Hello there my fellow Asgardians,

When I was planning this post, I thought a lot about what I would say. I thought of talking about all the achievements that we’ve made this past year. About how far we’ve come since the start. I thought of discussing the things that we could have done better. I thought of hinting on the potential for 2019.

But when it came down to it, all that seemed to be secondary to what I really wanted to say – And that’s a big “thank you.” to all the Asgardians that I have met throughout this journey so far.

I have met so many amazing people throughout this process – people that are passionate, intelligent, measured, creative, inventive – and it’s because of people like you that I am sure Asgardia will be a success.

There may be disagreements here and there – and sometimes they get a little heated – but what makes Asgardia special is that we’re able to have those discussions but still have respect for one another and still work towards a brighter future.

In no order, I wanted to make a few personal shout-outs to some Asgardians I have had meaningful interactions with this past year.

• Mikhail – You’re a great leader with a keen ability to act. You’re very measured and a real gentleman. I am always impressed by your ability to attack problems in a logical manner.
• Lena – Intelligent, capable and confident. It’s been a pleasure to see you represent Asgardia on so many forums and have the knowledge and experience to discuss things at such a high level.
• Anna – You’re working so hard and doing so much for Asgardia and most people don’t even know who you are. Classy and truly selfless. It’s a complete privilege to work with you.
• Ivan - You’re a passionate Asgardian with a keen (and almost annoying) attention to detail. You’re pragmatic and I see you being a top Mayor and helping to put Asgardia on the map.
• Chris – You are a legitimate gentleman and a very consciences member of Parliament I’m glad that we have people like you representing us as Citizens. I will get you on camera one day.
• Ben – You’re a man of vision and I can see that you’re 100% invested in Asgardia. It’s great to see that you’re working so hard for the Nation. One day I hope that we can meet up in South Africa and have a long chat about the future!
• Lembit – I can sum you up in one word: Unflappable. I’ve never met a person so cool and in control as you. I look forward to working with you more in 0003.
• Ana D – You’re a person with a lot of integrity and a strong sense of duty. I’ll be really interested to see what happens with the Government in 2019. Keep up the good work.
• Katya – Thanks to you I’ve learnt a lot of things about Russian culture and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with you.
• Derren – I’m glad that we live so close together and can work together so well to help make Asgardia a great Nation.
• Josie – You’re a very passionate person and we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye but having debates with you has really helped me to look introspectively at a lot of things and really consider my position on matters.
• Rebekah – You’ve been invested in Asgardia from day 2 of its launch, so it’s not surprising to see that you’re a very passionate and invested Asgardian and you do so much for the nation.
• Ann – You’re a person with a very good heart and you do a lot to go out of your way to fight for others. Hopefully other Asgardians will be as giving.
• Anthony – You’re a unique individual and it’s always good to see what you’ll be getting up to next on Facebook.
• Ricky – You’re a good man with a kind hard and a very pragmatic approach to problems. I’ll be interested to see your influence in Asgardian Legislation.
• Ariadne – You’re such a thoughtful person and I can see that you’re passionate about Asgardia. You’re such a calm and positive person. We’re in good hands to have someone like you in Parliament.
• Mira – An upcoming Asgardian I’m sure. You’re already making a splash as a Mayor and I’ll be interested to see where it goes.
• Adam – A prevalent presence on the Facebook group, you have a lot of interesting ideas and insights and you’re always starting interesting conversations.
• Алексей – I love seeing all the interesting stats and graphics that you produce about Asgardia.
• Dre – What would Asgardia’s Facebook be like without you and your unyielding spirit?
• Emery – You’ve lived and interesting life and have some interesting ideas. I hope that some of your predictions don’t come true, but it’s good to have your thoughts and insights in Asgardia.
• John S – Your easy wit and sharp humour is always a welcome sight. I hope that you run for Mayor!
• Inara – In a short time I have noticed you more and more on Asgardia General and you have some very interesting ideas which tend to be very pragmatic and forward thinking.
• Sarvesh – There are few Asgardians who are so invested into the concept of ‘Asgardia’ as you.
• Ogee – You’re a stalwart and enduring member of Asgardia! It’s good to see you and your generally positive comments.
• Dawn – We’ve only recently met through Facebook – but I can already tell that you’re a passionate person who thinks about the future and wants to see Asgardia do things right.
• Mandi – You’re classy, you can dance, you’re smart, organised – what can’t you do? We’re lucky to have you in Parliament.
• Derek – I’m still gutted that we didn’t get burgers together in Vienna. I’d love to see you more active in the community. You’re a genuinely nice guy.
• Charles – Working hard and building up your position as a Serious Asgardian in South Africa. Keep up the good work!
• James – You’re obviously too smart for your own good. I love reading your extensive blogs and your ideas on the future. I hope that you will get involved in Asgardia as it grows.
• Bridget – You’re a humble person, we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye in the past, but you have Asgardia’s best interests at heart.
• Kristina – You’ve got a lot of great ideas and you’ve been quite critical about some things in the past. I hope that you’ll be able to combine those two things at some point and get involved to help make Asgardia a better place.
• Nissem – you’re an amazing force of action in Asgardia. You’re always working on projects that make things happen. I hope that you become more involved in Asgardia as it grows.
• John F – We have polar views on a lot of issues, but I’m always impressed at how we can have polar opinions but do so on a foundation of mutual respect.
• M Helena – Asgardia is blessed to have strong women like you representing the people.
• Robert – Super organised, very cool gentleman, glad to have you on our side.
• Cha – People probably don’t realise how tireless you’re working for Asgardia, but I do! :D
• Cheryl – Artistic, talented, thoughtful – you’re just the sort of person Asgardia needs.
• Steven – Innovative. You’re building up your knowledge now through your education, but I hope that you release your ideas on the world of Asgardia soon!
• Sven – You’re such a genuine guy and I really hope that you’ll get more involved in Asgardia soon.

