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INFORMATION |
"We think Playland is an excellent way to introduce international concepts..."
Principality of Sealand
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This site was last updated on 19th October 2008
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In the Lithuanian Highlands, about 130 km east of the region's capital, Panevezys, lies one of the world's smallest enclaves. Known as the New Territory the land was leased from a private landowner to The Kingdom of Playland in August 2006 for 99 years in The Convention for the Extension of Playland Territory.
Originally founded in cyberspace, The Kingdom of Playland is the brainchild of a group of young English language learners who wanted a language learning activity that was a bit different. While their creation, Playland island, remains fundamentally in cyberspace and is represented by embassies in several UN recognised nations, it was generally agreed that leasing property would be a valuable and strategic step to their nation being taken a little more seriously than a pinch of salt.
These recent developments have made the Kingdom of Playland perhaps the first nation, once dismissed as 'only a cybernation', to annex ‘real territory’ in the 'real world’.
Latest news: Jean Greenwood (Activity Box) accepts Playland nationality / Playland welcomes four new citizens / flag seen in Italy and Switzerland / Playland mentioned on Ken Bruce Show, BBC 2 More...
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Country name: |
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Nationality: |
| Noun: Playlander |
| Adjective: Playland |
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Postal Address: |
| The Kingdom of Playland can best be contacted through any of its embassies. See full list... |
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E-mail: |
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Skype name: |
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Official website: |
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Founded: |
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Constitution: |
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Head of State: |
| HM King William II (Non executive) More... |
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Capital: |
| Brazil Town (Brasil Town) |
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Flag: |
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Coat of Arms: |
This shows the Playland Himalayas, the Secret Forest, national symbols such as spaghetti and the common jezebel, the Playland
people and the national flower - the tea rose.
The arms have become affectionately known as the Erke. More... |
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Motto: |
| Liberty, Equality and Happiness. |
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National symbols: |
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National anthem: |
| The Land of Playland |
See... |
| Words: |
Carolina Sousa, Scotti Joao Pinto Ribeira, Tobias Pereira,
Carolina Silva, Smartie Albuquerque |
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National Day: |
| 12th July (Constitution Day) |
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Other Holidays: |
1st January
8th April (Moveable)
19th March
6th May (Moveable)
1st June
28th August (nearest weekend)
4th October
14th November
20th November
30th November
20-25th December |
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New Year's Day
Chocolate Feast
Father's Day
Mother's Day
International Children's Day
Summer Thanksgiving
World Animal Day
Astrid Lindgren's Birthday
Universal Children's Day
Teacher's Day
Celebration of Free Belief
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Money: |
| The Playland Dollar, the national currency, has been pegged to the Euro since July 12, 2006 at the rate of EUR 1.00 = PLAY 1.00. More... |
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Population: |
| Playland Embassies have together issued 26 passports (Dec 2007). Applications for more are in process. |
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Area (New Territory): |
| 15 acres |
| Comparative: approximately equal to the size of Liberty Island, New York |
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Geography & climate: |
The New Territory is a landlocked enclave, bordered by Aukstaitija, the Lithuanian Highlands.
The terrain is punctuated by a lake, the Pond, and includes
pasture, and a forest zone (predominantly birch) which covers 40% of the country.
The climate ranges from harsh winters (average January temperatures are in the
range -5 °C (22 °F) to -2 °C (28 °F)) to warm summers (average temperature
11 °C (52°F) to 23 °C(73°F)). June has the highest precipitation of the year at 6.5cm
(2.55 in). Pictures...
Playland Island is located in the Sea of Cyberspace. It was decided that its landscape is glacially flat, except for the Playland Himalayas in the western uplands which are quite high. The terrain features a lake - Loch Ness. A mixed forest zone covers 20% of the country behind the mountains to the north. The climate lies between tropical (with a summer average of 30°C, spring 20°C, autumn 15°C) and cold winters –10°C with snow. According to some geographers, Playland's capital, Brazil Town, lies a few kilometres south of the geographical centre of Cyberspace. Pictures... |
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Land Boundaries: |
| Playland is surrounded by Aukstaitija, the Lithuanian Highlands. Belarus and Latvia are less than 100km away. |
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Coastline: |
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Fauna: |
| Playland Island: birds, lions, butterflies, monkeys, elephants, pink panthers, crocodiles and sometimes a springer spaniel. |
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History: |
The Kingdom of Playland (so named by Carolina Silva) was founded on 10 July 2006 by a group of six English language learners and their teacher. Over the following weeks they decided on factors which they believed to be important for the existence of a nation... a flag, a passport, a national anthem and a Head of State -
King William I.
