Olvanan Friendship Society

Logo of the Olvanan Friendship Society

Overview

Founded during a time of heightened tensions between Olvana and the West, the first OFS chapter opened in Sydney Australia, describing itself as an apolitical, secular, not-for-profit organisation formed to serve the Olvanan diaspora community. Ethnic Olvanan members of the business community provided the seed money and initial revenue stream for the establishment of the chapter, setting the pattern for their establishment in major urban centres around the Western world.

Initially functioning as a culturally specific community centre of sorts, the OFS began by facilitating access to government and community services through outreach and translation services. Focusing on new migrants and senior citizens, the OFS quickly became a closely connected community network for ethnic Olvanans, helping them with a range of day to day activities including personal finance, legal services, advocacy, and social contact for isolated individuals. In some countries this has seen the OFS attract local government funding as a social service provider. Additionally, each OFS branch almost immediately began operating as a community noticeboard of sorts, with members sharing information about produce prices, safety and community alerts, and incidences of anti-Olvanan discrimination or violence via encrypted messaging app chat groups. Additionally, the OFS provides free and comprehensive access to Olvanan state owned media broadcasts and products.

Within a few years, there were OFS chapters in most major Western cities, and most had expanded into cultural outreach and education, as well as political activity, including high visibility anti-racism, pro-multiculturalism campaigns, especially in places with a sizeable Olvanan diaspora. Western security agencies are becoming increasingly concerned about OFS activities, especially where OFS members act as voting blocs or, in some cases, major political donors. While there are no direct links to the OCP, the Friendship Society has multiple links to organisations which are known to disseminate OCP propaganda, and many, but not all, of its members are supportive of the Olvanan regime.

Typical structure of an OFS Chapter. While not formally under central control, it is believed the chapters coordinate messaging with the Olvanan Communist Party.

Organization

The Olvanan Friendship Society (OFS) is a collection of local community organisations spread across major urban centres throughout the Western world. While not overtly subject to central control, the near identical structure of each local chapter, coupled with typically close dealings with Olvanan diplomatic establishments within their host countries, indicates that the OFS is at least connected to the Olvana Communist Party (OCP). OFS chapters typically operate a variety of businesses, including holding and service companies, in their host countries. The OFS maintains strong relationships with government officials and legal and business professionals, especially but not exclusively ethnic Olvanans.

Key Leadership

The OFS is a disaggregated organisation, with different leadership in each local chapter.

Alliances

The Olvanan Friendship Society has established strong relationships with local organisations known to be sympathetic to the OCP, such as the Socialist Student Association, or with known ties to the OCP, such as the Cheng Institute. They have also made considerable efforts to assist the Torbian Cultural Centre, a similar organisation with ties to the North Torbian regime.

Olvanan Friendship Society Alliances

GROUP	RELATIONSHIP	NOTES
Cheng Institute	Ally	OFS chapters invariably partner very closely with Cheng Institute branches, promoting and attending their events and using them as a recruitment and publicity vector.
Socialist Student League	Ally	The SSL and OFS work closely together, sharing a multitude of connections and mutual members. OFS chapters will also frequently provide funding and support for SSA activities.
Torbian Cultural Center	Ally	OFS chapters partner closely with TCC branches where they are co-located, using their higher profile and better community connections to assist the TCC in its activities.

Areas of Operation

The Olvanan Friendship Society operates across the Western world, with a particular focus on English speaking countries. The vast majority of OFS head offices are within easy reach of Olvanan diplomatic establishments. OFS run companies appear to be significantly interconnected in complex ways, suggestive of central control.

Membership and Demographics

The core staff of the OFS are overwhelmingly first and second generation Olvanan immigrants. They are between 25-65 years of age, from a diverse set of professional backgrounds, and more or less evenly split between male and female. Financial members are primarily first immigrants, usually between 30 -70 years old, with Olvanan as their preferred language. Volunteers are majority Olvanan immigrants from a diverse demographic spread, but also tend to include a significant proportion of locals. The core staff of each chapter is generally fewer than 10 people, but some chapters have hundreds or even thousands of financial members and volunteers.

Recruitment

The Olvanan Friendship society uses multiple avenues for recruitment of staff, financial members, and volunteers. Word of mouth referral is one of the most important vectors for recruitment, with digital social media and Olvanan language chat groups coming a close second. Additionally, the OFS maintains a strong presence on university campuses, offering support to Olvanan international students and providing funding and support to sympathetic groups such as the Socialist Student Association (SSA). Many SSA members are also members or volunteers for the OFS, and a great many ethnic Olvanan students have joined owing to their parents and grandparents being financial members. The OFS also partners frequently with the Cheng Institute, using Institute events to recruit financial members and volunteers.

Operational Profile

Kinetic

The Olvanan Friendship Society does not conduct kinetic operations.

Non-Kinetic

The OFS ha a stated mission of helping Olvanan diaspora communities and fostering international friendship and understanding between Olvana and a variety of Western countries, which activities it conducts openly. The nature of the organisation means that OFS chapters frequently act as a vector for OCP disinformation and influence activities. This is of particular concern where OFS chapters are highly politically active, exerting influence on elected representatives at various levels of government and, where possible, donating to major political parties. OFS facilitated cultural events are often, but not always, calibrated to present the OCP regime and its activities in the most favourable possible light.

The Olvanan Friendship Society?s principal non-kinetic activities include:

• Frequent pro-OCP advocacy

• Highly visible advocacy on behalf of Olvanan diaspora communities
• Immigration services
• Community services and liaison
• Financial services, with special reference to the movement of funds into and out of Olvana
• Recruitment

• Political activity, including fundraising, lobbying, and donations
• Attendance and assistance for affiliated group activities, especially the Cheng Institute and Torbian Cultural Centre