Hi all,

I hope your Easter/Passover/Spring break went well? Viscountess Constanza and I spent it in the lovely company of Master Duncan and Lady Elen in the Shire of Harplestane, where much conviviality and touring of that magisterial land was enjoyed.

Event Support Launched!

Events are on my mind this quarter and I would like to draw your attention to the products of much industry by members of these Isles, for the first tranche of event support materials is now available. Note these are only part of what is being installed, the technical elements will be available next month from Practical Drachenwald. Remember, this is not One True Way, but a wealth of advice and conclusions built from the experience of many of our members. There should be something for everyone at all stages of their event organisation path, so adapt at your leisure!

-> What is your Perfect Event? (docx download)
Lady Ruth of Derlington kindly collated the results of a recent survey on social media that asked you what your favourite parts of an event is. We hope this goes on to inspire your event planning and refine your offerings.

-> Event Accessibility Questionnaire (docx download)
The Noble Henric Vanden Casteele and the Accessibility, Diversity and Inclusion team have generated this very useful set of questions for you to consider when scouting a venue. Remember, being able-bodied is a temporary condition, and we want to be as welcoming and accessible as possible.

-> Event Planning Timeline (pptx download)
Guy de Dinan applies some of his planning experiences to a suggested planning calendar for your event. Trading time for stress, this sort of approach has delivered relaxed teams and allowed flexibility to deal with the unexpected.

-> Promoting Your Event (pptx download)
Henric also provides us with this excellent guide on making all the noise to attract attendees to your event. This provides food for thought on various considerations in appealing to your audience when competing in the busy world of communications.

-> A Reservations Steward Guide (docx download)
A group effort has brought this guide together, and updated general advice previously available for that under-estimated, yet key, role in an events team. With new technologies available, the options available to generating a stable secure and effective list of attendees are now numerous. This guide discusses those, as well as organising payments. Practical Drachenwald will be making available a tool to create such a tracker, that also can post a list of attendees to your website.

-> Event Finances Guide (docx download)
Mistress Mary verch Thomas has updated her event finance advice to the present financial policies with advice on budgeting, payments and approach. Our game is an event-based economy, and with a modicum of planning and a common sense approach, events can be run without a loss. Aspiring event stewards pelase also note the updates in the draft Principality Finance Policy.

I would also like to extend my thanks to everyone on the newly-formed Events Council, particularly His Highness, and Mistress Ariel for providing commentary on these and other documents. Many hands also contributed in their own way, from web-hosting advice to offering their own tips and tricks.

As mentioned, this is only the first half of the event support effort. Next month will see the opportunity to access the Budget Builder, Event Scheduler and Reservations Tool from Practical Drachenwald, as well as an interactive venue-scouting map, built form all those sites I have been asking you to send to me. There will be additional documents, including the main Event Steward Guide, updated from the previous 2006 edition.

Further Ahead

With Ormþthing announced, we are expecting a Parliament to be held, where a variety of updates to the Principality Laws and policies will be read into official existence.

The Principality Finance Policy is available for comment. This is a live draft, the Finance Committee considers this live policy, so if you are an Exchequer or an Event Steward, please rad through. We have updated this with a positive intent, clearing up confusions (possibly creating new ones) and updating policy to reflect current banking and event booking practices. The final draft, after all comments received by 30th June, will be tabled as an annex of Principality Law. Email your comments to – seneschal@insulaedraconis.org and exchequer@insulaedraconis.org.

Hamlet Policy – a rewritten Hamlet policy will be put out for consultation soon. Hamlets are a Principality-specific informal entity to help new groupings on their way to shire status, and also to enhance local activity already in place. The expectation is that this will become handy for branches with wide geographies and small pockets of interest. We expect to post about this in June.

Safeguarding Policy – as part of my emphasis in improving the general safety of our membership, as well as fulfill duties and obligations, this policy is now in draft form and is under initial review. This policy will also be reviewed against local jurisdictions and also our insurance cover. More about this later in the summer.

Insurance and waivers – I am taking a very close look at how our insurance and waiver system is and is not working. I would particularly like to hear your thoughts on waivers, risk assessments, training and insurance from your experiences at events, or as an officer or marshal – seneschal@insulaedraconis.org

Communicable Diseases Policy – The Accessibility Diversity and Inclusion Team have been looking at the problem of event-crud in the post-lockdown world. COVID has not gone away, and neither have the other plagues that lurk around social events. A focus on COVID has been thought to be counter-productive as a result, and by looking for ways to cut risk of infection, the team hopes to improve the safety of our gatherings, particularly for our members who are particularly at risk of complications. A draft will be put to consultation over the summer.

Call to action

As you can see, the office is rather busy of late, and there are plenty of project ideas working up. I would be very grateful for people who are willing to help me with writing up policies, supporting our Fundraising Deputy, chasing down research, etc. If you have a spare few hours or would like to know more about the Principality and how it works, drop me a line – seneschal@insulaedraconis.org

Best wishes,
Guy