GEOFICTION

Realistic Geofiction is the art of creating "verisimilar" or "plausible" imaginary countries which could be believable as real. So, culture, history, language and facts of them are coherent and based on real countries on Earth. For more information about the subject, refer to the wiki Geopoeia.

As in the website of AGL, a Dutch organisation of imaginary countries, a realistic geofiction “is a reality within the here and now of today”. These states “in themselves and interactively apply to the present level of technological development, as far as it can be known.”

My first creation, Kaupelan, a developing country situated close to Indonesia and Australia, was conceived more than five decades ago, when I was just 8 years old. The project grew up with me. From the childish origin, it evolved based on my growing interest on graphic arts, geography, history, economy and especially… languages! I had to increase my knowledge in these and other areas and nowadays the project can be seen as a kind of laboratory for political, economic and social ideas. I dream about Kaupelan, but not as an ideal place, a utopia. Instead, I imagine it as a developing country with difficulties and problems, such as overpopulation and lack of natural resources, where solutions for energy, environment or public transportation, for instance, can be imagined and developed. Maybe some of them can be useful in the real life applications.

When I was 15, I've created Yukland, a developed country situated in Northern Europe. This rich, scarcely populated and frozen land is, in some respects, the opposite of Kaupelan. It is, perhaps, the creation closest to  an Utopia. Good education, good public services. An equalitarian and free society. However, even Yukland is not perfect as well. It has different problems, maybe similar to those of Western European countries, and a unique culture and "personality".

My third creation, Ytyrama, is an emerging country of South America, conceived based on my interest in the Indian culture of Brazil, my real country. This land aims to be an experience of socialism and democracy.

The motivation for my next creation, Tarmorya, an emerging country situated in Northern Africa, was to imagine a culture mixing Roman, Berber, Arabic and French influences. The tourism in its Mediterranean coast and agriculture - citrus, olives and grapes (that give good wines) - are the basis for the development of this country.

My last creation, Kharzanistan, was motivated by the time I was living in China. Beside the Chinese culture, other cultures like Persian, Tajik, Kyrgyz and Russian influenced this country. Independent of my personal political opinion, this geofiction is an experience of a communist state.

Inspired by the Dutch organisation AGL, an international organisation was created in 2005 to congregate realistic geofictional nations in a more international way. This organisation became FICT – the Forum for International Cooperation and Trade – in 2011.

Paulo Eduardo