Foundation Day Address, 2018

14th April 2018, County of Tytannia

Lords, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to Foundation Day 2018. Today, we celebrate five years of the Empire of Adammia. It is a huge achievement for a micronation to remain active for this long, and I am as proud as ever of this fact.

Of course, our longevity isn't the only thing I'm proud of. Adammia remains one of the only micronations to have launched a rocket, to have hosted a tourist, or to have reached over a hundred citizens. After five years on the stage, Adammia has carved out a name for itself in the micronational community. By some measures, we could be considered one of the most successful British micronations. Over the years, we have demonstrated our capability to grow our economy, to develop our culture, and to run our government professionally.

Over the past year, Adammia has gone through its biggest transformation since the constitutional monarchy was established in June 2013. The government is now operating from our Birmingham territories, and this has seen the election of an all-new Ruling Council and a new Prime Minister, Lord Sir Alex Helliker. Although the transition went smoothly, it has raised many new questions about how we keep the Empire active and in financial good health moving forward. Over the coming months, it is my aim, working alongside the Prime Minister, to answer these questions.

Recently, I was pleased to lay claim to Sandal Castle in the name of the Empire, alongside His Imperial Highness Prince Jake. This is the first of several planned expansions designed to help encourage an intake of fresh politicians to replace those who will be graduating from the university in the near future. We will also be taking steps to strengthen the rule of law in Adammia. The Prime Minister and myself are going to be working on a series of new laws, with the intent of implementing a proper judicial system for the Empire, and we will also be recruiting new officers for the Adammic Police Force.

It is a major priority to get the Adammic economy moving again. Our economy used to be the pride of the micronational community, but two years of recession has hurt this reputation, and the hit to our public finances has limited our ability to fund ambitious projects for the Empire as we have done in the past. We intend to reform and re-launch the Contributions Scheme within a few months.

With the Empire's territories now more disparate than ever, the need for proper local government has never been clearer. Therefore, we will be pushing for all provinces to set up local councils as soon as possible, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Supreme Directive. This will eliminate the problem of distant dukes and duchesses controlling the provinces, and allow more local residents to engage with local decisions.

There is much work to be done, and of course everyone involved with Adammia has their own important commitments elsewhere, myself included. However, if we can come this far and achieve this much, then I am sure that when we celebrate our sixth anniversary a year from now, we will find ourselves in a much stronger position. For now, though, let us take this day to celebrate and reflect on five successful years. My thanks as always go to the Emperor Mother for organising the buffet and to everyone else who has contributed to that. I hope you all enjoy the rest of Foundation Day. Seek wisdom and honour, and long live the Empire. Thank you.