Would a Nordic forum about survivalism be a good idea?

[Saunterer]

First a comment on Europe versus Norden, I don't actually feel that much in common with the people around the Mediterranean. Nothing against them but not much in common either.

I though feel that initially it must be a Nordic Chapter to gather enough members to make it vital. In the future it is highly possible that sub chapters will break loose and form their own identity and should be encouraged to do so also.

I agree. Northern Europe differs in too many ways from Mediterranean environment and culture. Nordic is the way to go.

6 meetings a year isn't that hard. It cost me around 50$ to get to Stockholm and back, which should be the logical center between Sweden and Suomi. Hopefully they accept virtual meeting rooms as well. With web cams and audio link I don't really see the need to meet in person that often, but having a chapter should also be about meeting each other!

I personally cant promise that I could attend to six meetings in Sweden / year. One or max. two trips to Stockholm I could do / year. If virtual meetings are ok, I think we should set up an irc-channel. That would be a good place to discuss most issues, and also a nice place to hang around.

I see a time for strong and focused action. I hope that I don't seem too totalitarian because this is not the case.

On the contrary, Im glad that someone is pressing for this Scandi Chapter -issue. So please, carry on!

[Genithos]

Not that big of a problem. We can setup a shadow board and have virtual meetings. And then focus on having conferences in different locations once or twice a year.

The information network and exchange on local expertise are the focus, and a chapter would put a natural framework to that.

[Genithos]

A few hours after lunch yesterday an official delegate from the honorary Zombie Squad sent a binary sond through time and space that landed deep within Nordic territory. It has landed, it has spoken, it is monitoring. We are for the moment under revision.

This is a time to light a beacon in your region, and to step up and declare a presence. This is the time to declare that we will not quietly fade away into the night, this is a time to declare that when the zombies come we will not give away without a fight, this is a time to declare that we will help our weaker fellows in the society. We will stand proud, we will stand armed, we will be the ones with action when the disaster strike!

HQ have sent a challenge across the ocean. HQ have called out for officers that will take the fight. There will be honor, there will be awards, there will be work!

What I ask you now fellow brothers and sisters, as your humble liasions officer. Shall we prepare and sharpen our weapons here under international eyes, or shall we at least take our tactical meetings into the shadows?

I also need ZS Members interested in being lieutenants for their region to send correspondence to 'ZS Nordic Chapter [a] jinsei . se' [anti-spam spelled, I trust you know how to "decrypt" it] for further insight on what is required for that position.

Furthermore I want to urge all present Nordic readers that if you have not yet taken the step to apply for official membership in the Zombie Squad to do so. Official membership number will be required in the chapter.

[Armed Hippie]

1, In less than a year I will not be a poor student but a teacher with a decent income, car and will to travel. Before that it will be hard for me to afford the trip to and from Stockholm even if it isnt that far from where I live (with swedish stanards of what constitutes a long distance).

2, Lets not call it bad english, lets call it nordic english!

3, That charity thing would need to be discussed. What charity can we do?

[Genithos]

Armed Hippie: If you can't come to the board meeting than maybe the board can come to you! I think there will be mainly virtual meetings for the officer. I interpret that this is possible. There are however other requirements of events that will need local physical presence but this will only require an envoy from the Nordic Chapter to act as liaison. We can take turn on these.

Nordish?

When it comes to charity projects I think ZS is pretty forgiving. Read more about it here: http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopi ... 47&t=23249" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . I am gonna recommend to the Nordic board that every officer at least qualify for a ZS volunteer Pin in 2009 for the sake of goodwill against ZS in the states.

Anyone that have IRC-capabilities i.e. permanent operator status on a server that we can hang out on?

[Genithos]

We now have an officer in Gothenburg and one i Stockholm. I will initially need a third officer officially reporting in to fulfill the minimum requirements from HQ. Suomi?

Also asking for inputs about charity events. HQ haven't decided yet if they trust us (and this is formal regulations for all chapters, so don't take it personally) so for the first event we may not use the name Zombie SquadTM in case we screw up big time, which of course we won't. So basically the means on how we do the event (as long as its legal of course) is not as important as the outcome - so it's allowed to think outside the box on this first one!

