching.  "I agree fully with you. I think all any nation wants is the ability for its people to be safe, to be happy and to have their children be better off than they were. The way we achieve that we may differ on but so long as we do not achieve these aims at the expense of others then it is a minor difference. I hope a day does not come but the Morelanders have a mechanism to remove me from office but I'm hoping I don't mess up that badly." He smiled. "This is a great honour and I hope though you realise that all of those things I could only achieve through working with people such as yourself who share our dreams for a better world" He extended a hand to shake Debeauson's in thanks.  "Now hopefully we can put together something here today that allows us to build on those dreams and make some of them happen....any thoughts?" David asked.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2020, 11:21:58 PM »
David always felt better when things got to the business end of things. He found small talk with people he didn't know well a bit difficult however he usually found it much easier once the business of the day was done. " Around five years ago now our Chief Councillor Tim Carpenter had the belief that education was a great tool for getting East Moreland out of our isolation. He established a programme here called the "More and Mundus" programme setting up educational exchanges between us and many other nations. This has branched out to universities. Generally we approach the system of University visas with a pretty transparent process. As long as the student fulfils the ???? criteria they can have a visa for the length of their study plus an additional year once completed in case they wish to travel around East Moreland or even put their new skills to work in employment. So long as a Fleuroix student can prove they have funds to pay for their course without having a job here while they study, so long as they have no criminal record, aren't deemed a security risk then they are more than likely to get a student visa. The final criteria however is more difficult. For any student, be they Morelander or a foreigner they must meet a institutes minimum requirements, we do this on a points system. So for example a institute like Royal Northfort University would require 270 points for a History degree, while somewhere like Kings Crossing may only require 190 points, the more prestigious the institute the higher the points score. If you wish for your students to get a chance at a University place here we would need to arrange for someone from our Ministry of Education to determine how to give points to qualifications from your nation." The King paused for a moment, "I am not saying in terms of critiquing your nations education system but if I give you an example, here in East Moreland students sit exams in three subjects at 18, the clever ones can sit more if they can but frankly that's insane. The top grade of an A+ scores you 100 points, so a Morelander can score 300 points at most, even if they sit more we count only their best three. If your nation sat six subjects at the age of 18 we would end up scoring each subject at a maximum of 50 points. This way it allows our Universities to easily compare students and take the academic elite. Now obviously you would be free to set conditions from your side of this arrangement but those would be the conditions we would put in place." David hoped he'd clearly explained the complexities of the East Moreland educational system, it had been nearly 20 years since he'd sat his East Moreland Highers scoring a rather impressive 280 points.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2020, 08:46:23 PM »
David hadn't quiet expected to have to explain the inner complexities of the East Moreland University system, luckily he himself had left only a few years earlier and so recalled it rather well. "When I was 18 and did my degree East Moreland had less people going to University, it was only the deeply academic degrees and we had less universities. Back then the students only paid for things like accommodation at their University. As more people have wanted to go and more courses opened in a wider variety of subjects we've had difficult choices, do we prevent some people going to University or do we close some universities? Instead we had a system where the funding we have was increased but had to spread further. Therefore students pay for their course fees and accommodation now, naturally if you go to the local university you can save yourself a lot of money. Students can, if they want, take extremely low interest loans out that will cover their entire course fees and accommodation. Once they start earning $25,000 a year they begin paying the loan back monthly like an extra tax from their wages. As we sit here today the Representative Council are looking at decreasing the amount people pay back in return for longer military service but we have no idea if that will pass yet. So should someone from Fleur come to a University in East Moreland they would be expected to pay their course fees and accommodation, sadly our government would not be providing them with loans. If you end up in a job where you never earn $25,000 then you don't pay anything back. If you go into a situation where you earn below $25,000 you stop paying, after all the point of a degree is to get into higher paying jobs."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2020, 10:40:44 PM »
The stumbling block of the fees was not something that had been a problem in the past, East Moreland's system had been born out of financial necessity, too many University students compared to the past when it had been free. It had been a struggle to find a way that allowed everyone to attend but meant that at least part of the money came back to the Treasury at some point. "Well we have agreements in place with several nations which have a system more similar to what you have, for example the Alanders. We usually ask that any student coming to East Moreland to study can prove that they have the means to pay for their course, now if Fleur were for example to say that they would underwrite any Fleuroix students fees naturally we would take that as proof. We can then work out a system between the two of us, essentially something along the lines of a student secures a place at our University in say August, the course starts mid September, we hold the place on the course open for them but they may not start the course unless they turn up in September with either a bank statement with the funds in or we would accept a letter of guarantee from yourselves. Then once the academic year starts we simply collect in all those letters and send them to your embassy here like an invoice. That is how the Alanders do things and while we have maybe a few hundred here at any time I suspect a similar situation with yourself, we'll likely be talking either students here for a year abroad as part of their studies or perhaps just a handful of students." The King hoped what he had explained made sense.

