Ric Gazarian: Islandia
Birth of a Nation & The Future of the Principality of Islandia
Most nations are born from revolution, royal decree, or centuries of bureaucratic inertia. Islandia was born from a crowdfunding campaign — and honestly, that might be the most interesting origin story in the room.
The Principality of Islandia is the world’s first crowdfunded micronation, built on a radical premise: that a Caribbean island doesn’t have to belong to a billionaire. In 2020, over 130 investors proved that right by collectively purchasing Coffee Caye, a 1.2-acre gem off the coast of Belize. A nation was born. The paperwork was slightly more complicated than anticipated.
This presentation covers the real story behind Islandia’s rise — the vision, the crowdfunding campaign, the legal adventures of collective island ownership, and the building of a national identity from scratch. With 250 citizens and counting, a resort in development, and a growing global profile, Islandia has moved well past “interesting experiment” and into something that looks a lot like a future.
So what is that future? How does a micronation grow up — scaling its population, its infrastructure, and yes, its legitimacy — without losing the scrappy spirit that made it worth building in the first place? This talk tackles all of it, and makes the case that Islandia isn’t just a novelty. It’s a blueprint.
About Ric
Ric Gazarian has been to 190 countries, all 7 continents, and more than a few places your travel agent would strongly advise against. North Korea, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya — the destinations that make most people’s eyes widen are simply entries in Gazarian’s passport. And that’s before you get to the places that don’t quite appear on conventional maps: Transnistria, Somaliland, Abkhazia, Artsakh, the enclave of Shohimardon — and, in a moment of micronational serendipity, the Principality of Sealand, where he enjoyed tea with Prince James and Liam. Clearly, Gazarian has always had a thing for unconventional nations.
So when a crowdfunded Caribbean island needed a Grand Vizier, naturally, Gazarian answered the call. As a citizen and senior statesman of the Principality of Islandia — the world’s first crowdfunded micronation — Gazarian brings the same spirit of bold, unconventional thinking to nation-building that he applies to travel. At MicroCon 27, he’ll be sharing the story of how Islandia went from a wild idea to a real island, a real community, and a very real future.
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