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@meeratakescologne
Meera Kumar and Oyumaa Daichinkhuu interned at the Zorig Foundation, a pro-democracy NGO that works on community development, fostering the next generation of leaders, and educating the public about the role of democracy in Mongolia.
It’s been over a year since I returned--but the W&L website just published an interview about our experience in Mongolia.
Economics major wins Fulbright Research Grant to study art history in India
I’m going abroad again! I’ll be spending the entirety of next year working and researching in India. My project concerns the changing depictions and stereotypes surrounding village women in West Bengal.
I spent so long thinking that the only place to travel was abroad. I made goals of visiting a new country every year--something I find reasonable and still aspire to. However, it was only this semester that I realized how much there is to do in my own backyard. Adventures don’t have to be grand or international--they can be here and now.
This February I had the opportunity to spend a week camping and kayaking on a small island in the Florida Everglades. I was afraid to go--I had never camped before and I definitely wasn’t ready to spend a week without indoor plumbing. It was only after Maya spoke about her wonderful experience the year prior that I made peace with the idea. However, with white sand beaches and mangrove forests, spending the week on Lulu island was nothing short of a magical experience.
[Leaving for a day trip--just look at all that ocean and sky! I’m at the very right.]
I spent my days swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, sketching my surroundings, reading for pleasure, and going on long walks. Nights were spent around a blazing campfire, telling stories, eating sweets, finding constellations, and playing rounds of Mafia.
The whole trip was organized through our Outing Club and after getting back, I made a goal to do one outdoor activity every week until graduation. I’ve held to it so far: just this past month, I’ve been skydiving, caving, paddle boarding, camping, rappelling, and hiking. Spending all this time outdoors has made me truly appreciate the Blue Ridge and our part of Virginia.
I went to this talk a few weeks ago by an environmental ethicist who commented on how getting outdoors is such a high-tech and high-adrenaline pursuit nowadays. When you think of people who enjoy being outside, you think of intense mountaineers or alpine skiers with all the latest gadgets and gear. However, as I realized, the outdoors really are for everyone--all ages, all skill levels, and all walks of life.
I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to participate in Outing Club activities sooner. I am a second-semester senior after all and I could have been outside for all these years! But it is better late than never and I am so happy that I now know how accessible the outdoors really can be.
College goes fast! Get outside.
More and more people worldwide are living in countries not considered their own. Writer Pico Iyer -- who himself has three or four “origins” -- meditates on the meaning of home, the joy of traveling and the serenity of standing still.
“Movement is a fantastic privilege, and it allows us to do so much that our grandparents could never have dreamed of doing. But movement, ultimately, only has a meaning if you have a home to go back to. And home, in the end, is of course not just the place where you sleep. It's the place where you stand.”
Johnson Opportunity Grant winner connects interests in economics and art history at famed auction house.
Here’s a post about my latest international experience, an internship at Christie’s King Street in London! I was able to spend my last few weeks in the UK (post-Oxford) working at Christie’s and had a truly marvelous experience.
Tonight is my last night in Mongolia! Of course that means that the majority of my sightseeing was crammed into my last three days here. Between work and pure procrastination, it ended up that everything on my “to-do” list got postponed for the entire month and had to get accomplished this weekend. I have to say that I was impressed! In the past few days I visited Gandan Monastery, the Bogd Khan Winter Palace, the Chojin Lama Museum, Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts, the Chingghis Khan monument at Tsonjin Boldog, Zaisan, a local ger district, and several art galleries. It’s been a busy few days getting caught up, packed, and ready to head back to the UK (with a five-day stop in Turkey on the way).
Today was actually the birthday of Sanjaasuren Zorig and there was a public memorial in his honor that we got to attend along with the other employees of the foundation. It was a very fitting end to our month in Mongolia, honoring democracy, Zorig’s legacy, and the long but achievable path ahead for a young malleable country. I’ve loved my time here: it was a brilliant month with lovely company (Oyumaa and I are still friends, despite living/working/spending every minute together) and insightful experiences that gave me a working understanding of modern Mongolia.
баяртай* (for now) from UB!
*I learned how to read Mongolian during an uneventful afternoon--I don’t understand what i’m reading, but it’s still been fun to be able to recognize road signs and read children’s books!