Obviously, this list could go on forever – with over 1.3 million Asgardians, there are a lot of people out there that have influenced me so I apologise if I missed you off the list.

But I want to let everyone know that I am genuinely honoured to consider you my fellow nationals and I’m looking forward to another amazing year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me and get in touch if you want to talk about Asgardia or the future in general.

Let’s make this a great Nation.

Kind regards,

Ross Cheeseright

I’ve been reading a lot of things on our social media networks recently and while there are a lot of ‘hot topics’, the one that keeps cropping up is the ‘Citizenship Fee’ debate. It’s a topic that a lot of people are passionate about, so it’s natural for people to keep discussing it – however, there are also a lot of misconceptions going around now, so I want to talk a little about the fee and clear up some of the misconceptions.

The Citizenship Fee is voluntary

I’ve seen a lot of people saying that the Citizenship Fee is mandatory and that without it, people can’t become Citizens – and that’s going to be true in the future – but right now, no-one is being asked to pay the fee.

The system has been opened so that people who can afford to, can contribute towards Asgardia in a meaningful way. People have always been able to donate to Asgardia and so this is nothing new. However, if people contribute towards this Citizenship Fee now, they are given a resident ID card – with physical cards in development.

Right now, if you are someone that can afford it and someone that believes in Asgardia and wants it to succeed, this is a great way to help build for the future. If you’re not, if you don’t think that there is enough intrinsic value in contributing, then don’t – remain as a follower until you’re convinced and contribute through your ideas, time and discussions.

You're still an Asgardian if you don't pay

Asgardia’s Citizens will be people that have paid a fee, gone through a verification process and been affirmed as an official citizen, however – Asgardia is also made up of a huge cast of Followers. Followers are the life-blood of the Asgardian community and they spend a lot of time networking, chatting and helping to define the future of humanity.

Followers are contributing thoughtful ideas and having impassioned debates with their Fellow Asgardians. If you can’t pay the fee, there is no reason why you can’t still be a part of developing the future and finding like-minded people to collaborate with.

The Citizenship Fee is not a tax

It might sound like semantics, but the Citizenship Fee is not a tax. It covers the administrative costs of processing the Citizenship application and producing the respective documentation. Any funds that remain after the administrative processing is completed will be put directly back into Asgardia towards endorsed goals. It’s important that we’re able to demonstrate to the world that Asgardia is serious about its bid to become an independent nation, and a robust application process is a part of that. Our Citizens must be as legitimate as any other on Earth.

Parliament are listening

Several members of Parliament, including the Chair of the Citizenship committee are actively discussing and debating ways to ensure that Asgardian citizenship is as open and inclusive as possible. As the nation develops and we have a better understanding of mechanisms like SOLAR, LUNAR, establishing a business in Asgardia (etc.) then it’s likely new methods to obtain Citizenship will also surface.

If you have any solid and concrete ideas, or you just want to express your thoughts and feelings about Citizenship in Asgardia, then there are 127 elected officials who would love to hear from you. It’s their job to represent you so don’t hesitate to reach out to Parliament on their official page:

https://asgardia.space/en/page/parliament

This is just the beginning

Asgardia has only been running a little over two years and this is the ‘first pass’ of the Citizenship fee. Right now, there are no tangible Government Services. The Ministry of Citizenship doesn’t have a Minister, the Citizenship Committee are working hard to define legislation that clearly defines what it means to be a Citizen.

Asgardia has always been an iterative ‘evolutionary’ process. As time has passed, the nation has developed more and more and this is not the ‘final form’ of the Citizenship fee. The process to become a Citizen may well change over time.

So, all I would ask is that you approach this with an open mind and give it some time, no-one is in any immediate danger of losing out and no-one is asking you to pay the Citizenship fee right now.

As always – if anyone wants to discuss these matters or chat with me in more depth, then I’m available in the following places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ross.asgardian
Twitter: @ Ross_Asgardia

Roundup with Ross

Hello again my fellow Asgardians. It’s been another awesome few weeks since the last post (and yes, I did say that I would do it weekly but let’s all agree to retcon that.) Bit of a longer post this time round, but I'll post up a more streamlined summary piece soon.

