Handbook For Ambassadors

HANDBOOK FOR AMBASSADORS
The South Pacific
Compiled by Caer Rialis, Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Thank you for seeking to serve your region as an ambassador. It is an important responsibility and does require a bit of time, patience, diplomacy and understanding. Your region thanks you and I salute you.

This handbook describes the roles, responsibilities and guidelines for serving as an ambassador. It is written in short, easily understandable chapters. Please take the time to peruse it, reflect on it, and act as an proper ambassador should.

Chapter One – Why Serve as an Ambassador?

or An Ambassador, Eh?

Serving as an ambassador for the South Pacific can be a heady job. Sometimes exhilarating, sometimes thankless, sometimes nerve-wracking. People may ask you, hey, friend, why are you an ambassador. Your reply may be, ”Oh, I wanted to serve my government in a place where they thought I could do the most good”; it may be “I always wanted to be part of the Foreign Service”: it could be, “Hey, that SoFA is a heckuva guy/gal/thing. I’d do anything for him/her/it”: or it could well be “I was looking to expand my operations in other regions where I might be able to become delegate.” Aside from the last, all of those are good reasons to be an ambassador. I’m sure there are many more.

As an Ambassador you are the voice of the South Pacific in a region. You may be called to simply report on events within the SP, you may need to smooth out differences between the SP and other regions, you may be called upon to negotiate peace treaties and alliances. In all things, however, you are the voice of the SP and are expected to carry yourself with dignity....that means no coup attempts or streaking through various threads.

Sorry about that, all you would be despots and nudists

So, in closing, be sure to answer these questions if you would like to be an ambassador:

• Why do I want to serve the government of the South Pacific?
• Can I represent the interests of the region to the best of my ability?
• Do I have the urge to remove my clothing and run around naked outside of my home?
• Is that SoFA a heckuva guy/gal/thing or what? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Wnant to post answers to these questions? Place your answers in this tutorial.

Chapter Two -- The Requirements of an Ambassador

or Do I got what it takes?

Often I am asked, "What does it take to be an ambassador?" My response typically is, "I dunno, go ask Fudgie. She knows everything." That, whoever, doesn't always work and is grossly negligent as SoFA.

To be a good ambassador demands the following personal characteristics:

• A clear head
• An outgoing personality
• A strong sense of loyalty to the South Pacific
• A firm understanding of the policies of the current government

Without these qualities, an ambassador may have difficulties and may even inadvertantly start an international incident. The SoFA does not like these, people. He/She/It honestly amy really just want to rest.

Chapter 2 A -- A Clear Head

or Have I Broken Out . . . . . Again?

Serving as an ambassador you will meet a wide variety of people, many with different political, social, and cultural agendas than you might espouse. You also might have to find youself explaining the policies of the South Pacific that you may not understand or particularly be in favor of. Well, them's the breaks. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.

Actually, in all seriousness, as an ambassador you need to be able to think straight, make intelligent posts, and sound relatively smooth in doing so. Those who have trouble with this may keep going back to the SoFA looking for advice, when he is really only interested in working on his min-golf game.

And trust me, he needs as much help on that game as he can get!

Now, let's run a little scenario.

Suppose the South Pacific is faced with an invasion/coup d'etat. Let's take all this into account:

How would you drum up support?

Not too hard, right?

Now, let's look at this scenario

Relations between the SP and another region have frayed because of some ill-will between the respective cabinet memebrs, particularly the two delegates. Let's take these factors into play:

How can you serve to smooth over these differences? Place your answers in this tutorial.

Chapter 2 - B: Outgoing Personality

Or, Gee, I Wonder What's Shaking in THAT Region?

The South Pacific, Ladies and Gentlemen, has a bit of a reputation as a party region. In some ways this is very good. As a region, we tend to get along, even when various issues and circumstances may put us on opposite sides of the divide. In other ways, however, this can be seen in a negative light. If the South Pacific is such a party zone, so the reasoning goes, is the region taken seriously?

As an ambasador from this region you may face both these attitudes from those you must interact with. It can be a tricky balance to maintain, a serious side to one's jovial nature . . . . or a jovial side to one's serious nature, but a good ambassador from the South Pacific must be able to do it!

So, how to do it:

First, always, always, always be yourself. Don't try to be something you're not; it'll only turn out poorly. We do not want anyone from our region to appear phony. So, if you are naturally bubbly and exciting, go ahead, be that way. If you are serious and taciturn, hey, that works just as well.

Second, involve yourself within the region. We want you to peruse their boards at least three times a week and report back to us on matters of importance. We also want you to report on what has been going on in the SP. Whatever style you choose to use in reporting the information is fine by me, but please do so.

Similarly, don't think you have to be Mister or Ms Serious all the time. If there are some ripping good political discussion going on, participate, explaining how we do it here. If you see a role-play you'd like to be part of, jump in! Whatever you do, you'll let people know what kind of quality we have in the SP.

Finally, a word of caution. What you say and do in another region, as our ambassador, reflects upon the SP as a whole. You are there to represent us, not to build your own power base, not to find a region to seize control of, not to cause trouble. Your duties are to keep us informed about matters of importance and to foster good diplomatic relations. It's an important job.

Chapter 2 C -- A strong sense of loyalty

or A Scout is Physically Strong, Mentally Awake, and Morally Straight

Loyalty, Honor, Integrity.

All three of these are required for ambassadors. You will find that, as an ambassador, you will meet many new people, be presented with many new opportunities for all sorts of activities, and see a new side of the NS world. Remeber, however, you are an ambassador of the South Pacific, a spokesperson for our needs, and a member of our government. This does place certain constraints upon you.

If an ambassador does not keep this snse of loyalty, duty, and honor close at hand, he/she might cause trouble for us at home. When I myself began my service as an ambassador, I was asked if I was simply a puppet of a previous ambassador, one who had used his/her post to further his/her own narrow personal agenda. That nearly started a firestorm from the beginning of my tenure. Do not do this. If you cannot, in good conscience, serve loyally, then you ought to apply for a post elsewhere.

Similarly, one must remain loyal to the region of the South Pacific. This does not mean that one must tow the party line, curry favor with existing government officials, or act as a mouthpiece. We do not expect you to give up your personal identity to become a cog in the great machine, or to be assimilated into a greater whole. You must, howver, be loyal to the region at large. If you are a member of some of the larger, umbrella organizations in the NS world, this means you must be able to put that hat aside while serving as an ambassador for the South Pacific. Failure to do that is, in my view, dishonorable and potentially treasonous.

Let's run a few scenarios:

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Answers to these scenarios can be placed here

Chapter 2 D -- Understanding your government

Or, Democracy is Such a Lonely Word

Little did you know that when you accept a posting within the foreign service of the South Pacific, you joined the government. No, we aren't a many tentacled creature out to seize control of your every waking thought and desire (well, most of us aren't. Looking at Tsrill's avatar and that cowled picture of his on the Run for You Life Thread you really can't be too sure). Instead, we are group of people who only have the good of the region in mind. Whether it is in legal matters, intelligence, or having fun around the old board, your government helps to set up the parameters.

Now, how do you go about learning what your government is up to? SImple. Take a good long read at the Council of the South Pacific board. That is the palce where all citizens of the region have a say in what's going on. Similarly, examine the boards of each department you can. This can give good information on the goings on of the region. Reprt that which you think is important to the region you are sent to and all is a snap.

You may also want to read very carefully the Charter of the South Pacific. Not only will this give you the framework of our government, but also fills you in on the duties of responsibilities of each department. Be careful: Some of these duties are found in tricky spots.