To the Russian Border
Last weekend was quite an incredible time, all thanks to my MEF placement the previous week. I was assigned to check out translation equipment along with Bilguun, a senior international management student at MIU (Mongolian International University). After working together for 2 days, she proposed to me something of an adventure: a trip to her hometown of Darkhan, the 3rd largest city in Mongolia. I was incredibly touched by her offer and jumped at the chance to get outside UB and see the Mongolian countryside. Early Saturday morning, Bilguun, Nara, and two of their Chinese friends, Song jia and Shu, picked me up and we headed to Darkhan, stopping innumerable times along the way. The Mongolian countryside was just as I had expected--barren yet beautiful, dotted with horses and herders.
In Darkhan, we were greeted by a beautiful spread prepared by Bilguun’s mom (even vegetarian items were on the menu!) After feasting, we set out to explore the city and managed to see all the major sites (the Morin khuur statue, Golden Buddha and bridge, as well as a local monastery). Despite being the third largest city in the country, Darkhan is a mere fraction of the size of Ulaanbaatar, with around 75,000 residents to UB’s 1.4 million.
I mentioned that I had never slept in a ger, so we decided to do so for the night and drove up to Selenge, a border-province, passing through forests and deserts and stopping at all the minor attractions along the way. The further north we drove, the more pronounced the Russian influence was, as it made more sense to import items from Russia, rather than send them up from UB. By the time we made it to Saihani Hutul, it was getting quite late so we cooked dinner on our traditional stove, took a walk through the nearby forest, and played card games from our respective countries into the night.
I should probably mention a few things. First the ger was incredibly warm and cozy. Secondly--and more surprisingly to me--the ger camp lacked indoor plumbing. Let’s just say it was truly an authentic experience, from the traditional music we listened to on the drive, to the traditional outhouse that I had to get accustomed to for the night. (I would complain more, but as Oyumaa later mentioned to me, over a million Americans lack indoor plumbing, with a majority residing in my home state of Arizona, not to mention the fact that I’m Indian and India is notorious for its lack of restroom facilities)
The next day was really exquisite as well--we drove to the Russian border and climbed up a mountain from which we had a panoramic view of both countries’ terrain. It was definitely one of the most unexpected little trips--and views I had ever come across.
After taking a fair dose of photographs, we headed back toward Darkhan, first stopping at Eej Mod, a tree believed to grant wishes to the faithful. Scores of believers made offerings of milk, butter, scarves, and candles to the wish-fulfilling tree while shamans communed nearby and I tried to observe and partake in the ritual.
We ended up eating lunch in Dulanken, a tiny village where Bilguun’s father was born. We ate at her aunt’s house, a tiny dwelling lacking both plumbing and electricity! I had never been in such a rustic place and was really touched by her aunt’s hospitality--because of my vegetarian constraint, she made me Kash, a really tasty Russian baby food. (Apparently I was sharing the meal with her 9-month old grandson) Living in central UB, I was unaware of the situation of most Mongolians. I even made multiple comments to Oyumaa about how Mongolia didn’t feel like a developing country to me. However, it turns out that most of the amenities that I take for granted are not available to families who live in rural areas, who reside in gers, and especially nomadic herders.
After making a stop for afternoon tea at Bilguun’s mom’s place in Darkhan, we finally made the last leg of the journey back to UB and arrived back home around 7 PM on Sunday evening. The entire experience was such a blessing--accompanying a new-found friend across 4 provinces, visiting all sorts of dwellings and landscapes, camping in a ger 10 kms from the Russian border. When I told my parents of the trip, they were skeptical--roadtripping through a country with girls I hardly knew? I told them that I would be fine; after all, what’s life without a little adventure? And perhaps more importantly, I always choose to believe in the kindness and goodness of others. It is a belief I am sure will lead to more wonderful experiences like this one.
For our last (full) week in UB, I got to work at XacBank, the 4th largest bank in Mongolia. Placed within the Eco-Banking department, I learned a lot about various projects that the bank is working on, most notably the Eco Products venture, that you can learn more about through the linked video.
As I’ve probably mentioned before, Ulaanbaatar is the one of the most polluted cities in the world. To help the city’s image and air quality, XacBank’s flagship project, started in 2011, provides product centers and microfinancing for efficient, cleaner burning cooking and heating stoves and insulation to the majority of families living in Ulaanbaatar’s peri-urban “ger” districts. Altogether more than 150,000 eco products have been disbursed, offsetting an estimated 380,000 tons of carbon as of the end of 2013, with millions more tons to be offset in the coming years (estimates place the offsets at over 2,000,000 tons of CO2 in 2019). In addition to this, the stoves disbursed through the program (over 136,000 stoves) cut particulate matter emissions by at least 75%.
