The Renewal Day Medal 2022
The recipient of the 2022 Renewal Day Medal is Leif Jan Christer Oxenmyr, King of Unixploria, Protector of Unixplorian Culture and Nature, Defender of the Unixplorian Christian Faith, Commander of the Order of St. Philip the Apostle, and Supreme Knight of the Star Cross Order. In graciously accepting this honour King Leif I shared these thoughts:
"My name is Leif Oxenmyr, and I am the founding monarch of the Kingdom of Unixploria. I’ve been a micronationalist since the mid-’80s. It began as a childhood pastime. We created countries, formed military alliances, drew maps, and designed flags. Adolescent games soon turned into something more tangible. My passion for role-playing games mixed well with my love for nation-building, and together with a penchant for history, Unixploria soon became a reality. "Since the beginning, my Christian faith and love for storytelling have guided my views on micronationalism. Paraphrasing G.K. Chesterton, I view Unixploria as a ”true myth.” For me, Unixploria is as real as any other country. It may be imaginative, but certainly not imaginary. "Unixploria revolves around the creativeness of its citizens. We are curious souls who love to create and learn. Our ways may seem old-fashioned to some, but we care about tradition. "We are nostalgic beings which reflect in a semi-poetic speech I gave to a selected audience about nostalgia." Nostalgia or it is no more "There is no such thing as a perfect country or an ideal place. I was born in a country. That country is no more. My mom and dad were born in another country. That country is no more. So, I founded my own country, longing for a place to call home. Guess what? Home never changed into something unfamiliar. Home is where I am. It is the result of all my imagined dreams where heroes are still heroes, and a kiss has no Judas to stain a perfect picture of love. "Nostalgia is a beautiful thing. Every wish is granted; every sight, scent, and colour is vivid and real, perhaps more so than the strange world I keep hearing about on media. I live a content life but still long for other sights and other times. "We all long for emotions, countries, ideas, and places rooted in our nostalgic visions: England during the late 1800s, da Vinci’s Florence, or the far North during the Viking era. Those places and times appeal to me, but they are no longer and perhaps never were. "People must have had the same nostalgia back then, longing for places long gone. They are still alive, however. They live in me, creating a defined yet spaceless frame to evaluate my own life. My ancestors speak to me, explaining what course to take. "I live in the best of times; I live in the best country, and I live in physical surroundings where I feel more content than anyone can imagine. I live a productive life in a clearly defined realm full of life, but it is no more. "I live in Unixploria, my old kingdom, where the echoes from millennia of nostalgia known as the days of yore speak to me and are telling me to be patient. They say the best is yet to come, and I believe them. I have never stopped believing. "May peace dwell upon your humble abode, and may the dreams from your past catch up with you wherever you are." Lord Watitune said: "Unixploria is that rarity of a micronation - a unique expression of the vision of King Leif I and a nation that is not afraid to push the boundaries of what a micronation should and could be."\
"The Kingdom of Unixploria is an entity bound not by spurious territorial claims or dogmatic political bureaucracies, but by generosity of spirit and imagination. King Leif I is a true Renaissance Man, presiding over a nation dedicated to freedom of expression and inclusivity. The Unixploria website is truly fascinating, featuring a library, reading club, "Mad Scientists" section dedicated to steampunk culture, a range of themed Museums and even a Lego Club! A true reflection of the variety and uniqueness of this nation. "We are genuinely excited to extend this honour to King Leif I and look forward to a future exploration of what a micronation can truly be." |
The Renewal Day Medal is an award formally conferred by Lord Watitune every 30th March to mark the the Isles’ Renewal Day, when the micronation’s claim to the former Royal Company’s Islands were officially established de facto by the International Hydrographic Organisation. You can see more on this in the History of the New Weddington Isles. This year's recipient is King Leif I, of the Kingdom of Unixploria (see left).
As well as other activities, the awarding of the medal is an annual event, going to a micronation, entity or individual who has shown particular alignment with the ideals and values of the Isles, and has demonstrated a positive approach to the wider micronational community. Images of the Medal are attached and the Recipient is announced today, 23rd March. The medal comes with Letters of Safe Conduct of a lifetime duration; and the holder is eligible to style themselves as recipient of the New Weddington Renewal Day Medal 2022 among their honorifics. It does not confer a noble title or claim to citizenship. We would like to congratulate King Leif I on this honour and look forward to many more years of mutually beneficial interaction in the future. Medal DesignThe Renewal Day medal is specially commissioned by the Hon Lady Katherine Revill, a renowned steampunk designer and official designer to the New Weddington Isles, as well as holding a position in the Courts Baron, as Minister for Arts, Culture and Sport.
The Renewal Day Medal 2022 is highly symbolic – the ribbon bears the green and gold symbolising the green fields and wheat crops of the old Weddington Manor, as well as echoing the sporting colours of Australia (New Weddington's host nation and site of its Prime Consul ex aliena). The cogs represent industry and rebuilding, whilst the sea creature again to the ocean setting of the New Weddington Isles in the South Indian Ocean. The Medal bears the Isles' Official National Animal - the seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus). Whilst this may look like a mythical creature it is an actual species - native to the oceans around the area of the New Weddington Isles. It represents the Isles' sea setting along with its uniqueness and its commitment to diversity in all of its forms. A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF LADY KATHERINE REVILL, RENEWAL DAY MEDAL DESIGNER
“Born and raised in the splendid simplicity of the north east, Lady Katherine moved in her mid twenties to the bustling mechanical heart of Britain, London, to study costume design at Wimbledon School of Art.
“Here, while studying the elegant art form of fashionable aesthetics, she was introduced to what would become her true calling in life, exploration. a fellow student happened across a mythological story of creators that inhabited the common lands surrounding the school that supposedly hauled riches of uncountable wealth underground, and had an insatiable addiction to tea. these ‘wombles’ as they would later become to be known, would spark a life-long obsession with mythological stories, treasure hunting and exploration. “Armed with her insatiable appetite for adventure, and a rather large collection of exquisite petticoats, she set out to explore lost cities, search for new worlds, battle mythological creatures, and potentially discover the answer to life’s most important question... what is the optimal amount of time to dunk your biscuit?” 
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