Agency 6: Recreation and Arts
The Recreation and Arts Agency is the sixth agency in the community. The agency endeavors to have participants engage in arts and recreation by facilitating access to various activities. The agency runs the stadium, as well as arts and recreational sports centers located in each of the 24 district buildings. The agency also owns external resorts, which are located in areas outside the community and are used by participants for holidays, or by those who work in mines and pastures. The agency additionally insures all community property that is controlled by various agencies.
The Recreation and Arts Agency is part of the District Bureau, together with Health and Nutrition (agency 4), and Life Planning (agency 5). The bureau offers all insurance services needed in the community. The three agencies separately manage district buildings, recreation and arts facilities, education, life planning, and health.
The Recreation and Arts Agency receives funds in the form of investment from the Capital Bank Agency (agency 8), which it then uses for its operations, including providing chargeable services to participants. The agency also uses these funds to pay and down payments for any loans it may need to procure assets. From the revenues the agency generates, it is able to honor its obligations, such as loan repayments, as well as paying a return to the Capital Bank for capital invested. The agency aims to operate at a profit, while delivering quality and affordable services.
Roles of the Recreation and Arts Agency
- Facilitating recreation and arts
- Running external resorts
- Community assets insurance
- Training
Facilitating recreation and arts
The Recreation and Arts Agency aims to have every participant engage in an art or recreational activity, understanding the impact these activities have on their mental and physical well-being, as well as an opportunity to network. The agency uses its online presence to educate participants and provide them with more information on where they can go for specific activities. The agency also acts as the platform through which limited partners who offer recreational activities and art classes such as guitar trainers, gym instructors, and choreographers collaborate. This makes their services more accessible, makes their businesses viable, and presents the community with a vibrant arts and recreational scene.
The agency coordinates with the Health and Nutrition Agency, which owns district buildings so that instructors can easily lease the space they need once other activities such as offices, classes, and meetings are over. Each district building also has 2 Olympic-size swimming pools, which can be covered and turned into basketball courts, a bowling alley, or other indoor activities.
Additionally, each of the apartment buildings has a rooftop that is fitted with tennis courts, that can also be adjusted for other exercises, such as yoga, and music classes, among others The agency works with village presidencies for human relations which handle these spaces, so that they can be optimized for recreation and arts.
The Recreation and Arts Agency also develops and manages the community’s stadium, with loans from the Commercial Bank Agency (agency 9), with down payments coming from capital investments by the Capital Bank Agency (agency 8). Besides hosting major sporting events, the stadium also has facilities for arts and recreation. The stadium will therefore handle major concerts, inter-community sports competitions such as soccer or football leagues, and festivals. The stadium offers participants the opportunity for more diverse interaction and exposure.
Running external resorts
The community’s lifestyle allows participants to take regular vacations. The Recreation and Arts Agency provides external resorts that participants can use for these vacations. Resorts are located beyond the community’s cropland, usually in the hinterlands that are further afield from the community. Participants can opt to visit other communities, meaning that the resorts are not only for a community’s participants.
The Recreation and Arts Agency builds and runs these resorts. The agency leases the resorts to businesses that work as hosts. Participants are encouraged to take regular vacations and to rate the resorts after their stay. The ratings help other participants, and motivate hosts to put the resorts in top shape. Loss-making due to the failure to attract clients may see the host lose their lease.
As with other assets developed by the Recreation and Arts Agency, the Commercial Bank Agency provides the required funds in the form of loans, with the agency using capital investments by the Capital Bank to put up the down payment.
Community assets insurance
The Recreation and Arts Agency provides community agencies with insurance services for the assets they handle. The community’s assets are, as much as possible, designed to withstand normal risks, especially natural calamities and normal business disruptors. The Recreation and Arts Agency provides insurance services that indemnify agencies in the event of a loss, while also protecting them from devastating disruptions in the services they offer participants.
Agencies pay a weekly premium for insurance services. Premiums are determined in conjunction with a risk assessment undertaken by the Risk Management and Underwriting Agency. The agency invests premiums with the Capital Bank, from which it receives an annuity that it uses to improve services, and significantly drive down the cost of insurance services. The Capital Bank, which originally invests capital in the agencies, also receives better returns, thereby enabling it to pay limited partners a better return on their investment.
Training
The Recreation and Arts Agency runs extensive training with instructors and other businesses that offer recreation and arts within the community. The agency focuses on enabling these businesses to compete favorably and survive. The agency also verifies their skills, to see whether they fit to work in their desired profession, or what help they need to enable them to offer quality services to their clients.