I got to get involved in a pretty unique way--as it happens, every year the XacBank staff expands in the winter to service the stove project for new deliveries, repairs, and carbon tracking. Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world and in the winter, temperatures can reach -40°C. Unfortunately, the department does not have the funding available to provide quality outerwear to the staff--to help address this need, I wrote grant proposals to a number of outerwear companies, asking for product donations. (I’m super hopeful about the results) I also got to accompany the two PIA fellows on site visits, write feedback on the OMI microfinance proposal, and perform some other small research tasks; it was altogether a very interesting and exciting week.
All of last week, Oyumaa and I worked directly at the Zorig Foundation on two main projects: developing the program for a democracy camp this summer (catered to Mongolian college students) and creating a working timeline of the events surrounding the Mongolian Democratic Revolution. The above link is a wonderful and concise explanation of what went down and how truly remarkable the event was.
As many of you might know, Mongolia was a soviet satellite state for most of the 20th century--when democracy finally came, it was one of the most peaceful revolutions in history. Within a year of the first protest, democratic elections were held, spurred by hunger strikes and youth movements that asked for free press, for the recognition of human rights, and for a multiparty system.
Despite the event being so significant, there are little to no official resources documenting the event. After combing through online resources, we headed to the Mongolian National History Museum to try to find more--and were limited even there in terms of a real timeline of events. Even the State Department Store bookstore didn’t have a single book dedicated to the topic! Because research on the event is so scant, the Zorig Foundation has undertaken a project to interview 150 key players in the revolution and create a four-part tv-series, illustrated book, and website dedicated to the topic.
The head of ZF, Ms. Oyun Sanjaasuren was directly involved in the Democratic Revolution--as her brother, Zorig, was one of the key players in the movement. Zorig was assassinated in 1998 by masked assailants after being elected the next Prime Minister. The Zorig Foundation is thus dedicated to promoting democracy in his legacy. (This article is a good read about the revolution and Zorig’s part) Ms. Oyun herself is one of the most important players in Mongolian politics. She used to be the Minister of Environment and Green Development, currently heads UNEA (UN Environmental Assembly), and is also a member of Parliament. It was an honor to directly interact with her for the past week.
I realize that my blog has been far too informational lately--and not personal enough! So here are some snapshots from the past two weeks. Yesterday marked the halfway point of my stay in UB--it’s going by so fast! Also I wanted to link this article--I was interviewed after the Mongolian Ballet about my opinion of the show and it got published. Being a foreigner does have its perks :)
*Impact
Last night, I had the chance to attend a women’s leadership networking event sponsored by Zorig following a panel on women and corporate governance. Perhaps the factor that impressed upon me the most was the impact that these women felt they were making in Mongolia. Many of them were born abroad--or lived the majority of their lives elsewhere--and came to Mongolia after college to implement their newfound skills and help create progress in their motherland. I have never considered doing something similar--moving to India and staking a claim for myself. It’s a bold move, and one that tells of the widespread belief held by Mongolian youth-- that they can better their motherland.
I have said it before--Mongolia is a very special country: democracy itself has been around for hardly 25 years. Bordered by giants, it’s a country trying to catch up to the developed world while retaining its fiercely individualistic spirit. The dedication that Mongolians have for their country is a testament to this belief--that their western education should be redirected to solve Mongolian problems and create local growth. It’s not just Mongolians who feel this way; many foreigners echo the same sentiment. Mongolia is a place where effort is rewarded: because of the very nature of the country (low-population and vast land and resources), it’s possible to see the very real outcomes of one’s work. As I see it, it’s a win-win situation: the country is bettered while you feel personally validated for your efforts. It’s a feeling I too am enamored with; in Mongolia, making a difference is not just an idealistic dream but an everyday occurrence.
A Visit to the World Bank
The Zorig Foundation, where Oyumaa and I are interning, has programs in three areas: good governance, youth education, and community development. One of their successful programs is YLP, the young leaders’ program, that develops young professionals into leaders while exposing them to different branches of society and providing them with a wider network. Today, a group of YLP alums were visiting the World Bank offices in Mongolia--and both of us got to tag along. I have studied the World Bank before, namely in my women, gender, and development tutorial last term at Oxford, but it was really interesting to hear a presentation from the country heads themselves.
Established in 1944 post-WW2, the World Bank is owned by its 188 member countries. In Mongolia, over 800 million dollars has been invested over the last 24 years. The World Bank is technically the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and is just one part of the World Bank Group, a larger entity that comprises the IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, and ICSID. With the mission of ending poverty and promoting shared prosperity, the World Bank works through many channels: providing financing, gathering and dispersing knowledge, promoting good practices and providing technical assistance. It’s one of the most well-known organizations in the world, with many high-ranking officials going on to become government leaders and eminent politicians.
