After a few years’ break, the unique educational program of the BSA "Republic of Dream" returned. This year it became international, bringing together 17 young people from Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland. Over several days, participants, having received their roles in the game, built the dream country they wanted to see. We open up what they came up with and invite you to participate in the next Remara!

Before the game started, participants were assigned their roles, learned the rules of the game, and were informed about the country's history and political situation. The Republic of Dream was a federation consisting of three autonomous regions: Lesovia, Kamenoria, and Travia. The Constitution also included provisions regarding religion, the economy, migration policy, the death penalty, and more.

The game found Remara in a serious crisis. As a solution, the country’s president announced a constitutional referendum to revise the main document, which hadn't changed in over a hundred years. Several groups, including opposition politicians, began campaigning for various proposals: from limiting presidential powers to establishing a single state religion – Valarianism.

While some players were gathering signatures for their proposals, others were planning a coup d'état. These suspicions forced the president to dismiss the Minister of Internal Affairs. The next step for the head of state was to publish his own proposals for constitutional changes: state regulation of the economy, a unitary state, a ban on the death penalty, and more.

Not everyone liked the course of the events. Talks of a coup d'état did not cease, leading to the resignation of the businessman/minister of internal affairs and his arrest by the third player to hold the position of minister, interestingly, a representative of the opposition. The arrested ex-minister released a speech accusing the government of weakness and fear of progress, calling for unity and a continued fight for the future of Remara, ending the first day of the game.

The second day began with a press conference by the president, who announced the appointment of a religious leader to the position of judge. Meanwhile, the businessman/ex-minister served his prison sentence but was stripped of his property by a government decision. Moreover, the new Minister of Internal Affairs arrested the ex-judge and a farmer, allegedly for preparing a revolution.

Unexpectedly, the players had to put all disputes aside: Remara suffered from severe flooding, which brought serious economic and social problems. The Kamenorians, Lesovians, and Travians had to agree on a number of concessions, partially against their interests, but this gave Remara the budget to mitigate the effects of the disaster.

But even the catastrophe was quickly forgotten in light of the next events: a coup d'état occurred. While the revolutionaries were electing a new president, the previous government continued its own game, refusing to recognize the changes and meeting with the leadership of neighboring Lunaria, a well-known dictatorship. One of the first decisions of the newly appointed president, a former police officer, was to carry out new arrests: the businessman/ex-minister and an eco-activist.

At the same time, the conflict in Remara escalated to the international level: at the request of Kamenoria, a delegation from Lunaria, along with its King and Defense Minister, arrived for negotiations with the new government. Their main demand was to hold a referendum on all previously planned issues and guarantee the rights and freedoms of the Kamenorians, including their release from prisons.

The demands were accepted, and the referendum began! The citizens of Remara voted in support of green technologies and the protection of natural resources, preserved a secular state, banned the death penalty, but retained marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman (rumors circulated that the vote on the last issue was rigged). But the main result of the referendum was the creation of a parliamentary state instead of a presidential one!

The game ended differently for everyone: some managed to secure positions in the new parliament or a ministerial portfolio, while others sought political asylum in other countries or even committed in-game suicide.

At the end of the program, we conducted an extensive reflection on the processes of the game to gather feedback and learn what the participants felt during the game. Stay tuned for our announcements so you don't miss the invitation to build your own Republic of Dream. What would it look like?