After a minute's reign however, the King was ousted by his people and replaced by HM William II. The Playlanders believed the new King 'sounded better'. HM William II is still King of Playland today but was made non-consecutive Head of State by the Prime Minister, A. Teacher MP, who believing that his own presence on the dry land of planet Earth 'terra firma' made him a well-suited 'Lord Protector' of the nation and its people.
The Kingdom of Playland is today a democratic nation with all decisions
having to be agreed by a majority of ministers. Before becoming law however all decisions must be passed by A.Teacher MP.
On writing the Playland's first constitution, on 12th July 2006, the Playlanders began working on different projects to earn their nation recognition from other nations. The Aerican Empire was the first to offer the Kingdom of Playland conditional diplomatic recognition on 14th July 2006, closely followed by Molossia. Playland has since established foreign representation with embassies in Lithuania and Portugal.
Despite accessibility to the Internet having been an undeniable factor in the growth of the nation, it was generally felt that the nation needed to expand its territory on terra firma to be taken 'a bit more seriously than a pinch of salt'..
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People and culture: |
| Most Playlanders are aged between 12 and 16, 16 being the age of senior citizenship. |
| 75% of Playland nationals are ethnic Portuguese who speak the Portuguese language although ESOL is the official language of the state. Several sizeable minorities exist, such as Danes (12.5%) and Lithuanians (12.5%). |
| Population growth: N/A |
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Law: |
| Playland law is based primarily on the constitution which states that nationals must 'obey all rules', this means all the rules of constitution as well as respecting the laws of the other countries we are citizens of. Failure to do so will be considered as an act of high treason and lead to revoking of Playland nationality status. Read the Constitution... |
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Economy: |
Not very high. The highest skilled jobs in Playland are those of breakfast
eaters and shower takers which are not awarded high salaries. By UN classification
Playland is a country with an average teenager income.
Playland's internal trade relies heavily on cyber fishing, forestry and minerals
(notably gold, silver and zinc). At present it has no exports though is meeting
with increased cybertourism. The country boasts a simple but adequate road infrastructure.
The latest official data shows emigration in 1st. quarter of 2006 since the nations foundation
being 0%. |
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International vehicle registration: (OVAL) |
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Time: |
EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
give or take. |
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| New territory: |
| Travel
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All visits to Playland's new territory must be made by prior arrangement with the Playland Government. Access is free on presentation of passports of all nations recognised by Playland (see list) as well as some others.
ROAD - drive north-east of Panevezys and keep going towards Daugavpils (Latvia). Turn right a bit after about 100km and contact the Playland Government for further instruction.
AIR
www.ryanair.com (Kaunas & Riga, also serves Porto)
www.airbaltic.com (Vilnius & Riga)
TRAIN - Warsaw to Petersburg line. Get off before Latvia and contact the Playland Government for further instruction.
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Where to
stay |
The New Territory has plenty of camping space. Government buildings are available to Playland nationals and VIP guests. |
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| Playland Island: |
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ESOL learning activities
(Playland website)
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| Do: practise your English with activities using the Kingdom of Playland website. The Government are presently updating this page but you can try a level test. More... |
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Request a chat
(Playland website) |
| Do: have a chat. The page is exclusive for the use of visitors to the Playland website. Enter the time and date you'd like to have a chat on the interactive form and see who turns up. More... |
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Add to the Royal Art Collection
(Playland website) |
| Do: HM King William II is always pleased to get new pictures of Playland Island. Colour in existing pictures or send your own picture and it will be added to the Royal Online Art Collection. More... |
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Ask for Playland's opinion
(Playland website) |
| Do: tell Playlanders if you're interested in or worried about something and get Playland's opinion. HM King Nicholas I of the Copeman Empire wrote to Playland to ask our opinion about Turkey Twizzlers being banned as school food in England. More... |
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The Stroke Shed
(New Territory)
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See: the Government Office in the New Territory. Once a busy duck roosting shed it has become the subject of a naming dispute, due to the amount of 'clearing' that was needed in its refurbishment.
The Stroke shed is officially opened by a 'removal of the coin' ceremony.
The building is home to HM King William's private collection of pictures of the Playland Island.
See the Stroke Shed...
