User:Delle89/sandbox

Update MicroCon  The Micronational Hall of Excellence is an institution created with the goal of preserving history and recognizing the contributions of significant individuals in the field of micronationalism. These eight individuals received the Norton Award and were inducted during MicroCon 2022: Emperor Norton, Paddy Roy Bates, Kevin Baugh, Travis McHenry, Niels Vermeersch, Lars Vilks, Leonard Casley and Gabrielle Pourchet.

Article Grand Duke Flandrensis 

Niels Vermeersch, also known by his pseudonym Nicholas de Mersch d'Oyenberghe, is a Belgian micronationalist and the founder of the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis. He has been mentioned in several international publications about Flandrensis and micronationalism. Since 2021 he is the chairmain of the environmental non-profit organization “vzw Groothertogdom Flandrensis”.

Micronational carreer
According several publications Niels started Flandrensis in 2008 as a temporally hobby without any longterm intention, but the project quickly developed into a political simulation and later into a cultural organization. Since 2016 the main focus is on Antarctica and climate change. . In 2021 Niels registered his micronation in Belgium as an environmental non-profit organization (vzw groothertogdom Flandrensis) that uses the concept of micronationalism to raise awareness on climate change.

Niels is a frequent guest and speaker at micronational meetings and international conferences like the Polination Conferences in London (2012) and Perugia (2015), Aigues-Mortes (2016) and Vincennes (2018). Some of the subjects were “Hobby-micronationalism in the 21st century”, “The influence of the internet on micronationalism” and “Ecological micronationalism”. In 2014 the French newspaper “Le Journal du Dimanche” described him as the “Woodrow Wilson of micronationalism”.

Environmental micronationalism
Niels is one of the first who introduced the concept of environmental micronationalism, using micronationalism to raise awareness for climate change. Due this unique concept Niels and his micronation receives attention from media and academics in publication on micronationalism. He is the co-author of several ecological charters. After President Trump announced in 2017 to withdraw the U.S.A. from the Paris Agreement, Niels took the initiative for the “Micronational Declaration on Ecological Stewardship”, signed at the international micronational convention MicroCon in Atlanta (U.S.A.).

Trivia

 * In 2014 the micronation Flandrensis – with Niels as central guest - was the theme of the television show "Normale Mensen" on the Belgian channel Één.
 * During the Flemish regional elections in 2018 Niels was a candidate on the list of a local green-liberal party (Tope8920, place 12) in the town Langemark-Poelkapelle, but was not elected. A key part of his campaign was promotion of a local currency, using Aigues-Mortes as example.

Micronational carreer
The origins of Molossia come from a micronation childhood project, called The Grand Republic of Vuldstein, founded by Baugh and James Spielman on May 26, 1977. Baugh has claimed that he based the idea of Molossia on the film The Mouse That Roared. On April 16, 2016, Baugh hosted a tour of Molossia, sponsored by the website Atlas Obscura. Since then he has been frequently organizing tours for tourists. Kevin is also the creator of MicroCon, a semi-annual summit of micronationalist government representatives, held biennially in odd years since 2015, as a venue for delegates of micronations around the world "to share their ideas, dreams and worlds with each other." He is a frequent guest and speaker at micronational meetings and international conferences like the Polination Conference in London (2012) and MicroCon Las Vegas (2015), Atlanta (2017 and Toronto (2019).

Trivia

 * In 2010 Kevin Baugh played the antagonist in the Nostalgia Critic comedy movie Kickassia, created by Doug Walker.

Etymology
The origins of the Empire's name lay in the hungarian word angyal, which means angel, after a poetic work by it’s founder entitled "Odes and legends of the country of angels". The reference to angels echoes the specificity of the primary territory of the Empire, on the horizon: poetry and the art of dreaming are necessary mediators of the scientific truth of its geography, and angels do perfectly symbolize this requirement.

Territory
Angyalistan extends its territory along the horizon and is therefore a quantum nation: at every moment, each point on Earth is at the same time part of an infinity of horizon lines and not part of another infinity of horizon lines; the territory of the Empire is and is not at the same time, and Angyalistan has on it a quantum sovereignty. Since October 2013 the micronation also claims the garbage patches in international waters, with the aim of making disappear this physical territory.

Trivia
As a French-speaking state, the Empire of Angyalistan is a member of La MicroFrancophonie. Angyalistan was present on international conferences on micronations in Perugia (2015), Aigues-Mortes (2016), Atlanta (2017) and was the organizer of the conference in Vincennes (2018).