I have been thinking on the problem that we are spread apart and that planning a good event somewhere that requires travel for us could take months. So I have the following idea:

Food for Food Charity Campaign. Basic idea is that we agree on a date when we host a dinner in our homes. We invite all our friends and tell them that you will host a food for food charity event and you will charge them 10 euro / 100 sek-nok-dkk in entry fee. You may use half of that amount on shopping for the dinner. So for example a dinner for 10 people would raise a 100 euro / 1000 sek-nok-dkk. Feedback on this?

[michelle]

Hi, all! It's exciting to see so much interest in chapterhood. I thought I'd drop a few hints to help you along the way.

Chapters are all about reaching out into our communities. This means that you'll need to meet in person on a regular basis. Perhaps half of your meetings could be virtual (the BoD would have to discuss this further), but most of the meetings should be in real life so that non-internetty folks can meet up and so that you can make connections with the business/charities/people in your area. This means that all your charity events will be in person as well. As for officer meetings, that could easily be virtual since that portion doesn't involve directly reaching into the community.

Anyhoo, I hope you guys can work out a feasible plan, as I'd really love to see a chapter in Europe. Feel free to email me if you have any questions, as I'm not on the forums nearly as much as I used to be. (chapters@zombiehunters.org)

[Lucretius]

Hi, all! It's exciting to see so much interest in chapterhood. I thought I'd drop a few hints to help you along the way.

Chapters are all about reaching out into our communities. This means that you'll need to meet in person on a regular basis. Perhaps half of your meetings could be virtual (the BoD would have to discuss this further), but most of the meetings should be in real life so that non-internetty folks can meet up and so that you can make connections with the business/charities/people in your area. This means that all your charity events will be in person as well. As for officer meetings, that could easily be virtual since that portion doesn't involve directly reaching into the community.

Anyhoo, I hope you guys can work out a feasible plan, as I'd really love to see a chapter in Europe. Feel free to email me if you have any questions, as I'm not on the forums nearly as much as I used to be. (chapters@zombiehunters.org)

Thank you. The support is much appreciated! The distances involved in this stage puts a severe limit to our ability to meet up for a head-to-head. Alas.
Seems to be that our geographic spread is a fluke, just a case of bad luck. One individual in each area of population concentration. At least we've statistics on our side: odds are any new member would be in the area of another already active 8)

[Armed Hippie]

I can be an officer if need be, as soon as I am back in Sweden that is. But it would be better if we had a finn so that it dosnt become to swedish and not enough nordic.

I like the idea of food for food, but what would we give the money to? For me it would be natural tog give it to my churchs foreign aid program or the red cross, guess the latter is a more apropriate for a non-religious board like ZS. What do you guys (and lurking girls *hopefull*) think?

I think there are some more people who are following our progress and will jump on once all the hard work of starting it up is done so I feel confident that this will work if we are serious and carefull from the begining, not rushing things.

I will also add that I think ZS has the right idea about chapters proving active before becoming official. It is all to easy to be active only on the internet.

[Genithos]

Lucretius probably has the most reasonable attitude to the current situation, we wait to see if the next active member shows up in one of the cities where we already have a presence. We will lose some momentum but it is probably better that way than to do any hasty movements.

So how do we prepare in the meantime? Should we try to plan a nordic event even though the matter of a chapter is pending? I noticed that 1st of may is a longer weekend next year. Planning long ahead usually makes travel so much cheaper and more people available.

Also more general thought on charity events would be good.

[Armed Hippie]

All right, thinking out loud here. Quality is not guaranted.

Lucretius probably has the most reasonable attitude to the current situation, we wait to see if the next active member shows up in one of the cities where we already have a presence. We will lose some momentum but it is probably better that way than to do any hasty movements.

I feel meeting IRL is pretty important to establish working relationships between members, so we should try and have IRL-meetings even if few peoplw show up.

Maybe we could start out with having more local groups made and see if it feels meaningfull? Even if it dosent becomes a ZS-chapter it could be something good for the members anyway.

So how do we prepare in the meantime? Should we try to plan a nordic event even though the matter of a chapter is pending? I noticed that 1st of may is a longer weekend next year. Planning long ahead usually makes travel so much cheaper and more people available.

Indeed. And even if it becomes a small event the ones that comes might become more motivated, if the event is meaningfull that is.

Also, we could activly try and introduce people we think might be interested in Zombiesquad to the forum. Maybe arranging a small filmfestivals for our friends with a zombietheme or an apocalyptic theme would be a start. Brake it gently to them.

Also more general thought on charity events would be good.

I liked the idea of food for food because it is pretty easy if you know how to cook and know enough people that likes food and charity.