"Now in sense of Morelanders going the other way our loans are still avaliable to them. So should you elect to charge Morelanders fees at your University then the Morelander can access funds in the same manner as them attending a University in East Moreland. I think therefore both of us should be able to maintain the systems we have in place. "

"In terms of student visas we generally put the following conditions into our treaties with other nations."

Quote from: Student Visa Articles

1. Students may apply for places at educational establishments in the other nation and shall be given equal consideration as home students.

2. A student shall be granted a Visa for the duration of the course so long as the following conditions are fulfilled.

a) The student can prove they sufficient funds to cover the cost of their course.
b) A student completes no more than 12 hours of paid work per week while studying.
c) A student must maintain an attendance of at least 90% to their classes. Exemptions will be given for proven medical reasons. Failure to maintain this attendance will result in a visa being cancelled.
d) A student must leave the nation within 12 months of graduation unless they are granted a visa extension.
e) During the 12 months following graduation an individual may live and work in the host nation.
f) A student may be denied a visa or have it cancelled at any time if they are deemed a risk to national security.

"How does that work for you?" David asked. "As for opening schools in East Moreland I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. In terms of you opening a Fleuroix School we allow private education so long as it complies with the East Moreland curriculum and is open to annual inspections for the quality of its education. As for allowing students from Fleuroix I assume you mean students completing what we would consider High School, ages 11-18?"

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2020, 12:42:47 PM »
The draw of free education in Fleur may attract a few students but the huge language barrier would probably prevent the vast majority following through. "One problem that may come to light is that we see education is four parts, Primary Education is for those aged between 4 and 11. Then we have Secondary Education for those aged between 11-16, at the end of this stage everyone sits exams the results of which influence what happens next. We then have Further Education which sees the most academic undertake in depth academic study of no more than 3 or 4 subjects, those who fair moderatley at 16 tend to go into vocational subjects while those who do the least well usually either resit or go into apprenticeships. Then at 18 they usually enter Higher Education at University. If you start University education at 20 you perhaps won't have too many Morelanders applying as by then they could be 2/3 the way through their degree. In terms of you establishing schools in East Moreland you're students would still have to sit exams at 16 and then again at 18, so I'm not sure what they would be doing for the remaining two years. This though will be a problem for students to sort out. Now in regards to the exchange we have the More and Mundus project which see's East Moreland schools partner with those across Mundus. We would be happy to have schools from Fleur apply to be partnered up with East Moreland schools. In terms of making this a more global multi-national programme I don't see why that wouldn't be possible, we already have schools with partnerships with all the CNN nations, Nya Aland, Bakkermaya, Dartfordia, Achkaerin and several others. It shouldn't be difficult to allow through the same body a school in say Nya Aland to select a partner in Ui Cenneslaig for example."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2020, 08:55:54 PM »
The King had lost count now of the exact number of nations he'd had that discussion with regarding the More and Mundus programme but it was one he was pleased with. "The choice is yours. What More and Mundus does is allow any school to sign up. At present that school once it registers has three choices. The first is they can sign up for what we call our Camps, they aren't actually camps though. Once registered they wait for us to advertise one and they can apply for places for their students. These camps are themed and are often at important cultural times. The student will be given a host family who will look after them while in the nation and we put on a mix of activities including spending time in their host families school but also sight seeing and cultural events. The second way they can join is by partnering with a school. So for example my old school Northfort Boys Grammar School are paired with a school in Seaforth and a school in Vaguzia. Every year selected students from these schools go visit their partner schools and stay for a number of weeks. The third part is one of our newest, if for example a school has their students learning Gaelic but they are in The Iwi they can contact our project and we will partner them with a school in a Gaelic speaking nation. If students from Fleur for example studied Lodjain art and music we could arrange for those students to partner with one of our enrolled schools from Lodja. The project can be as involved as you want it to be." David explained. "My niece Sophie was among the original More and Mundus group that did an exchange with students from Dartfordia. The girl she was paired with, Lucy, became a great friend and still regularly visits Sophie and she goes there."

"As for museums there is obviously scope to do things like that through CETO however I'm always excited to see exhibitions put on. Should you wish to build a museum dedicated to your nation in East Moreland we'll not stop you, we can help you acquire some real-estate and as long as you stick to planning regulations you can set one up. There would even be support financially in doing so depending what you offered. So for example if you provided free access and activities to schools we'd be able to provide some funding to support that. If all you would like is some space to show some artefacts then I have a gallery on Embassy Row that has four floors. Every three months we change the content on one of the floors so we can make that avaliable to you for a three month period if you'd like." The David III Gallery was one of the King's first acts when he inherited the throne. The Palace was full of art already and yet the then Prince David had stocked his Hunting Lodge full of art to his taste. Rather than moving from the lodge to the Palace the newly crowned King had acquired a house on Embassy Row and had everything stuck there before opening it up to the public.