What’s Asgardia currently doing?

I’ve been seeing a lot of comments and questions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram wondering what’s going on in Asgardia and I wanted to take a little time out to discuss what we’re up to.

Most people reading this blog will come from an established nation – They will be used to a certain level or order. A status-quo with their Government where they have rules, laws, civil services, taxes and so on – And it’s likely been this way since birth. So, it’s easy to understand why people may well take these things for granted.

These nations, in most cases, have spend hundreds of years to get where they are – some nations will have had thousands of years – But in our case, we’ve just been running for just over two years. We need to build everything from Scratch! Our laws, our services, our economy, our infrastructure, our Government and everything else besides.

The order in which this is done is very important – Because we need to establish strong foundations that the nation will be able to build upon. At the moment, Asgardia is working on three main areas:

1. Formation of Government
2. Development of Economy
3. Development of Legislation

Formation of Government

Ana Diaz, Chairman of the Government is currently working to put a Government together and is taking care to get people with real, credible experience to help our fledgeling nation take these first steps. Asgardia has to deal with a lot of 'nay-saying', and the solution of making sure that Government is stocked with credible industry power-houses is a good way to show people how serious we are.

As I said in my last post Leon Shpilsky was appointed as the Acting Minister of Finance . This week, we also announced that eminent scientist, Floris Wuyts was appointed as the Acting Minister of Science .

This is a man with over 200 publisihed works, 4000 citations and a specialisation in the ares of space physiology.

I can't think of anyone more fitting to lead our Nation's Science efforts. There are more candidates and more appointments on the horizon, so keep your eyes open for those.

Development of the Economy

In the world of today, a Nation's economy is its lifeblood. Until we live in a world that doesn't run on money, Asgardia needs to find a way to become financially capable. Its no secret that achieving our goals is going to require a serious amount of money - Launching Satellites, running services for citizens, building a telecoms network, establishing settlements on the moon - none of this will be possible if Asgardia doesn't find a way to generate income.

"Asgardia will work to develop an economy, Initially focussing on the Digital services sector that would give back to Citizens"

One of the key focusses at the moment is on doing just that - with the formation of Parliament's Finance Committee and appointment of the Minister of Finance, Leon Schpilsky, Asgardia is moving forward with the development of important systems that our economy will be built on.

Asgardia held its first Financial Congress in Nice where a lot of work was done to build an understanding of our current challenges and get the ball rolling on finding solutions to them - Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli postulated that Asgardia will work to develop an economy, Initially focussing on the Digital services sector that would give back to Citizens when there was surplus profits.

Testing on the SOLAR is currently underway - a vote has been called to determine the most popular tradable currencies in Asgardia so that the effects of trade and initial rates of the SOLAR can be determined and more details of the currency are expected to be passed to Parliament as early January 2019.

Asgardia will also be attending one of the biggest and most influential financial events this year - the World Economic Forum which brings together business leaders, investors, politicians and journalists from across the globe to discuss current global economic and social issues - An important venue for a new Nation.

In Paraliment's winter session, it is also expected that they will be discussing and voting upon the budgets for 2019

And, as we all know by now, the Citizenship Fee has also been launched, giving Asgardians a chance to lend some financial support to the nation and get in line to become some of Asgardia's first legally recognised citizens.

Development of Legislation

Without a common set of 'rules of engagement', it would be a rather chaotic Nation. Asgardia's laws will govern how people are expected to conduct themselves in a multitude of areas and ensure that there is a fair framework that protects people's rights and freedoms that are outlined in the constitution.

The Legislative body of Asgardia, Parliament , has been hard at work. They have been holding meetings, drafting documents, attending Parliamentary sittings and have already put two laws and several key amendments into force. Two princple laws have been given 'ascent' by the head of nation and its likely that more are on the way following Parliament's Winter Sitting.

But wait... There's more

There are a lot of other areas that Asgardia is working on that I can't really talk much about at the moment but to name a few;

1. Our Website
2. New communication systems for Asgardian Residents
3. Physical Resident ID cards
4. Bi-lateral relations with nations and organisations
5. Public Relations

And in amongst those things there is all the work that's being done by the people that manage the support mailbox, the people that keep the website up and running, the people that are publishing interesting news items on asgardia.space, the moderators, graphic designers, public relations, marketing-- It might not always be easy to see, but I can assure you that the wheels are turning and progress is being made.

There are a lot of things in the works to help create that vision we all believe in! If you want to help make Asgardia a reality, then why not consider contributing with the Citizenship Fee, or, Running as a Mayor for your city.

If you found this useful, then please be sure to comment, upvote and share the post!

Asgardia is an active and ever-changing place. As we move closer and closer to our goals, a lot of information is pumped out from our Nation’s press offices, so it’s understandable that people can’t catch all the news.

