ValdoriaRepublic
The University of Valdoria

Short course

The Founding of Valdoria

A short reading course on how the Republic came to be: the two boundary lines of 1899 and 1902, the gap they left, and why a nation was declared upon it. Ends with a genuine certificate of completion.

Two lines that never met

In 1899, Britain and Egypt drew a political boundary along the 22nd parallel. In 1902, a separate administrative line was drawn to follow the grazing land of the local tribes. The two lines disagreed. Where they disagreed, two areas were left in dispute: the fertile Halaib Triangle on the Red Sea, and a small, dry trapezoid inland — Bir Tawil.

Both Egypt and Sudan prefer the version of the border that gives them Halaib. Each version, in doing so, gives Bir Tawil to the *other* country. And so, uniquely on Earth, Bir Tawil is claimed by no state at all.

A nation upon the gap

Valdoria was declared upon this gap — not to conquer it, but to speak for a piece of ground that everyone else had reason to refuse. At the centre of the National Territory, a painted stone — the Concord Stone — bears the name of the Republic.

What this means, honestly

Valdoria is a micronation. It is recognised by the United Micronations and asserts its statehood under the Montevideo Convention of 1933. No government on Earth recognises it, and it makes no claim otherwise. Its strength is not force but attention: a nation that exists because people chose to give one to a forgotten place.

You have completed the course. A certificate of completion may be issued in your name.

Your certificate of completion

Having read the course, a citizen of Valdoria may be issued a genuine certificate of completion in their name, sealed and entered in the University Register. It records, truthfully, that you completed this course of the University of Valdoria. It is not an accredited academic qualification.