British 21-year-old who founded own country receives UN award

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 01:01 · Archive

Daniel Jackson, 21, from Kent, who declared himself president of the Free Republic of Verdis in 2019, has received a United Nations award for humanitarian work.

Daniel Jackson, 21, from Dover in Kent, declared the Free Republic of Verdis as an independent country on 30 May 2019. He and a group of friends, aged just 14 when they conceived the idea, had discovered that a border dispute between Croatia and Serbia left several patches of land along the Danube River unclaimed. Jackson chose one of these territories, officially mapped as Pocket-3, and appointed himself president.

Verdis now spans roughly 125 acres, making it the world's second-smallest country after Vatican City, according to GB News. The micronation maintains two embassies, one in Dover and another in Novi Sad, Serbia, and has 400 official citizens. It has its own passports, flag, coat of arms, a full cabinet, and a body of law, with English, Croatian and Serbian as official languages and the euro as currency.

At a United Nations gala in New York, the Institute of Public Policy and Diplomacy Research presented Verdis with an award for aid work undertaken in the Ivory Coast. Jackson, who described the experience as 'very nerve wrecking', gave a speech upon acceptance. Verdis was subsequently invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly Youth Mobilization Segment on 9 October, with the nation's Humanitarian Affairs Minister Jeffrey Li addressing the assembly about Verdis' efforts and future plans.

How it is being reported

• British man, 21, who founded own country receives award from United NationsA 21-year-old Briton who founded his own nation has been honoured by the United Nations for humanitarian efforts. Daniel Jackson, from Kent, first conceived the idea of creating his own country at age 14. He and a group of friends discovered a border dispute had left several parcels of land along the Danube River unclaimed by either Croatia or Serbia. On May 30, 2019, Mr Jackson formally declared one of these territories, identified on official maps as Pocket-3, the Free Republic of Verdis, appointing himself president. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Despite spanning roughly 125 acres…GB News · 25 Oct, 22:45
• British man, 21, who founded his own country receives award from the United NationsA Brit who declared himself president of his own country after claiming land in the Balkans has now received an award - from the United Nations.New York Post · 25 Oct, 08:47

In this story: Daniel Jackson · Free Republic of Verdis · Croatia · Serbia · Danube River · Dover · Ivory Coast · United Nations

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