Visiting a local chapter was particularly interesting because of the scale--only around 10 staff in the IFC office compared to the thousands based in DC--and because of the local projects that we were able to learn about, from microfinance initiatives to kindergarten monitoring that goes on under the Bank’s jurisdiction. Compared to the UN, that has to rely on donations to upkeep its projects, the World Bank is self financed by its member countries and thus financially independent, allowing a lot more progressive work to be done, rather than donor recruiting.
Mongolia Economic Forum
This past week, Oyumaa and I were able to work at and attend the Mongolian Economic Forum (4/2-4/3), one of the biggest events of the year. Held in the government palace, the theme for the event was “building credibility” as Mongolia is looking to increase foreign investment and attain sustainable success into the near future. Panelists discussed subjects from Mongolia’s Macroeconomic Environment to Good Governance and Investor Protection; it was two days of discussing what had gone wrong and where to go next.
Apparently, from 2004-2012, Mongolia was the fastest growing economy in the world and there was a 10% increase in GDP every year; however, now there is a deficit of $1.5 billion tögrögs. The reason for this deficit and for the general slow-down of the economy can be attributed to two major factors: the global trend for foreign investment has been declining post-2011—in Mongolia this has been the case, though more drastic, due to a decrease in commodity prices. And also, the Chinese economy is faring poorly (sales of immobile property have decreased as has inflow investment) and this affects Mongolia greatly as 87% of Mongolian exports go to China.
How can Mongolia convince foreign companies to invest despite the larger negative economic situation? The first step entails revamping how ministers operate within the government. One of the main problems in Mongolia is that unlike most democratic countries, ministers are appointed by the Parliament. This means that ministers are not accountable to the citizens and are instead indebted to the members of Parliament who appoint them. Political office is gained through personal connections, rather than merit-based appointments. Furthermore, the average cabinet lasts for merely 1.3 years, leading to a lack in policy continuity. These frequent changes affect civil service organizations and agencies and when contrary policies are implemented consecutively, foreign donors are unable to gauge the financial situation and choose to withhold or withdraw their investments. One of the examples given was Eznis Airlines, a Mongolian airline company that ended up going bankrupt after a newly appointed minister invalidated licenses on all the new equipment purchased. However, this problem can be easily fixed: instead, of the current system, the Prime Minister should appoint the ministers, making them accountable to the public and ensuring a cooperative cabinet. Perhaps there needs to be a cap on the amount of a change a new ministry can implement or approve. Without creating legal continuity, it will be hard for Mongolia to be seen as a reliable trade partner. After all, it is government stability that can lead to credibility and if policies are not business-friendly, Mongolia will continue to have a weak macroeconomy.
One of my favorite speakers was Tuyen, the IFC head who we had met earlier in the week. His speech was about how credibility is not a destination, but a road that entails realism, consistent implementation, and professionalization. The lack of regulatory transparency and arbitrary government action in Mongolia create a problem for investors, 75% of whom say that investor protection is the top problem with doing business in Mongolia, and 80% of whom say that if the problem is not resolved, projects might be dropped and they might leave the country. Mongolia needs an investor protection agency that is able to support foreign investors through government interactions. (In Korea, such a body was formed and made a significant change in how many cases went to the international court—only 1/5000)
Many other interesting concerns and solutions were posed throughout the event, from ensuring that inflation on food prices is low to allow poor families to survive, to changing the Mongolian judicial system to impose the idea of precedent when making legal decisions. The mayor of Ulaanbaatar spoke of how cities are partnerships between people and their governments and successful cities require the collaboration of both groups. The Prime Minister and President of Mongolia both gave their remarks as well, about Mongolia’s potential and past. One of my favorite remarks was made during the presentation on regional competitiveness: what isn’t measured can’t be managed, a sentiment also echoed at the UNDP conference last week. This simple statement gives me a lot of understanding in terms of the real impact that economics—and specifically econometrics—can make in development and growth scenarios. Particularly in Mongolia, it’s important to take consistent data measurements, as this fostered competitiveness creates the demand for an improved business environment and a public/private dialogue about where to make improvements.
