OOC discussion: Elysium International Economic Forum (EIEF)

[Markus]

I have been thinking for a while now of organizing an RP about the economic environment in Tamora in particular and the Midaranye area in general. The event as I imagine it would consist of characters giving a speech about a certain topic (similar to Libby’s Chapterhouse lectures). A rough schedule/ plan of the event is the following:

1.   Opportunities to invest in Midaranye: Having a member of the business environment present a short description of the business environment of his home country and what investment opportunities there are. Naturally we are talking here only about countries that allow foreign investment so I would not be able to give a presentation here since Tamora forbids foreign investment.
2.   A culture of savings: I would have a Tamoran speak here about the sovereign wealth funds that Tamora has and how they could potentially look to invest aboard( at first in other Midaranye countries but slowly maybe even beyond). Others could speak here too of course. Midaranye is rich in oil and there should be plenty of people/companies with money that could say they want to invest aboard.
3.   What is Elysium and why it matters for Tamora and the Midaranye region: ideally Nova would present this since it is his city but I could also do it if he declines. We could talk here about the fact that Elysium would have a stock exchange which both Tamora and Clysperi lack ( I don’t know about the others).
4.   Special guests/other speakers: I will have a Tamoran talk a bit about the Midaranye Commodity Exchange, others can also present something that deals with economy and is in some way related to Midaranye. I will also have a character talk about the Hydro dam that Tamora is building in Zimalia and try to persuade people to invest in it.
5.   Maybe press statements from high ranking officials who attended the event? Not sure about this. (Ex: the Tamoran minister of Foreign affairs saying why she attended etc).

While the event would take place in Elysium I would like for it to be organized by a Tamoran private entity. The event would be a Tamoran equivalent of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

So I need your help with the following:
-Nova to agree for me to have the event in Elysium.
-To tell me if anyone would like to give a lecture to any of the points above.
-Any criticism or feedback of any kind. Of course feel free to suggest to add any other topics etc.

PS: Worry not, I will make the event on my own if there is no interest. I just like the idea too much to let it die.
PPS: The Theocracy of Kaitaine would of course be welcomed to attend the event should they desire. 

[Achkaerin]

Observation regarding number five - I would place that right at the start of the event and make it sort of like the 'red carpet' at the Oscars or the moments where politicians get interviewed by the press before big summits and such, you know sort of where they talk about their hopes for what's about to happen. You could also run press conferences afterwards where they comment on the event as a whole.

[Lady Amaya]

While it sounds interesting enough and I would likely send some people, I'm not sure how active I would be as economics isn't really my forte. However, I agree that giving the opportunity to have commentary in the form of media interviews at the beginning and between lectures might still allow for interaction.

[Markus]

@Ach: That is a great suggestion, I like that a lot. Important politicians that attend the event should definitely get expose and would allow players that do not want to take part in the “lectures” (events 1-4) to still be able to RP in this. I just need to think some more on how to organize this.

@Nova: Thanks for agreeing to use Elysium as the place to host the event.
I agree with everything you say though I caution against taking on too much in terms so as to not turn into a chore or become hard to follow. I rather it be shorter than perhaps expected than to drag on and end up unfinished. 
Elysium Economic Forum it is then.

@ Lady Amaya: I think you should give it a try and not worry about it. The RP is supposed to be fun and engaging and not a RL lecture on economics. Even in RL at some economic forums some speeches have little about economics and more about what people wish to see happening in the world, geopolitics etc. I am certainly not planning on having the speeches of my characters be technical so that players cannot follow but instead use this whole RP to present one aspect that I personally believe is not presented/RPed much in TIO: economics(and I use the term very loosely here).

I will wait to see if there is more feedback and if not after a while I will return with a more detailed schedule/plan of the event. What I presented in the opening post cannot even be called a draft.

[Markus]

Ok since there was no new feedback, I am returning with an improved version.

I am thinking of creating three threads for the event:

Thread one: for the VIPs that will be arriving at the forum. Basically it will be a thread where players can post their characters and title/position and answer one or two standard question from the press (basically “why are you here/hoping to see?). This will give players the opportunity to have an important presence and yet stay away from the more laborious part of the event. Also, as Ach has suggested it gives the VIPs a proper exposure which is very important imo, I mean I hope to see as many important people attending. Also, after the rest of the event is over, players will be invited to provide IC feedback through their characters (by talking to the press). Probably most won’t but still it will provide enough material for a news post.

