In May of 1845, an expedition under Captain Sir John Franklin left England with two ships and 134 souls. Their goal: to find the Northwest Passage, a sea route in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the North Atlantic and Pacific. This expedition has since gained infamy for its “disappearance” and for the loss of all hands. Even today, nearly 180 years later, this lost expedition continues to captivate the minds of many, as new discoveries are made and the puzzle pieces are put together. And thus, the Franklin Expedition has become one of the most well known and quintessential expeditions of the 19th century. The discoveries, spirit and achievements of this and many other expeditions carry on to this day and the United Republic of Obscurium wishes to honour and remember but also scrutinise and criticise these endeavours. Columbus, for example, was not the first European to reach America, which is well known today. However, one must also remember that, although explorers such as Columbus did “discover” lands for the Western World and “put them on a map”, many of these lands had been reached by other people a long time before that. And so, the true discoverers of countless islands, continents and mountains, the first pioneers, where our ancestors who set out across the globe from Africa millennia ago. Their names may now be forgotten but it is in the footsteps of these first, unknown, explorers in which men like Franklin have walked. How does all this relate to micronationalism? Well, micronations like to turn small acts into big ones. Bringing attention to a lesser known site might as well be considered a “discovery” or an “exploration” here just like a trip down a river in a kayak might be considered to be an “expedition”. 

And therefore, Obscurium hereby announces the Inermicronational Year of Exploration, in an effort to bring all of these things together. This year, 2025, shall be devoted to both macro and micronational acts of exploration in order to highlight historic events, the role of local people in exploration and the culture and “style of exploration” of the participating micronations.

We have worked out the following four acts which every micronations can complete to participate in this project:

1. Visit and Document one (interesting) place which is rarely visited or noticed or which is in plain sight but often overlooked.

2. Conduct an “act of exploration” (e.g. “Straight Line Mission”, Naval Expedition, Urban Exploration, etc.).

3. Celebrate a historic act of exploration relevant to your micronation or its culture.

4. Release a joint stamp issue on the topic of the Northwest Passage and the lost Franklin Expedition together with the other participating micronations. Any micronation may join this effort and complete these points over the year.

 

Those interested in close collaboration with other participants may contact the Government of Obscurium at gov@obscurium.info

in order to receive further details for closer cooperation. We furthermore also welcome any suggestions for other projects and forms of cooperation which fit into the Intermicronational Year of Exploration. In any case, do not hesitate to share your achievements under the title of Intermicronational Year of Exploration or the hashtag #MicroYearofExploration, feel free to use the official logo and be sure to take a lot of photos.