"Perhaps" Stasya interjected, "We can even use Silverhills. I mean this Guild Hall has a lot of empty space and isn't used year round. We could set something up here perhaps. Three months in Northfort, three months here perhaps." the Queen suggested. "I assume we could send some East Moreland showcases over to Fleur."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2020, 08:27:13 PM »
"In terms of you opening schools here in East Moreland" the King began "I would say that they are probably uneccessary. The East Moreland educational system is in my view already full of enough schools of good quality. However should parents see a need for something then we don't stand in their way so long as the institute complies with our curriculum and our laws to ensure Moreland students gain Moreland qualifications for their future. Now if you think having a school backed by your nation is something you want to do feel free, however I suspect that you may find few students at least at first."  Schools in East Moreland didn't just provide their students with education but also were a central tie to the Cult's faith after all to be permitted to gain a sword ceremony you needed to have been taught the appropriate rituals and scripture and the King suspected that no matter how good a Fleuriox teacher may be they would never truly understand the little nuances of the Cult's teaching on the matters.

"As for museums we've a great many things we'd be delighted to show others in the world. Be it archaeological artefacts, works of art or modern scientific advances. Perhaps we could start off our display with some of the SwarmBots that went to Luna or failing that I'm sure we can find some historic blades to send." Being a history nerd the King knew which he'd rather send but museums had to offer a wide range of displays. "Is there any other area of concern you would like us to discuss."

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Re: EM and Fleur
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2020, 11:30:28 PM »
The King smiled, while offering schools to poorer countries was a good thing he couldn't imagine too many Morelanders taking up the Fleur schools offer. That though was a matter for the general public to decide. While King David had been favoured with the best education money could buy he'd seen his fair share of half-wits at his school meanwhile at University he'd been able to see even those from the poorest economic and social backgrounds could make a success of themselves, one need only look at Alex Redfern. As a young boy he'd shown a flair for sports, shooting and swordsmanship and so doors had opened for him despite being brought up by a single parent who happened to work down a mine. There had been others too, one of David's first girlfriends, a sweet red-headed girl called Heather. She was a fisherman's daughter from Portworth and she'd recieved scholarships since the age of 9 to private schools because she was a Maths prodigy. The East Moreland system made a habit of finding the cream of the crop and ensuring it rose to the heights of its potential. David had gone further ensuring parents had a whole network of different schools to find a place with ease for their child to excel and that network wouldn't exclude any choice that conformed to the East Moreland government rules on education, even if it was backed by Fleur. "Well if you go ahead with these schools I wish them luck." The King said graciously.

"As for what we need to do to conclude here" The King continued, "I think the talk of visas for students we already have made a written agreement, that just needs signing off. I can do that on behalf of my Kingdom, would your signature bring it into effect in Fleur or would we need to have some approval back home?" The King asked unsure exactly when something would become law there if it involved a foreign treaty. "As for the museum exchanges I think we can leave that to our various aides and administrators to organise, after all I suspect they'll better know the inventory of our museum sectors better than us."

"I find that hard to believe" Stasya said dryly, "You would not believe how many museums he drags me to, every town or city we go to on official business he always sneaks a museum visit in. I've warned him I'm about to start going shopping for shoes each time he visits a museum but that would make East Moreland bankrupt within a month. I do believe there is not one museum in East Moreland he hasn't seen."

"There is the museum of barbed wire up in the farming areas of Keepton I've been meaning to check out." The King chuckled as for a moment his wife seemed genuinly concerned that he was going to make her go and see it.  "Perhaps we can send you some barbed wire in our first exchange." The King still smiling addressed their guest, "Although I suspect it best to leave the decision on what to send to our nation's museums themselves." The King concluded.

"Now in regard to opening your school that needs nothing from me. Legally anyone who can acquire a building, registers it as a school and completes all the paperwork and checks that go with that can be a school. Theoretically you could start the next academic year. That's almost three months away in September (This RP is based in June) so that would be ambitious but could be done although perhaps you wouldn't have many students at all that first year." The King took a small notebook from his inside pocket and ripped out one of the pages. "This is the e-mail address of a friend of mine, he operates a business locating suitable property for foreign investors. Helped Stasya find her home in Silverhills, helped her family find an estate to purchase. He could be of use to you." The King handed the paper over, "As for the paperwork that would need to go through our Ministry of Education who will perform all the checks and processes. So I don't think we need put that in writing, unless you believe there is something I've missed?" The King asked. "Otherwise we are done from our side of things, unless we can discuss anything else of your concerns, or if you wish to visit anywhere or speak with anyone else while in East Moreland. Naturally you are our guest for as long as you'd like?"