This all being said, Mongolia has made a large amount of progress in a short amount of time: in the 1990s, Mongolia was transitioning from a centrally planned to a market economy—and is now making the shift to a natural resource based economy with in-built buffers. The forum was eye opening in understanding the issues that Mongolia faces. From having a sparsely settled geographically vast landmass to having a concentrated capital city that comprises 64% of the GDP, Mongolia really is a special place unlike any other country in the world. Most importantly for me, the MEF was truly a forum, in that the event was a place for lodging complaints and for expressing frustration for citizens who felt that their country was failing them. As a long-time fan of Parks and Rec and participatory government, I have believed in the power of the forum for creating community change—and I certainly hope that is the case in Mongolia.
UNICEF & moving beyond aid
Oyumaa and I got to meet with Victoria today, one of the 5 international workers at UNICEF’s Mongolia office. All the UN offices are located in the same building, a few blocks north of Sukhbaatar Square--and where we live. Victoria talked with us about UNICEF’s role in Mongolia and about her personal experiences living in UB and working at the UN. We spent almost an hour and a half speaking with her and learned quite a few interesting things.
Because Mongolia has recently graduated to a middle income country, UNICEF (the UN Children’s Fund) doesn’t provide direct aid, but functions as a policy intermediary. UNICEF tests out certain programs in their “lab” in the northern Khuvsgul region of Mongolia (such as encouraging early childhood education) and then convinces government officials to adopt policies based on their promising results. I was especially excited to learn that they asked the government to implement policies that emphasized good parenting, as I worked on a domestic parenting study with Professor Goldsmith last summer.
One of UNICEF’s main areas of interest is corporate social responsibility (CSR)--or convincing private sector companies to take measures to ensure that they are not contributing to negative societal externalities. For instance, UNICEF talks to companies that are involved in cashmere production to provide child care for their female employees. (Apparently, 90% of Mongolia’s workers in the cashmere industry are female) UNICEF also partners with other organizations such as Save the Children to publish reports, undertake studies, and advocate for policy change. All in all, UNICEF is a really remarkable player in terms of its focus (children/mothers) and policy-based approach, in Mongolia’s development equation.
International Development and the IFC
One of the fascinating things that Oyumaa and I are getting to do in Mongolia is attend a number of conferences— where we get to meet with representatives from all sorts of agencies. So far we’ve met with employees of UN ECOSOC, UNDP, and numerous Mongolian ministries and agencies. It’s a whole lot of big names and I’m just beginning to understand how very diverse the field of international development is.
Today was one of the most interesting meetings that we’ve had so far. If you know me, you know that I’m an avid emailer—finding contacts, whether they be W&L alumni or successful career people, and asking for advice and opportunities, is one of my favorite hobbies. Last week, while making the name-tags for the Mongolian Economic Forum, I realized how many influential names I was coming across and jotted down the names to later email heads of the different major development organizations in Mongolia. I had a pretty good response rate (4/7) and today, Oyumaa and I were able to have coffee with Tuyen, the head IFC resident representative for Mongolia.
IFC is a branch of the World Bank Group that makes loans to private organizations. When most people think of development, they think of organizations that directly provide aid to governments to alleviate poverty and create socioeconomic growth. At IFC, they realize that the majority of growth is actually coming from the private sector; in fact, the majority of the money in the world is held in private hands. So by investing in developing the private sector, IFC is fueling economic growth in emerging economies. IFC invests in organizations like banks and hotels; by giving the initial loans, they allow businesses to grow to a threshold where they can attract other investment and become self-sufficient and profitable and develop the local economy by providing employment, and increasing infrastructure. It really is a wonderful concept, both for the beneficiaries and for the employees, who are able to use their finance backgrounds in a challenging work environment to create positive change.
I was very taken by Tuyen’s words—both about future career plans and about what kinds of options international development holds. He asked us to think about questions like, “Would I prefer being involved with the private or public sector?” While organizations like the World Bank that directly interact with governments are important, they are also slow at implementing policies due to the politics involved and amount of red tape. I also finally understood how the World Bank and IFC even exist—they do make a profit but reinvest that profit into member countries, rather than paying dividends to shareholders. While the activities are similar to those in private corporations, it is the mission that differs. Mostly, I was taken by the fact that organizations like IFC are around. I have always been interested in development—but I didn’t know how to combine this interest with my other interests—namely, my economics background and wanting to live a comfortable and international life while having opportunities for career growth. It is also just reassuring to know that other pathways exist other than I-banking and consulting.