Fortunately for me, I work in the Head of Nation’s Administration doing PR and Marketing for Asgardia, so it’s my job to keep up to date on the latest developments.

So, I decided to use that advantage and get back to blogging on a more regular basis and write a weekly summary blog that rounds up and addresses some of the hottest topics facing the Nation.

These will be written about in a ‘#nowaffle’ format. Briefly, succinctly and to the point. If you’d like to discuss them further or learn about them in more depth, feel free to get some conversations about them going in the comments section.

Decree 27

Decree 27 sets out some objectives on the National Currency of Asgardia. It instructs Administration to hold some sort of a contest to set the initial currency rates, and, instructs Government to introduce the ‘national currency bill’ to Parliament by the 10 ^th of December.

Want to know more?

1. Read Decree 27

Citizenship Fee

Asgardia’s Parliament accepted an amendment to the Citizenship Act that introduced a 100 EUR citizenship fee. Anyone aspiring to become an Asgardian Citizen will need to pay the fee. Paying the fee now awards you with a digital resident card and puts you at the front of the queue when citizenship applications are formally opened.

The fee has been somewhat divisive in the community with some people supporting the fee as a tangible way to contribute to the nation, and others suggesting that it’s not reasonable to ask people to pay.

Citizenship Committee Chair, Ben Dell has invited citizens to write to Parliament with legitimate and detailed alternatives.

Want to know more?

1. Amendment to the Citizenship Act News Item
2. Full text of the Citizenship Law
3. Chairman of Parliament, Lembit Opik’s open letter about the amendment.
4. Citizenship Fee Information Page

First Anniversary of Asgardia-1

Our symbolic home in space which is hurtling around the earth at breakneck speeds has reached 1 year old. It continues to serve as an example of Asgardia’s drive to reach the stars, and, carry out its scientific mission. Happy Birthday, Asgardia-1!

Want to know more?

1. https://asgardia.space/en/news/first-anniversary-for-asgardias-symbolic-home-in-space

Economic Forum Memorandum

On the 26th to the 28th of October 2018 Head of Nation Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli chaired Asgardia’s First Economic Forum in the City of Nice. The forum was tasked with starting the construction of the future economic system of a fundamentally new nation.

The Memorandum from the Forum sets out a general overview and outlines the next steps that the nation needs to take towards developing a suitable economic system.

Want to know more?

1. https://asgardia.space/en/page/economic-forum

Leon Shpilsky Appointed as interim Minister of Finance

Leon Shpilsky is an accomplished professional with a background in investment banking, capital raises and investment into high-tec and innovation projects. He recently served as the head of corporate development at Oxford Sciences innovation Ltd and has previously come aboard in Asgardia as the CEO of Asgardia AG

Leon will be working on the challenging task of developing the SOLAR and working to build Asgardia’s fledgling economy with his counterparts in Parliament.

Want to know more?

1. https://asgardia.space/en/news/Appointment-of%20Acting-Minister-of-Finance

Mayoral Elections

Following a successful first round of elections, the Mayoral Elections are back with round two. Another opportunity for people to get involved in Asgardia and do some real tangible work towards build the first space nation.

Want to know more?

1. https://asgardia.space/en/mayoral-elections/

On the 25 ^th of June 2018 history was made in the Austrian city of Vienna. Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli was officially inaugurated as the head of state for Asgardia, the Space Nation. While he delivered an inspirational speech to the congregation that was sure to light the fires in the hearts of any devoted Asgardian citizen, the message carried a clear vision of the future.

There has been enough pomp and ceremony for the time-being, so I’m going to get straight into the details.

Timeline to the end of 2018

“It’s no-longer just an idea.” Dr. Ashurbeyli said at the start of his address. He highlighted the fact that we have established all branches of the nation and that Asgardia has officially been born – and this is just the start. Outlined here are the next immediate steps for the nation.

1. Form cabinet of ministers
2. Elect heads of parliamentary committees
3. Members of the court
4. Assemble the prosecutor’s office
5. Assemble national audit office
6. supreme space council
7. complete recruitment of administration
8. establish national bank
9. Introduction of National currency

Timeframe over next 25 years

Our goals for the next 25 years are to make “Significant progress.” in the following three areas:

1. Science, engineering, infrastructure
2. Nation building, economic development
3. philosophy, ideology, space politics

Science & engineering

1. Build infrastructure that is independent from earth
2. Handheld devices: Integrated passport, credit card, smartphones
3. Network of low-earth orbit satellites to be deployed to deliver global internet coverage
4. Core satellites to be placed on high-earth orbit to provide digital state services to Citizens and businesses
5. Free access to space technologies to earthlings regardless of their nationality or advancement
6. Space Arks to be deployed to provide permanent residence to humans in outer-space.
7. Space Arks to have artificial gravity and protection from radiation to enable human reproduction.
8. Asgardia to field space fleet to defend humanity and the planet from threats emanating from outer space.
9. Satellites to orbit the moon
10. Settlements to be established in moon’s orbit and on it’s surface.