Thread two: the “meat” of the event where the various guests will speak (give short speeches and hopefully for at least one of my characters will have some graphs  ).

Thread three: the place where players (anyone really) can claim to have a press representative and ask a question for any of the guest speakers. The players will also be replying IC in this thread. I’m thinking that gives players that want to stay away from thread one and two the possibility to still get involved.

How does it sound? Assuming I am not missing something important, I will start thinking about the topics for the presentation/speeches so to give players ideas. Of course if somebody wants to talk about something else he can as long as it is related in some way to economics.

[The Young Pope]

The three threads idea sounds like a great plan and I'll hopefully send someone to the forum.

[Achkaerin]

While I can see the logic behind three threads I would be inclined to roll the proposed thread one and thread three into one thread, it's not that significant but logistically perhaps easier to work with.

[Markus]

 I admit three threads for a single event does sound excessive so I will consider merging one and three.

So a very flexible schedule of the event will feature the following topics. I say very flexible since if some have no takers then I might skip them:
1.   Risks and opportunities of investing in Midaranye: people can send a company representative like say an oil company and talk about why people should invest in his company or a government representative of a Midaranye country that will talk about the opportunities to invest in his country or anything about investing in Midaranye really.
2.   A culture of savings: people can send a representative from a sovereign wealth fund of a Midaranye country or a private investment fund of a Midaranye country or anything relating to “I am from Midaranye and I have money”.
3.   Elysium: what it is and what its potential impact is for Tamora and the whole Midaranye region.
4.   Special guests/foreign speakers etc: this would be the “anything goes section” as long as it is related to economics in some way. Also, representatives that are not from the Midaranye region can talk in this section.

What I am planning to talk about:
2. Tamora’s wealth funds.
3. Why Elysium is good for Tamora.
4. How Islamic/Manist banking works (if I can make it interesting if not then “ethics in banking” or something like that), the Hilaghi Dam in Zimalia.

Ideas for people who want to send a speaker but just don’t know what to talk about:
1.   Present a (major) company from your country and how they are willing to invest in Midaranye, looking for investor or both.
2.   Complain about your businesses environment back home(from the perspective of an entrepreneur).
3.   Have a government representative praise your country about how good it is to invest in it.
4.   Talk about your country’s best trade deal or your number one foreign investor ( so for example a representative from Quintelia saying talking about the major investment Krimeon companies made in their country).
5.   Have an expert praise the benefits (or present the downsides) of the trade blocks/alliances forming in Mundus: CNN, TUNA, SANE.
6.   Present a major infrastructure project in your country that is hopefully open for private investment. 
7.   Have a company representative talk about their experience investing aboard (I might do this too).
8.   Why the Theocracy winning the war in Kaitaine will be good for business (controversial I know, I might pick this if there are no takers).
9.   Corporate social responsibility: examples from your country.
10.   How the tax regime is in your country wroks, why is it like that and its effects.
11.   Can Clysperis become the Jewel of Northern Midaranye? 
12.   Will other countries replicate the Elysium model (like Josai having such enclaves in other countries etc)
13.   How does your religion influence your business environment (since Mundus is very religious I think it’s a good topic).
14.   Has immigration been a boon or a bust in your country and why?
15.   Did OPEN have any effect on your country?
16.   Why haven’t Midaranye countries cooperated more on things like lowering tariffs etc.   
17.   Talk a bit about your stock exchange and why should Midaranye companies do their IPOs there.
18.   How does your educational system encourage entrepreneurship?
19.   What can be done so that Zimalia will prosper in the future?
20.   Everyone in Mundus seems to be lowering tariffs but is that wise?
21.   Mundus countries have low to no deficits and high spending and at the same time have absolute monarchies or constitutional ones with expansive roles for their monarchs. Could there be a link between the two?
If none are to your liking I will do my best to think of some more.


Please post here the approx topic of what you planning to talk about (like I did above) so I have a rough idea how many speakers they are. Of course even if you don’t “register” here but want to have a speaker after the event has started you can still do that.

I plan on starting the event on 14th of July or a little before that. We can say this event will be a gift to Nova for France’s national day.
If you have any issues or objections or suggestions, don’t be afraid to post here.

[Markus]

FYI: Since the major announcement is done, I plan on closing/finishing the forum at the end of the month.

[Markus]

Change of plans: postponing the end of the economic forum to at least the end of September (if not later) to give Nova a chance to post some more.