Participants are also trained so that they can be motivated to take classes and recreational activities. The agency champions these exercises with social, health, and economic benefits to participants and the community. All training is performed virtually through the agency’s automated system. However, contractors can sometimes step in to offer training when needed.
How the agency works
Background on presidencies
Every presidency in the community is a four-member entity whose members represent one of the four major demographics: married men (A), married women (B), single women (C), and single men (D). However, a president serves the whole community in their role, rather than only their own demographic. Presidents’ diversity and commitment to serve all is provided for in the community bylaws and ensures that all access services without any discrimination. These four major demographics are evenly split in ordinary society, with each group accounting for between 23 and 27% of the population, and with regular fluctuations as people’s status changes.
The community appreciates that discrimination across all social categories happens based on marital status, other social categorizations notwithstanding; married men are likelier to dominate other demographics, especially single men and single women. The community’s infrastructure promotes equal access to economic and social resources and opportunities.
The composition of the community as a whole and those who serve it in the community public service is closely monitored to prevent numerical domination, which can lead to nepotism or unequal access. Besides marital status, the recruitment to be a participant, and to serve in the public service carefully considers other social categorizations, to ensure racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual groups are well represented in the community as they are in the society in which a community operates.
These considerations inform the constitution of the community public service. The diversity in community public service, which is provided by bylaws, is aimed at creating a community that is blind to all other considerations besides service to participants. The service is therefore designed to be free of discrimination.
Agency presidency, bureau board, and demographic presidencies
The Health and Nutrition Agency is served by an agency presidency, comprised of 4 presidents from the four major demographics, which handles strategy formulation and adjustment, as well as formulating and communicating operational procedures for the agency. Additionally, the presidency also facilitates the setting up of the agency’s automated system and adjusts it as necessary to better achieve its goals.
As part of the District Bureau, the agency presidency forms a bureau board with agency presidencies serving the Life Planning and Recreation & Arts agencies. The board acts as a check and monitoring tool for individual presidents and agencies, especially when decisions have far-reaching implications for the community.
Within the bureau board, three presidents from the same demographic form a demographic presidency. There are four such presidencies in the bureau. The demographic presidency performs an advisory role to presidencies and agencies regarding a particular demographic; it does not have operational or executive authority that cut across the three agencies. The demographic presidency also plays an important role in the mentorship and training of new presidents.
| Demographic presidency A | Demographic presidency B | Demographic presidency C | Demographic presidency D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency presidency, Health and Nutrition (4) | 4A | 4B | 4C | 4D |
| Agency presidency, Life Planning (5) | 5A | 5B | 5C | 5D |
| Agency presidency, Recreation and Arts (6) | 6A | 6B | 6C | 6D |
District presidencies
Each of the 24 districts is served by three district presidencies. Each presidency in a district serves a specific agency in the District Bureau, such that there is a district presidency for Health and Nutrition, Life Planning, and Recreation and Arts. They implement the agency’s policies and strategies, as set by the agency presidency. They also report back to the agency presidency on issues that they deem need to be changed in the agency’s operations.
The three district presidencies that serve a district, each comprised of four presidents, come together to form a district board. The district board helps individual presidents in decision-making that impacts the whole district, mentorship, and orientation of incoming presidents. Three presidents on the board who serve the same demographic also form a demographic presidency. This is better illustrated in the table below, showing an example of District 1.
| Married men (A) | Married women (B) | Single women (C) | Single men (D) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District presidency, Health and Nutrition | 1(4)A | 1(4)B | 1(4)C | 1(4)D |
| District presidency, Life Planning | 1(5)A | 1(5)B | 1(5)C | 1(5)D |
| District Presidency, Recreation, and Arts | 1(6)A | 1(6)B | 1(6)C | 1(6)D |
Where: 1 – district number
(4) – agency served
A – demographic group
Limited partners and branch presidencies
Limited partners and dependents
A limited partner is the basic unit in the community. A limited person, usually above 18 years old, but sometimes as young as 16, has been admitted into the community and has invested $20,000 as partnership interest, for which they earn a return. This is regarded as one unit of partnership interest.
Over time, a limited partner can add more units of partnership interest, as their business prospers. The more partnership interest units a limited partner has, the more the return they receive from the Capital Bank.
