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The 7th Amorph! performance art biennale hosted the first »Summit of Micronations«. In August 2003 kings, presidents and representatives of "self made" countries met each other for the first time in Helsinki. The Principality of Sealand, Ladonia, NSK-State, Kingdoms of Elgaland&Vargaland, Transnational Republic and State of Sabotage had agreed to join the summit. Against the convention of international summits Amorph!03 encouraged active participation of the public. Amorph!03 is unique both as a performance art festival and a political event.
The opening ceremony of Amorph!03 took place on August 29 in Finlandia House, which hosted the legendary CSCE (aka KSZE) conference in 1975. During the following days the micronations opened temporary embassies at Harakka island. Here the public could obtain detailed information about the micronations, their histories, state of affairs and policies. Some micronations even accepted applications for citizenship. During the festival the state representatives gave public lectures and hosted festivities. On August 30, 2003, the »State of Sabotage« was declared accompanied by the unveiling of a monument designed by HR Giger.
Amorph!03 had additionally invited a great variety of artists and intellectuals to contribute to the festival with their works to further excavate the questions relevant to the phenomenon of micronations.
Micronations
The term »micronation« has been applied to almost anything from invented kingdoms, model states, cybertopias, libertarian oases to real existing miniature states. Each micronation attempts in its own way to create a zone of autonomy. They nevertheless differ strongly with respect to the requirements of Statehood: population, territory, government, legality, independence, sovereignty and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. Some of them even challenge the definition of statehood itself. Philippe Laserre has pointed out that »the phenomenon of micro-nations can be located between a joke and a serious vision of the future«.
Micronations attending the Amorph!03 summit have proclaimed constitutions, established their own laws and monetary systems, and possess state symbols such as passports and flags. Some of them have reached a high degree of sovereignty over a very small territory. Others do not possess a territory at all and thereby transcend national borders operating on the same level as transnational corporations or NGOs. Simply put, both positions might begin to address the familiar contention that the nation state might be too big for small problems, and too small for big problems.
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