Nation Building

1. To establish bilateral agreements with as many states on earth as possible as well as accession to international organisations – both inter-governmental and non-governmental and ultimately the united nations.
2. Open embassies on all continents.
3. Grow population to 2% of the most creative individuals on planet earth (150m pop aprox)

Economic Development

1. Focus specifically and exclusively on delivering value and wellbeing to the citizens;
2. Protecting national sovereignty;
3. Pursuing science and technology space program.

Philosophy, ideology and space politics.

1. In Asgardia, offer the civilisation of Earth an alternative to Geo-politics in the form of space-politics.
2. Open a path to a new spiral of human development.
3. Underscore that Asgardia is a truly avant-garde, technocratic and futuristic state.

One of the greatest thing about the inauguration was that, for the first time, we truly get to see the vision of the future for Asgardia. This is an important time for the nation and I would encourage all citizens to contribute to the success of the nation in any way that they can.

You can watch the full speech from the Head of the Nation himself and the inauguration event on our YouTube channel .

In 2017 Head of Nation Dr. Ashurbeyli issued Decree No.3 which outlined Unity Day- An important day where Asgardians cast their votes on the Declaration of unity and the constitution.

Fast-forward to 18th of June 2018 and Unity Day is a special day for Asgardia, this the day when Asgardians all over the world come together to celebrate the acceptance of the two most important pieces of writing our nation has; The Declaration of Unity and the Constitution.

The Declaration of unity enshrines the type of people that Asgardians should aspire to be, and this day reminds us of our pledges:

We, the people of Asgardia, will do everything for the prosperity
of our new space nation created by us;
for the safeguarding of our motherland - planet Earth;
and the development of the entire humankind in space.
We are not the best, we are the future.
One humanity - one unity.

Read the full declaration text here

It is expected that on this day people will hold a wide range of celebrations including meet-ups, private celebrations, sharing culture and lots and lots of photographs of Asgardians.

On the run up to Unity Day this year, I asked some people what positive impact Asgardia has had on them and it was inspiring to see that Asgardia is connecting people all around the world. Here are some comments that Asgardians made.

• I've made some friends and expanded my horizons. It's also made me realise that humans can come together to create something from nothing. - Daniel. W.
• [Asgardia] Helped to solidify, distill, expand, and aggregate my political and social beliefs. – James O.
• It is a positive experience until now :) I made a bunch of new friends, I learned a lot of new things and keep learning ! It is motivating me to improve my self and my knowledge ! – Nissem A.
• Asgardia has breathed new life into us and have been studying international space station documents and researching space suits – Brian. C.
• It’s been a great experience ! I am there since the beginning ! There was some high and down! As I use to say brighter the light darker is the shadow. So we have to stand up both and this is the way a path is defined! – Valéry G.
• I think being an Asgardians citizen gave me the opportunity to meet new people, to win real friends, to share ideas, to brainstorming our different cultures and expertises. The fact of being a pioneer of a space nation project is the most fabulous experience. – Abderrahim E.
• I now have a new adopted "nephew" in India and adopted "son" in Brazil! They actually contact me almost every day compaired to my bio. Kids, lol. – Ann K-G

It is easy to see from these comments just why people from all around the world are coming together to celebrate our unity. Real bonds are forming between people through very real encounters, discussions and debates.

So remember what we stand for and don’t hold back in your celebrations.

Share your world by taking photographs and uploading them with the hashtag #AsgardiaUnityDay0002 . You can Tweet, Instagram, Facebook, or post your photos on the Asgardia forums to share a picture of your home, a local landmark, your neighbourhood, or a picture of you with other Asgardians.

On June the 25 ^th , Asgardia will host the inauguration of Igor Ashurbeyli at a ceremonious event at the Hofburg in Vienna. Today, I look at 7 reasons why this historic event is important for Asgardia.

1. It puts us on the world stage

This is a public and prestigious event that will be attended by prominent figures. It will also be observed by some of the world’s top mass media outlets making it a great chance for Asgardia to stand up and introduce itself on the global stage.

2. It shows that we are serious

This event has had a lot put into it. Capital, manpower, resources and logistics on this level isn’t something that just anyone could deploy. This will give Asgardia a chance to show the world that it isn’t just the product of imagination, but is capable of real, tangible results. (Assuming launching a satellite into space wasn’t enough.)

3. It makes things official

The inauguration gives us a chance to be constitutionally compliant and officiate our head of nation. He will also have the opportunity to give a public address that will help to set the tone of Asgardia moving into the future.

4. Good Press

As I touched on earlier, this event will be followed by some leading mass media outlets and news of the inauguration will be broadcast around the world. No doubt that the good news will also spread to others and help Asgardia grow and be seen by many people.

5. Parliament will get to meet for the first time

While the inauguration may be the ‘main course’, the icing on the cake is definitely the first official meeting of Parliament on the 24 ^th . This will be a great chance for Asgardia to kickstart the legislative process.

