British man, 21, who founded his own country receives award from the United Nations

A British man who declared himself president of his own country after claiming land in the Balkans has now received an award – from the United Nations.Daniel Jackson, 21, first thought up the idea of starting his own country with a group of friends aged just 14.The pals noticed that, following a border dispute, several patches of land along the Danube River were unclaimed by Croatia or Serbia.So, on May 30, 2019, he declared one of these land pockets – officially known as Pocket-3 on the map – as the Free Republic of Verdis.Daniel, who has made himself president, has been working hard since to establish his country, recently being given an award for his humanitarian work at a United Nations (UN) gala in New York.The event at the UN Delegates dining hall in their headquarters saw Daniel presented with an award for aid provided by Verdis on the Ivory Coast.It was presented by the Institute of Public Policy and Diplomacy Research, and Daniel was able to give a speech upon acceptance.“It definitely was intense.It was a very interesting experience.

There were quite a lot of high end people there.It was very nerve wrecking,” the president from Dover, Kent, said: “Being only 21 years old I am still sort of getting used to this experience of turning up to these events with such interesting and influential people.” Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.Verdis was then invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Youth Mobilization Segment on October 9.Their Humanitarian Affairs Minister Jeffrey Li took on the responsibility, telling the room about Verdis’ past efforts and future plans.Daniel added: “Every time we go to New York we always get a decent amount of dialogue and connections.“Having the opportunity to have my colleague speak di...