This week, the long-awaited cultural development programme of Yurt Kyong-yon's Prosperity for Yurtyzstan coalition will be promoted nationwide after finally being announced. Prosperity for Yurtyzstan made cultural growth a major part of its platform in the campaign for the May election, and culture has been promoted as the final component of Yurtyzstani repair and improvement after the July 2012 government collapse. If the initiative succeeds, it will provide a needed boost to Yurtyzstani citizen activity, add depth to the nation and to Yurtyzstani life, and help to build a favourable reputation for Yurtyzstan in the intermicronational community. Vice-Chairman of the Presidium Po Er Kwa Deul said of the programme at a party event in August, as anticipation continued to build: "We didn't say much about this, but I promise it is going to be big."
This month will also bring the implementation of the first half of Prosperity for Yurtyzstan’s platform. The market reforms legislation, passed 26 May at the Assembly’s second plenary session, provided for a three-month preparation period. The legal framework for protecting and regulating free enterprise will be finished and signed into law, the new currency design will be released to the public, and the free trade agreement with neighbouring New Taedong Kingdom will be signed by the end of the month. Since the market reforms were passed, Yurtyzstan has seen a buildup towards a major economic boom; the city of Lhesap has become a major tech startup hub, several major natural resources companies are preparing to begin operation, and plans for private neighbourhoods and settlements have proliferated. The end of the three-month period on 26 September will bring the beginning of a new economic era for Yurtyzstan.
Yurtyzstan’s universities will also open 1 October for the fall semester. All of the pre-July 2012 national universities have been closed since then. Plenty of new universities sprung up in 2012, as North, South, and East Yurtyzstan all worked rapidly to develop cultural infrastructure before the Reunification. However, none of these have been able to open for a full semester of lectures; most were closed entirely, except for the East Yurtyzstan Technical College system, which provides training seminars. With the beginning of the fall semester, the number of active Yurtyzstani academic institutes will more than double, and the number of students and researchers will drastically increase. This will bolster the trend away from a labour economy and towards an idea economy, and will additionally pose a challenge to the Prosperity for Yurtyzstan government as it struggles to standardise university education and unite the universities under a central state regulating body.
The September election in the Grand Unified Micronational will have a significant impact on Yurtyzstan’s development as well. Yurtyzstani diplomacy, except in the immediate Yurtyzstani region, has been on hold for more than a year, with domestic matters like economic and cultural development taking precedence. Recently, however, Yurtyzstan has been rebuilding its ties with the community’s nations, with Yurt Kyong-yon assuming titles and offices in various prominent states. Reform in the long-dormant GUM could provide an opening for Yurtyzstan to complete this gradual comeback and reach a higher status in the community.
The coinciding Bright Colour Festival and Independence Day festivals will provide the perfect environment for all of these major developments: it is time to celebrate Yurtyzstan's growth thus far and express our enthusiasm for Yurtyzstan's bright future.