6. We can make new friends

Asgardia will need friends, experts and business partners if we want to achieve our core goals. With up to 400 prominent people in attendance, Asgardia will have a chance to make some new friends that may open up doors for our growing nation.

7. It gives us a good excuse to celebrate.

This is a huge milestone for our nation and a major reason to be a proud Asgardian and celebrate with others. As this moment goes down in Asgardia’s history books we’ll hopefully look back at it in the future and have some fond memories of our own celebrations.

Q. How do I get an official Passport?

A. Passports will only start to be issued once we have reached mutual recognition with other nations that will accept an Asgardian passport as an official document.

It is expected that Citizens will need to present themselves in-person to an Asgardia embassy or consulate to be officially verified before obtaining a travel document.

Q. How do I get an official ID Card?

A. Though no official release date has been given for ID Cards, they are expected to be issued to verified citizens this year. In Decree 13, Administration was instructed to prepare ID cards for the time of the elections.

ID cards will include the unique ID numbers on them (Which you need to keep secret!). It is expected that these cards will be used to access official Asgardia services (such as banking when our currency, SOLAR, is launched.)

Q. I got married, how can I change my name?

A. Write an eMail to support@asgardia.space to request the change to your name and they will assist you with this. This is also applicable for people who have changed their name through other means such as divorce or deed poll.

Q. Am I a part of the ‘golden hundred thousand’?

A. The ‘golden hundred thousand’ was the name given to the first people to pass the third level of verification, but, this figure was closer to 113,000. If your personal data was verified and you had accepted the constitution before 13 September 2017 (4 september 0001) then you’re one of the golden hundred thousand.

Q. When are we expecting United Nation approval for statehood

A. There is no straightforward process to get recognised by the U.N. and there is no pre-defined timeline for this to happen. Asgardia is working towards being recognised as an independent nation and this requires bilateral recognition from other nations. Getting recognition by the international community as an independent nation is one of our core goals.

Q. When will we build space stations?

A. Building a space station is a very costly and time-intensive process that will require budgets, planning and expertise. Building space-stations, or “Arks” is one of Asgardia’s long-term projects and there is no current estimated time-line, though Dr. Ashurbeyli said in the Moscow Conference (October 2017) that he hoped to go to the moon or spend some time on an orbital Ark in his lifetime.

Got more questions?

There is loads of great information on the official FAQ page on asgardia.space

A different path to building the Nation.

By Ross Cheeseright | 10/04/2018

As many of you will know, I have been working on helping to build Asgardia for a long time now. That journey took me on the road of running for Parliament where I got to meet many-many new Asgardians. Once the decision was made to allow only those Asgardians of over 40 years of age to run for Parliament, I stepped down from the race and registered myself as a Government Candidate.

Since then I have been overwhelmed with the support and have gained over 1,700 votes from people who voiced their support for me and I enjoy a daily discourse with many new Asgardian friends.

Recently, however, a new path has opened that will allow me to help make Asgardia a reality.

I have always had 2 main goals in Asgardia.

1: To give my time an energy to Asgardia to make the project a success.
2: To build upon my knowledge of Virtual Reality and try to bring Virtual Reality to Asgardia.

I will still be working on Virtual Reality for the nation and trying to show Asgardians the benefits of the technology and working on my blogs, research and communications, but I will also be taking a role in Asgardia’s Administration.

My main duties while working for Administration revolve around internal communications and helping to grow the nation by spreading the good word of Asgardia and getting new Citizens interested in our Nation.

This will allow me to work directly with the Head of Administration and Lena De Winne to make sure people are kept up to date with official information.

I’m 100% committed to making Asgardia a real and independent nation and helping to realise its core goals.

Let’s get to work.

• Ross Cheeseright

I spent a lot of time on Asgardia’s networks, on our social networks and on our own website. Much of the time I spend there is enjoying debate and discussion with people from all walks of life. One topic that I have seen come up time and time again is the subject of what role Religion will take in Asgardia.

I’ll preface this by saying that I do not subscribe to any religion – I’m a facts guy – If you show me compelling evidence, I’ll change my opinion in line with the best facts that we’ve got on hand with the understanding that I might need to change my opinion again down the line.

And I don’t think that this discussion needs to take place from an angle of ‘is religion good or is it bad’ but rather, it needs to take the form of “What does our constitution say about it.”.

What does the constitution say about Religion?

Preamble > Chapter 1 > Point 4:

All citizens of Asgardia are equal, irrespective of their Earthly country of origin, residence, citizenship, race, nationality, gender, religion , language, financial standing, or any other attribute.

Preamble > Chapter 1 > Point 11:

Asgardia is a nation of free spirit, science, internationalism. Every Asgardian can freely practice any religion of Earth in Asgardia.

Chapter 5 > Article 16 > Point 4

Prejudice during elections and referenda based on Earthly country of birth, residence, citizenship, race, nationality, gender, religion , language, wealth, and any other attribute is forbidden.

