It all began with "Dagobah 2007", one of 2007's unforgettable STAR WARS events, which took place in Poland. The guest stars of the festival, STAR WARS actors Gerald Home and Paul Blake, were invited to meet the Polish fans. Before he arrived in Poland, Gerald had already been in contact with the Turkish STAR WARS fan club Yildiz Savaslari.Com concerning an interview, and after he returned, he shared his experiences in Poland with the Turkish fans.
Turkey had been thirsty for such a STAR WARS themed convention for years. The founders of this leading Turkish website had many questions about organizing a similar event. At this point, Gerald Home first introduced Polish fans from Imperial City Online, forming a bridge with the Turkish fans. This connection turned into a collaboration; banners were exchanged, news was shared and members migrated freely in both directions. With the addition of a Polish-Turkish dictionary of commonly used STAR WARS terms, within a few weeks a small international fan network was formed.
It was just a matter of time before Gerald mentioned this friendship to one of Belgium's largest STAR WARS fansites, TeeKay-421, which shortly became a member of this network too. It was during those days that our alliance of fan sites started to take shape.
One of the first goals of the groups was to have member countries all around Europe, so that with time the alliance could grow to become a European fan network. What took the members by surprise however, was the introduction of the Star Wars New Zealand website by future ambassador of the Alliance, Gerald Home. Shortly after that, SWNZ became a member of the growing network, which at this point crossed the borders of Europe!
After a few weeks, the STAR WARS club in Portugal named Star Wars Clube Portugal contacted the Turkish website to congratulate on an interview they did. In return, they received an invitation to become a member of the alliance. In merely five months' time, the network developed to include five members and five websites representing five different countries. As matters within the alliance took a more serious course, many people from around the world were asking how to join, what the rules are, what the name of this alliance is. It was agreed that such points had to be sorted out as quickly as possible, to provide for a more solid existence and a clearer identity!
The members of the alliance came up with an idea without precedence in the history of STAR WARS fandom: an international chat session. This unique event was regarded by all the members of the alliance as the perfect opportunity to learn about each other and to share thoughts on various popular topics. It was also a perfect moment to decide the details concerning the future of the network. The time, date and the location of the session were settled. Gerald Home agreed to take part in the meeting as a special guest of honour!
On January 18th 2008, at around 20:00 CET, the chatroom was filled with fans. And not just with fans from Poland, Turkey, Belgium or Portugal - there were also fans from Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and Finland, who heard about the meeting and decided to join in! It was definitely a pleasant surprise to see that the number of participants was higher than expected, and it was quite a sight to see fans from different countries sharing their thoughts and ideas about STAR WARS merchandise, games, fandom, etc. from their own point of view. In the middle of the session, the participants were honoured by the presence of Gerald Home himself - the Men from Mon Calamari had landed!
Possibly the most important decision
of the evening concerned the name of the alliance. It was obvious
that the network needed a striking name, which would appeal to supporters
of both sides of the Force. After a lively debate, it was decided
and approved by Gerald Home that henceforth the group was to be called
"Star Wars Outer Rim Alliance", S.W.O.R.A.. Since
the members often thought of themselves as part of an alliance, the
name sounded very appropriate. After all important decisions were
made, Gerald was elected the official ambassador
of the alliance.
It became clear that SWORA needed its own logo, therefore the members decided to organise a logo design contest, which took place at the same time in several countries. The ambassador, Gerald Home, contributed his own autographed photos to the designer of the winning SWORA logo.
It was decided to form a SWORA Council, consisting of the first eight members of SWORA, in order to make decisions concerning the alliance. These members represent the countries of Poland, Turkey, Belgium, New Zealand, Portugal, Hungary and England.
Founding SWORA Council:
Belgium: |
Tim Veekhoven |
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England: |
Mark Newbold |
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England: |
Stephen G.H.B. |
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Hungary: |
Attila Petovari |
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New Zealand: |
Matt Glasgow |
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Poland: |
Lukasz Mlotkowski |
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Portugal: |
Jose Fiuza |
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Turkey: |
Ates Cetin |
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SWORA Co-Founder |
Gerald Home |
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