See the Royal Art Collection...
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See The Flag Tree
(New Territory) |
See: where the Playland flag was first raised over the new territory in August 2006.
When A Teacher is in residence the flag is once more raised each day at this site. See the Flag Tree... |
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Stroll in the gardens
(New Territory) |
| Do: walk in the gardens and pasture of the New Territory. In springtime and summer you'll find a rich selection of organic fruit and berries (including red currants, gooseberries and arctic strawberries). You'll also see local wildlife such as butterflies, frogs, toads and maybe even a member of the Antanas family (long time residents of the territory). |
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Pirtis
(New Territory) |
| Do: enjoy a very traditional Lithuanian way to finish off and clean up after a long day. This is a kind of steam-bathing related to the sauna. Collect your own twigs to make a 'vanta' then have a swim in the pond to cool off. |
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Merstag spotting
(New Territory) |
| Do: try to spot the rare Aukstaitijan mermaid or merstag. The legendary part stag part fish, featured in regional Lithuanian coats of arms, is rumoured to swim in the Playland Pond. See... |
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Smudge's house
(New Territory) |
| See: the converted room and home of Smudge Barham MP when she visits the New Territory. Inside is an exhibition of gifts donated to Playlanders from previous visitors and the famous 'forest bed' made of logs and hay by Andreas Teacher MP. |
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| Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
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Andreas Teacher MP: |
| The Prime Minister and Lord Protector of Playland answers your questions. More... |
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Prime Minister and Lord Protector: |
| The Rt Hon Andreas Teacher MP See... |
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Cabinet: |
| Minister of Animals in Danger |
The Rt Honorable Salieontois-Salra MP |
| Minister of Arts |
The Rt Hon Hamster Vandentiekio MP See... |
| Minister of Bags |
The Rt Honorable Smiley Villars Dames MP |
| Minister of Culture |
The Rt Hon Tobias Pereira MP |
| Minister of Doing Sums |
The Rt Hon Carolina Sousa MP |
| Minister of Education |
The Rt Hon Scotti Joao Pinto Ribeira MP |
| Minister of Fashion |
The Rt Honorable Violet Divine MP |
| Minister of Grub |
The Rt Hon Smudge Barham MP See... |
| Minister of Football |
The Rt Hon Telmo Micaelo MP |
| Minister of Nothingness |
The Rt Hon Bacilla Vandentiekio MP See... |
| Minister of Security |
The Rt Hon Ežytė Šaltkalvė MP See... |
| Minister of Science |
The Rt Honorable Choco Villardame MP |
| Minister of Shopping |
The Rt Hon Carolina Silva MP |
| Minister of Sports |
The Rt Hon Kid Couves MP See.. |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
The Rt Hon Lafaruso Quinta do Rossaio MP See... |
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Contact: |
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IH Journal of Education and Development |
| Spring 2007 - Andreas Grundtvig, ADOS at IH Coimbra, writes about 'Playland as an ESOL Micronation'. More... |
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BBC Radio 2 |
| 18th April 2007- Playland is mentioned on 'The Ken Bruce Show'. Listen... |
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YouTube |
| 29th January 2007- Playland publishes its first promotional video. See... |
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International House Coimbra/Santa Clara newsletter |
| December 2006 - Friend of Playland, Beatriz C.A., writes about Playland for her school newsletter'. See... |
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Bootsnall.com: |
| August 2006 - Journalist Rory Shallowcreek visits Playland Island and meets HM King William II. More... |
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BBC Radio Kent: |
| 20th July 2006 - The Kingdom of Playland is mentioned on the Dominic King Show and diplomatically recognised by King Dom of the Kingdom of KingDom. Listen... (this may take a moment to load) |
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Anglobus.com: |
| July 2006 - Shortly after TheClub the new nation was announced on an English language learning webzine, with practical advice and info for learners, teachers, travellers and expats. More... |
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TheClub.am: |
| July 2006 - The first announcement of the existence of the Kingdom of Playland was on this Armenian culture webzine. More... |
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Playland money will soon be available on Ebay.
Visitors to the New Territory are able to enjoy much of the nation's produce free of charge. This includes apples, berries (red currants, gooseberries, raspberries and arctic strawberries), birch sap (collected by Hamster Vandentiekio MP). |
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| Reproduction of any of this material
without written permission from the Playland Government is prohibited. © 2006 The Kingdom of Playland, All rights reserved. |
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