Interactions like these have been my favorite part of living in Ulaanbaatar thus far. It’s amazing how many people are willing to reach out and give their time to encourage students to pursue their dreams. It’s also more possible to have these interactions here in Mongolia where there are fewer people and thus more possibilities to meet and network with eminent people in the field. Yesterday, Oyumaa and I attended the Business Council Mongolia (BCM) monthly meeting, where we got to talk to a representative of MCC (Millennium Challenge Cooperation) who also gave us some interesting advice—about current dialogue in the development field like constraints on development and about ongoing projects and MCC’s personal development mission. Tomorrow, we’re meeting with a representative of UNICEF—and later this week, with the head of Mongolia’s USAID. I am so very excited to continue learning more about Mongolia—and about international development in general.
India/Mongolia: An Unexpected Relationship
Living in Ulaanbaatar has been quite the experience, from jay-walking through traffic to drinking traditional milk tea, what can only be described as an acquired taste. One of the most apparent differences from home is the amount of stares I deal with, from the elderly to small children, some who seem scared by my very presence. After all, there are very few Indians--or really, dark-skinned people--in Mongolia. I got to thinking--is there an Indian-Mongolian connection? A few connections sparked my interest in the possibility of a pan-Asian connection, most notably the prevalence of Indian sounding names and the Sanskritic-Tibetan script inscribed on Mongolian Buddhist monasteries. I began researching the topic and found some surprising results.
In 1955, India was the first country outside the Soviet bloc to establish diplomatic relations with Mongolia. But the relationship stretches much further back, to the 3rd century BCE and time of the great Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who converted to Buddhism after realizing the consequences of his constant waging of warfare. Ashoka created one of the first unified Indian empires, stretching from modern-day Afghanistan to West Bengal and on the international scale, he turned Buddhism into the first proselytizing religion, sending missionaries all over Asia, from Sri Lanka to Thailand and even all the up through Nepal, Tibet, and to Mongolia. Ashoka was revered by Indians and the larger Asian community alike and his brand of Buddhism had an early following by the greater Mongol tribes.
Buddhism occurred in several waves in Mongolia, revived after the conversion to Tibetan Buddhism by Kublai Khan (Genghis Khan’s grandson), once again, after the 4th Dalai Lama (of the Gelug sect) was determined to be a Mongolian child, and most recently, in the 20th century, under the rule of the Bogd Khan. Because most Mongolians practice a Tibetan-flavor of Buddhism, the connection to Sanskrit remains strong, as Tibetan and Sanskrit come from the same language family. For instance, Sansaara (space) in Sanskrit is Sansar in Mongolian. There are also similar names in both cultures such as Ananda (a direct disciple of the Buddha), Indra and Lakshmi.
Coming to Mongolia, I knew little of the strong Buddhist roots--perhaps because of the widespread genocide of monks and lamas in the 1930s during the Stalinist cultural purges. At the beginning of the 20th century, almost 1/3 of Mongolia’s adult male population were Buddhist monks-a peaceful group of people (albeit with strong political ties) who were so unlike the vicious Mongols that we are taught about in western schools. Anyway, it is these cross-cultural connections that give me so much joy. And it these connections that also give me a sense of belonging in this vast land of contradictions where nomads and herders rub shoulders with investment bankers and consultants in an increasingly globalized capital city and nation.
A month in Mongolia
I arrived in Mongolia this past Tuesday, exhausted (from a 30+ hour journey that spanned Portland-Amsterdam-Istanbul-Bishkek-Ulaanbaatar) and excited. It’s been the opportunity of a lifetime--getting funded to accompany one of my closest friends to her home country to better understand the culture and current socioeconomic situation. Oyumaa and I are residing in the center of Ulaanbaatar, having rented an apartment right beside Sukhbaatar square (the largest square square in the world) and interning nearby at the Zorig foundation, the largest non-profit in Mongolia. Next week happens to be the Mongolian Economic Forum, an event with over 1000 attendees and featuring speeches and appearances by both the Prime Minister and President. Oyumaa and I are helping organize this monumental event, doing everything from administrative errands to translating and editing agendas and documents. We plan to assist a sustainable bankers initiative later during our stay, helping develop a program that incentivizes businesses for adopting sustainable practices--and we will work on a few projects based at the foundation itself, notably helping develop an oral histories project featuring voices of the democratic revolution and creating a comprehensive 5-year vision for the organization. Today, we were able to attend a UN conference on transitioning from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There, representatives from the UN, Mongolian ministries, and NGOs came together to create a cohesive plan for Mongolia’s future. It’s been a lot of learning so far and I have enjoyed every bit of it. Really, I am still processing the fact that I am even here--and am so very grateful for this very special opportunity.