I dont know what people count as charity but I have some ideas so we can start discussing, I am not sure I like these suggestions my self, so have a go at them!

Helping imigrants learn the local language and help children from poor families with their homework. The Red Cross does that where I live and its apriciated.

All suitable members donates blood the same month

Arrange free classes of CPR-training. I guess it only works if you are a certified instructor or know one who would agree to help out (swedish homeguard instructor, Red Cross-personel etc)

Picking litter from public places?

Film for food? Showing zomibemovies, serving chips, popcorn and soda charching small fees and the profit goes to charity?

What kind of projects have other chapters done? Any ideas that would work in the nordic countries as well?

[Saunterer]

Regular IRL meetings and charity events... Im afraid that to me this level of commitment is not possible at this time. Not enough time or energy, especially due to some recent shitty stuff at work.

Sorry guys

[Armed Hippie]

Regular IRL meetings and charity events... Im afraid that to me this level of commitment is not possible at this time. Not enough time or energy, especially due to some recent shitty stuff at work.

Sorry guys

We need a middle of the road alternative as well. We cant loose people who would like to be active because they think they cant be active enough.

[Genithos]

I agree, without knowing exactly what have happened at work for our Finnish comrades these are troublesome times. I my self will be unemployed at December 1st and my stock portfolio have lost almost half its value. Financial crises can be harder to fight than zombies in some senses.

Maybe we need to build up knowledge and social capital amongst each other before we take the next step, I for my part take responsibility for hasting things up before I had the full picture, that ZS have somewhat of a thing against internetty folks (ok maybe a bit to much drama but hey, that was actually my first feeling when I read it).

Maybe we can start in threads in suitable sections on the forum with the prefix Nordic: .... for example 'Nordic: Goverment regulations and advice for emergencies' , 'Nordic: Weapon laws in situations of peace and war' or 'Nordic: Bugging out in 6 feet of snow' etcetera.

I do however still thing a smaller event somewhere May 1st would be a good idea. But this can be discussed further on.

[cocaineduck]

I agree, without knowing exactly what have happened at work for our Finnish comrades these are troublesome times. I my self will be unemployed at December 1st and my stock portfolio have lost almost half its value. Financial crises can be harder to fight than zombies in some senses.

Maybe we need to build up knowledge and social capital amongst each other before we take the next step, I for my part take responsibility for hasting things up before I had the full picture, that ZS have somewhat of a thing against internetty folks (ok maybe a bit to much drama but hey, that was actually my first feeling when I read it).

Maybe we can start in threads in suitable sections on the forum with the prefix Nordic: .... for example 'Nordic: Goverment regulations and advice for emergencies' , 'Nordic: Weapon laws in situations of peace and war' or 'Nordic: Bugging out in 6 feet of snow' etcetera.

I do however still thing a smaller event somewhere May 1st would be a good idea. But this can be discussed further on.

First post, so im very new here. This is the reason for my question.

How many Nordic members are even active on this forum? Might be relevant to know this. Maybe do one of those online-maps where everyone post their location to see whats realistic, because as previously stated just Sweden by itself is one of the largest European nations. So all the Nordic countries combined + Separated by sea + few members (if this is the case) + our extreme gas prices = Not so much with the meeting IRL.

Anyway, not read the whole thread so it has probably already been addressed.

As for charity i would rather do something real than just gather money and send it of to a charity that takes a chunk out of it for the managers new car and sends the rest to some dictator in a third world nation to buy weapons with.

Yes i am this cynical. I liked donating blood for example, hard to oppress a people with a blood donation. And buy a Mercedes Benz.

[Armed Hippie]

Cynical? SIDA has done some pretty stupid investments and there are people in charity-organisations with high salaries. Most charity-organisations in Sweden howevre submit to independant revision to make sure that 90% of the income goes to the actual charity. (if I am not misstaken entirely)

[cocaineduck]

Cynical? SIDA has done some pretty stupid investments and there are people in charity-organisations with high salaries. Most charity-organisations in Sweden howevre submit to independant revision to make sure that 90% of the income goes to the actual charity. (if I am not misstaken entirely)

If thats the case thats good. Although i have never been to big on the money-charity for farming and such, i believe that free trade is the way to go to help those people out. However i do think things like doctors without borders etc are good ideas.

[Johan]

Regular IRL meetings and charity events... Im afraid that to me this level of commitment is not possible at this time. Not enough time or energy, especially due to some recent shitty stuff at work.

