Greetings fellow capsuleers and followers of the IGS,
The Arataka Research Consortium (ARC) facilitated a Drifter Summit on the 1st of May in YC 127, at the behest of the Sisters of EVE (SOE). I feel that with how things have developed since and the amount of time that has passed, I can now share my personal account and views regarding it. I will also include some information that isn’t known by that many people.
As this post is going to be on the bigger/longer side, I will split it. The first part is going to be about the Drifter Summit in general and the second part will be on the policies that could be advocated for.
The choice between helping to facilitate or participate
Big developments, discoveries and/or calamities in recent years have always resulted in a summit being organised to discuss what was happening and how to best proceed. Yet with the Drifter Crisis still being undeniably in full swing at the time, there was no word of anything being organised by anyone. It was around this time that the SOE reached out to ARC to address this situation.
Delegates from the SOE and ARC came to the agreement that ARC would facilitate a Drifter Summit at the behest of the SOE and take care of the opening presentation on the Drifters. The SOE arranged a suitable location and selected and invited capsuleers as delegates for either the Triglavian Collective, Caldari State, Minmatar Republic, EDENCOM or Amarr Empire. The selection and invitations were done based on availability and their contributions to these factions during the ‘Race for the Hives’.
Based on my contributions to one of these factions and my support to ARC, I was given a choice by the SOE: as I qualified for both, I could either participate as a delegate or support ARC with facilitating the Drifter Summit. As I prioritize the wellbeing of the entire cluster over an individual faction, I decided to help facilitate the Drifter Summit.
With the decision made, I worked with the SOE representatives and @Uriel_Paradisi_Anteovnuecci on what the opening presentation would focus on. Uriel focussed on the history of the Drifters and what we’ve managed to learn about them in general. I focussed on their combat capabilities and how to successfully battle the Drifters with no or minimal losses in particular.
Setback and disappointment
Just after @Uriel_Paradisi_Anteovnuecci and I had concluded our opening presentation, we did learn that there had been a setback. The SOE delegation was unfortunately delayed and could not make an appearance during the Drifter Summit. This was a big disappointment for me as I was looking forward to meeting her ladyship Santimona Sarpati. I was even hoping to be able to converse and discuss things with the Reverend Mother and CEO of the Sisters of EVE. Unfortunately it was not meant to be on this occasion. I am still extremely grateful for her efforts that made the Drifter Summit happen.