A dependent is a minor, or a person living with a disability, under the care of a limited partner. In some instances, a dependent may be a fit adult, who for various reasons is supported by community agencies, and assigned by contract to a limited partner. Limited partners are responsible for any legal agreements that their dependents enter into, either with community agencies or other participants, and therefore have the right of attorney.
Together, limited partners and dependents are referred to as participants. Participants who are dependents, because they are still minors, can start a business when they reach 12 years of age. This allows them to save up and invest $20,000 into the community by their 18th birthday, and possibly as early as 16.
Limited partners and their dependents reside in apartments (village buildings). Each apartment has 4 floors, with each floor containing 16 apartments. Each floor has floor has 7 – 12 limited partners, with each limited partner having 1 – 3 dependents. Each floor therefore has around 25 residents. With four floors, each building has approximately 100 residents. An apartment building also forms a branch.
Limited partners and unit
A limited partner is the basic unit in the community. A limited partner, usually above 18 years old, but sometimes as young as 16, has been admitted into the community and has invested $20,000 as partnership interest, for which they earn a return from the Capital Bank Agency, which invests other community agencies. This is regarded as one unit of partnership interest. Over time, a limited partner can add more units of partnership interest, as their business prospers. The more partnership interest units a limited partner has, the more the return they receive from the agency.
A dependent is a minor, or a person living with a disability, under the care of a limited partner, and who has, in any of these cases, given their power of attorney to the limited partner. In some instances, a dependent may be a fit adult, who for various reasons is supported by community agencies, and assigned by contract to a limited partner. Limited partners are responsible for any legal agreements that their dependents enter into, either with community agencies or other participants. Together, limited partners and dependents are referred to as participants.
Participants who are dependents, because they are still minors, can start a business when they reach 12 years of age. This allows them to save up and invest $20,000 into the community by their 18th birthday, and possibly as early as 16. Limited partners and their dependents reside in apartment buildings (village buildings). Each apartment building has five floors, with four containing apartments. An apartment building also forms a branch.
Captains and branch presidencies
Of the approximately 100 residents in a branch, around 40 of them are limited partners.They are divided into 4 units, each of which has 10 limited partners and their dependents. The limited partner membership in a unit is diverse, containing different social groups that are reflective of the society within which a community operates.
Additionally, a unit contains members of the four main demographics: married males (A), married females (B), single females (C), and single males (D).
The 4 demographics in the branch form 4 groups, as follows:
- Group 1: married males and married females
- Group 2: single females and single males
- Group 3: married males and single males
- Group 4: married females and single females
Within each group, there are different subsets, known as classes, based primarily on age. There is a class for Nursery (0-2), toddlers (3 – 5), young children (6-9), pre-teens (10-12), teens (13-18), young adults (19-31), adults (32-72), and empty nesters (73+).
| Meeting week | Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 | Class 8 |
| Week 1 and 3 | All married adults | All single adults | Teen boys and girls | Pre -teens | Young children | Toddlers | Nursery | |
| Week 2 and 4 | All men | All women | Teen boys | Teen girls |
Further details on the composition of units, groups, classes, and branches, and their meeting schedules, is detailed here.
Recruitment and diversity
Captains are responsible for recruiting limited partners into the community through their council and by extension, branch. A captain does not recruit limited partners only from their demographic. Instead, they work to ensure that their recruits are diverse, considering social categorizations, gender, and social status, in addition to demographic groups.
Captains work in concert with their fellow captains in the branch presidency, and other presidencies in a village and district to ensure that the district is as diverse as possible. They are guided by present data on how diverse their district, village, and branch are, and what needs to be focused on to improve. They are also guided by community bylaws, which expressly require diversity as shown by demographic data about a population from which the community intends to recruit limited partners.
The captain serves as a service extension of the Human Relations Agency, though they also act as an interface between participants and other community agencies. For agencies that do not have operational presidencies, such agencies in the Economic and Public Administration Bureaus, captains come in handy in helping participants navigate these agencies’ automated system and other relevant tools used by the agency to deliver services.
The automated system is designed to help participants with all the help they need in matters related to various agencies, including the Human Relations Agency. However, should they run into problems, captains assist them in navigating the system, or direct them to relevant contractors who help them at a fee.
Automated system
For most of its duties, especially those that involve interaction with participants, the Recreation and Arts Agency is assisted by an automated system. The automated system helps the agency in training participants and business owners whom it deals with.
The agency also uses this system to vet and accredit businesses offering recreation and arts services to participants, to ensure they fit the bill for what the agency is looking for. The system is an essential tool for the system as it aims to facilitate interaction between businesses relevant to its responsibilities. The agency additionally deploys the system in running its insurance service and managing other revenue collection tasks.