Sorry guys

The way i se it you usually don´t have enough time to do everyting you want. But it would be nice if we could find a time when as many as possible of us (scandinavians) could meet IRL, and take it from there...
And maybe some of us be able to "make the time" for the activities..

I feel meeting IRL is pretty important to establish working relationships between members, so we should try and have IRL-meetings even if few peoplw show up.

Maybe we could start out with having more local groups made and see if it feels meaningfull? Even if it dosent becomes a ZS-chapter it could be something good for the members anyway.

I agree completely!!!

We could set a time and date and "PM" all the Swedish/Scandinavian members and ask them if hey would like to come...

I am from The West Coast my self and since some of you guys are from here and from the south i think Gothenburg would be a good place!!!
(And it´s also officially the frontside of sweden )

[Genithos]

Really nice to see that more people have started to get engaged. If people feel that they can get a better grip on things on a IRL-meeting then of course we will have to administrate just that. Those of you that are in the vicinity of Gothenburg when would be a good time for you. Evenings, weekends and do you want a civilized meeting with in a conference room or in a bug-out-location?

[Armed Hippie]

By the way - If you feel like talking about it, or other stuff, over MSN just send a PM.

[Johan]

I found something VERY INTERESTING!!!

Check out: Contingency Planning & Preparation. -Perfect BOL for Sale!!!

I was hoping that one of you "lokal" guys has a few million that you want to take off the stock market!!!!

Actually it might not take all that much, since its a bidding process... (I can dream can´t I...)

Vi kunde ju lägga ett skambud!!!!

[Genithos]

Temperate zone Medium distance 48 hours BOB Field test, winter!

For those that can take 5th of December off from work I have a rather sleek scenario plotted out. Bugging out from Gothenburg up to the nature reserve of black valley (i.e Svartedalen, sorry couldn't resist the translation ). It includes 2 nights out, crossing the river on a railway bridge, sneaking through Kungälv early Saturday morning and through the 48 hour field test only 14 will be in daylight! Will be using Bohusleden through the woods so not that hard terrain.

62 km(~38 miles) in 48 hours(20km+30km+12km) but then I will also include a home cooked meal from my mother on Sunday afternoon and If your not in any hurry back home accommodation in your own bed and room in the basement (we used to be 3 brother living at home). Otherwise I will drive you back to Kungälv after dinner, and you will miss the 12 year old whiskey!

[AmirMortal]

Temperate zone Medium distance 48 hours BOB Field test, winter!

For those that can take 5th of December off from work I have a rather sleek scenario plotted out. Bugging out from Gothenburg up to the nature reserve of black valley (i.e Svartedalen, sorry couldn't resist the translation ). It includes 2 nights out, crossing the river on a railway bridge, sneaking through Kungälv early Saturday morning and through the 48 hour field test only 14 will be in daylight! Will be using Bohusleden through the woods so not that hard terrain.

62 km(~38 miles) in 48 hours(20km+30km+12km) but then I will also include a home cooked meal from my mother on Sunday afternoon and If your not in any hurry back home accommodation in your own bed and room in the basement (we used to be 3 brother living at home). Otherwise I will drive you back to Kungälv after dinner, and you will miss the 12 year old whiskey!

Wow, that sounds like fun! I wish I were in Sweden for this one, or even Europe. Alas, from Florida, it is too long of a walk.

Man, that sounds like fun.

[Johan]

Temperate zone Medium distance 48 hours BOB Field test, winter!

For those that can take 5th of December off from work I have a rather sleek scenario plotted out. Bugging out from Gothenburg up to the nature reserve of black valley (i.e Svartedalen, sorry couldn't resist the translation ). It includes 2 nights out, crossing the river on a railway bridge, sneaking through Kungälv early Saturday morning and through the 48 hour field test only 14 will be in daylight! Will be using Bohusleden through the woods so not that hard terrain.

62 km(~38 miles) in 48 hours(20km+30km+12km) but then I will also include a home cooked meal from my mother on Sunday afternoon and If your not in any hurry back home accommodation in your own bed and room in the basement (we used to be 3 brother living at home). Otherwise I will drive you back to Kungälv after dinner, and you will miss the 12 year old whiskey!

Sounds Good!
Unfortunatly I can´t get of work Friday 5th, but maybe I could hook up with you Saturday morning for the rest of it.