Chapter 2 > Article 2

Asgardia is the first independent, free, unitary, and social Space Nation, which is transethnic and secular , is based on morality, fairness, peace, and the equal dignity of every human being, looks to the future and the infinite Universe, and is a Kingdom.

The Analysis of the language

So – as we can see from the language used in the constitution, there are two main facts that outline Asgardia’s perspective on religion:

This language suggests that while Asgardians are free to practice a religion, Asgardia is secular in nature. Being secular means that there is no relationship between the nation and religion. Therefore, while religion would be allowed in the nation, the nation would not base its decisions, rules or laws upon religion.

“Separation of church and state.” would be a good way to sum it up.

Asgardia wants to join the UN. Does that make a difference?

The UN has some fairly strong views on religion – specifically article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in where it states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion ; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

The wording here outlines the freedom of religion and to manifest that religion is a basic human right.

If Asgardia wants to join the UN, that might explain why in the preamble it states that Asgardian Citizens are free to practice any earthly religion in our Nation.

Another vast repository of support from the UN for religious practice can be found within the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of all forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.

Conclusion

I can understand Asgardian desire to ‘put the past behind us’ and ‘look to the future’ and to many people this means leaving all things that divide us on Earth. Few things in history have been more divisive than religion.

However – There is a danger that rather than expressing a desire for science and leaving behind our earthly divides, someone might end up discriminating against someone – and prejudice might come through if some stigma is attached to religion.

It’s important that Asgardians lead by example and I think that also means accepting people, regardless of their “ Earthly country of origin, residence, citizenship, race, nationality, gender, religion , language, financial standing, or any other attribute.”

And while Lena de Winne may have said:

"Asgardia is a free-of-religion society. Everybody is free to practice their religions on earth, but we do not take our religion with us to Asgardia."

I only partly agree with that. Asgardia, as a nation, should be ‘Religion-free’ in that it should not inform our decisions, laws or motivations. However, I that ‘banning’ religion and actively discriminating against people who have Earthly religions would be walking down an incredibly dark path and I will be eagerly watching this point when it reaches the floors or Government and Parliament.

I spent a lot of time on Asgardia’s networks, on our social networks and on our own website. Much of the time I spend there is enjoying debate and discussion with people from all walks of life. One topic that I have seen come up time and time again is the subject of what role Religion will take in Asgardia.

I’ll preface this by saying that I do not subscribe to any religion – I’m a facts guy – If you show me compelling evidence, I’ll change my opinion in line with the best facts that we’ve got on hand with the understanding that I might need to change my opinion again down the line.

And I don’t think that this discussion needs to take place from an angle of ‘is religion good or is it bad’ but rather, it needs to take the form of “What does our constitution say about it.”.

What does the constitution say about Religion?

Preamble > Chapter 1 > Point 4:

All citizens of Asgardia are equal, irrespective of their Earthly country of origin, residence, citizenship, race, nationality, gender, religion , language, financial standing, or any other attribute.

Preamble > Chapter 1 > Point 11:

Asgardia is a nation of free spirit, science, internationalism. Every Asgardian can freely practice any religion of Earth in Asgardia.

Chapter 5 > Article 16 > Point 4

Prejudice during elections and referenda based on Earthly country of birth, residence, citizenship, race, nationality, gender, religion , language, wealth, and any other attribute is forbidden.

Chapter 2 > Article 2

Asgardia is the first independent, free, unitary, and social Space Nation, which is transethnic and secular , is based on morality, fairness, peace, and the equal dignity of every human being, looks to the future and the infinite Universe, and is a Kingdom.

The Analysis of the language

So – as we can see from the language used in the constitution, there are two main facts that outline Asgardia’s perspective on religion:

This language suggests that while Asgardians are free to practice a religion, Asgardia is secular in nature. Being secular means that there is no relationship between the nation and religion. Therefore, while religion would be allowed in the nation, the nation would not base its decisions, rules or laws upon religion.

“Separation of church and state.” would be a good way to sum it up.

Asgardia wants to join the UN. Does that make a difference?

The UN has some fairly strong views on religion – specifically article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in where it states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion ; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

The wording here outlines the freedom of religion and to manifest that religion is a basic human right.

If Asgardia wants to join the UN, that might explain why in the preamble it states that Asgardian Citizens are free to practice any earthly religion in our Nation.

Another vast repository of support from the UN for religious practice can be found within the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of all forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.

Conclusion

I can understand Asgardian desire to ‘put the past behind us’ and ‘look to the future’ and to many people this means leaving all things that divide us on Earth. Few things in history have been more divisive than religion.

However – There is a danger that rather than expressing a desire for science and leaving behind our earthly divides, someone might end up discriminating against someone – and prejudice might come through if some stigma is attached to religion.

It’s important that Asgardians lead by example and I think that also means accepting people, regardless of their “ Earthly country of origin, residence, citizenship, race, nationality, gender, religion , language, financial standing, or any other attribute.”