Contractors
The Recreation and Arts Agency relies on contractors for a significant part of its activities. Contractors are hired by the agency to develop the stadium. The agency also hires contractors to set up and maintain its automated system. Contractors help put together training modules that the agency uses to train businesses and participants.
While the agency presidency is responsible for drawing up strategies and operating guidelines, it delegates much of the work to contractors who are experts in specific fields, such as assets insurance, recreation and arts, and resort management.
Inter-agency cooperation
The 24 community agencies form three columns of 8 agencies each. There is loose collaboration between the agencies in a column. The Recreation and Arts Agency is part of the third column.
The Recreation and Arts Agency collaborates with the Business Operations Agency (agency 3) so that businesses offering recreation and arts services can be provided with the equipment necessary to run their businesses, as well as factoring services. The Commercial Bank Agency (agency 9) provides the loans needed by the agency to develop its assets and is the agency’s banker.
External resorts are constructed and run with assistance from the QHSE Agency (agency 18). The collaboration aims to ensure the resorts consider their environmental impact and take steps to mitigate it.
Presidencies’ offices, meetings, and quarterly conferences
Offices
The Health and Nutrition Agency presidency has permanent dedicated offices in District Building 4’s first floor, on the western side. Facing them on the eastern side are the permanent dedicated offices for trustee presidency and Regulatory Bureau’s operational presidency serving the agency and District 4.
Trustees and the regulatory operational presidencies alternate their offices. Trustees have the offices in building 4 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Regulatory Bureau operational presidencies use the offices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as shown in this timetable:
| Building 6/ Recreation and Arts | Building 18/ QHSE | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Trustee presidency | Regulatory Bureau presidency |
| Tuesday | Regulatory Bureau presidency | Trustee presidency |
| Wednesday | Trustee presidency | Regulatory Bureau presidency |
| Thursday | Regulatory Bureau presidency | Trustee presidency |
The first floor’s layout is as follows, including other public servants who serve District 6.
Working hours and meetings
Agency presidents, trustees, and regulatory agency presidents work in their offices on a full-time basis. To allow for this, they are required to be at least 50 years of age, be experts in NewVistas concepts, an be semi or fully retired from their business. This allows them to dedicate much of their productive time to serving the community.
Other presidencies work from Monday to Thursday, from 8 – 8:45 AM. their offices are converted for this purpose, and can thereafter be used for other activities, such as office space for participants, hotel rooms and hospital consultation rooms. On Thursday, each presidency (four presidents serving A, B, C, and D) meets for a 45-minute meeting from 9:00 to 9:45 in the morning.
On the last Friday of each quarter, between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, each demographic presidency meets. The three-member presidency discusses common bureau matters that are of interest to the demographic they serve. On Saturday, again between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, the whole board meets, where the presidents present their input from the previous day’s demographic presidency meeting, and prepare for the quarterly conference. The aim is to have a cohesive presentation during the quarterly conference but tailored to specific demographic interests.
Quarterly conferences
Quarterly conferences are held on the last Sunday of each quarter, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with a lunch break in between. During quarterly conferences, each demographic presidency sits together in the same row.
Quarterly conferences are held in District Buildings 5 and 17. Each building has a lower and higher assembly court. The different demographic groups use the assembly courts as follows:
| Building | Assembly court | Demographic |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Lower court | Married men (A) |
| 5 | Higher court | Married Women (B) |
| 17 | Lower court | Single women (C) |
| 17 | Higher court | Single men (D) |
Branch presidencies do not attend quarterly conferences. Instead, they follow the relevant proceedings online alongside other participants.
Each of the four assembly courts has seats for 480 presidents representing the respective demographic. In the diagram below each of the 4 courts is illustrated. The ceiling of each court has an elliptical arch that enables agency presidents, who are the only ones who make a presentation during the conference, to speak without the need to amplify their voices. The 480 seats are easily rotatable to enable presidents to face whoever is speaking.
Each of the four courts has an identical arrangement and number of seats. The exact arrangement of each court can therefore be illustrated using one court, in this case, building 5’s lower court that is used by married men (A).
Within an assembly court, the 480 presidents are arranged in terms of demographic presidencies of 3. The District Bureau’s demographic presidency for married men (4A, 5A, and 6A) sits in the highlighted seats. Various district demographic presidencies also sit on the same row.