And while Lena de Winne may have said:

"Asgardia is a free-of-religion society. Everybody is free to practice their religions on earth, but we do not take our religion with us to Asgardia."

I only partly agree with that. Asgardia, as a nation, should be ‘Religion-free’ in that it should not inform our decisions, laws or motivations. However, I that ‘banning’ religion and actively discriminating against people who have Earthly religions would be walking down an incredibly dark path and I will be eagerly watching this point when it reaches the floors or Government and Parliament.

As the elections draw to a close, it certainly seems that Asgardia is looking towards the future – there are a lot of developments, Parliament is being selected, there is a design contest for the Solar and Lunar currency and there is a big contest to select the next finance system with a grand prize of $10,000.

One of the areas that I’m most interested is our ‘home’.

Asgardia exists in a digital space – it’s a large decentralised population that is connected through our various networks (Facebook, Asgardia.space, twitter etc.) and that allows us to come together from all across the world and work together to build this Nation.

However; much of the functionality of the website right now is driven towards “Reading.” – We get news, we get articles, we get competitions, we get decrees and important updates form the HoN – And that’s really great, but there isn’t a lot of functionality for the people to give back.

So I want to start a discussion and see what features people think that the website should have to enable contributions from the Citizens.

For instance, I’d like to see a Central Library of works that were authored by Asgardians and are available to Asgardians. Literary works, fiction, Sci-fi, Academic, Reports – all coming together to start expanding our own nation’s culture.

What sort of features do you think that we should see in the future?

By Ross Cheeseright & Ivan Rosel | 21/02/2018

Introduction

In the text of Decree 15, HoN Dr. Igor Ashurbeyli announced that he would bring an end to the funding of the nation, with all funding due to wrap up by the end of the year. The purpose of Operation: Treasury is to start exploring ways for Asgardia to develop its own funds.

Aim

To mobilize and organize a think-tank of volunteers from  the community with a view to source viable methods of funding Asgardia in both the pre and post formation of Parliament, and to help deliver the vehicles and services required for Asgardians to generate income and trade with one another.

Objectives

1. Operation: Treasury will seek to bring into the fold any Asgardians who think that it is something they might be able to help with.
2. This Operation will seek to explore, address and propose and implement both short-term and long-term solutions regarding the financing of the nation.
3. The operation will be comprised of independent citizens, parliamentary candidates and government candidates, but no current ranking officials or members of Asgardia NGO.
4. Within the scope of this operation will be the research and establishment of revenue-generating businesses or solutions, project proposals and reports.

Scope

As we are not currently permitted to raise funds on behalf of Asgardia, the think-tank will be limited to conducting research, making proposals or developing projects that have the involvement or the formal agreement of Asgardia’s copyright holders / Asgardia NGO.

Transparency

One of the primary goals will be the absolute transparency of the operation and every effort shall be made to share the details, costs, income and expenses of any projects that are run. Furthermore, all reports, investigations and research will be shared with the community, with Parliament and Asgardia NGO.

First Step

The first step we are taking is to notify the community of this think-tank and start to gather together volunteers so that we can conduct meetings and brainstorming sessions to come up with some solutions to the financial problems that we’re facing as a Nation.

How you can help

Salutations my fellow Asgardians,

Many of you have may have recently seen something about a 100 EURO fee circulating around on our Social Media 'outlets' and I have seen that it is causing some confusion so I wanted to write a blog to clear up that confusion a little.

What's going on?

On the Feb 01, 2018 Decree 14 was announced and attached to that decree was a special provision that incites a 100 EURO mandatory donation (fee) for those people willing to enter into Parliament. The purpose behind this fee is for those people running for Parliament to show that they're serious and that they're willing to put their money where their mouth is.

Is it for my Citizenship ID?

No. This has nothing to do with your registration as a Citizen. This is a fee for those people willing to get into Asgardian Politics.

Is it a scam?

It's common practice in many countries to have a fee for those people willing to join a parliament or a government to ensure that only serious candidates are applying. Furthermore, in the provision it states

" the money can be returned to you if you so choose, can be transformed into your registration fee for a candidacy to other bodies of government administration, or can be applied toward the purchase of Asgardia national currency – the Solar ."

So it's highly unlikely that this is a scam! Of course, if you're not comfortable with giving Asgardia your hard earned money, don't.

I have already donated, do I need to donate again?

No. Any money that you have donated so far is counted towards your total donations. So if you've already donated 100 Euros or more, then you're covered and can continue on your way to the top.

I don't have enough money for that, what can I do?

Official word from the CEC is that you are allowed to fund-raise money for your election campaign and when people are submitting donations, they need to clearly state on them that the donation is for your election campaign. This will then count towards your total. A good way to get support from your followers and share out any potential risk.

Where can I learn more?

Go and read all the information attached to decree 14 and make sure that you bookmark my blog to get regular information.

Support me:

I want to work hard for Asgardia, but I can't do that without your support. If you want to help me commit my time and energy, you can vote for me as a Government candidate or support me on Patreon .