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Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival 2022

21.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia
Since 2019, the Arts Council of Mongolia has been organizing the Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival (UBIFF) in partnership with the Ulaanbaatar Governor’s Office, Ulaanbaatar Arts and Culture Department, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Two Swiss projects named SDG Leaders in October 2022

19.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia
The United Nations in Mongolia, in partnership with other key stakeholders, organized SDG Open Day, an outdoor public event held to engage with the public and raise awareness of the SDGs and to acknowledge and promote best practices, individual initiatives, and positive changes created by stakeholders, including the private sector, development partners, and local communities that contribute to the SDGs.

Human Resource Development Center of Ulaanbaatar: Contributing to improved public service delivery

17.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia
The Urban Governance Project is one of three projects of the Governance and Decentralization Programme, which aims to foster more empowered, democratic, and accountable local governments that provide services responding to citizens’ needs.

Mongolian government delegation visits Switzerland: Four insights from the Swiss experience

14.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia
The Mongolian government officials’ working visit to Switzerland took place from 14-21 August 2022, starting in Geneva and ending in Zurich, with a longer stop in Berne.

Small Changes-Big Results: Civic Engagement in the loupe

12.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia
The Civic Engagement Project (CEP), a sub-project of the Governance and Decentralization Programme, is a joint project of the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs of Mongolia and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation .

Supporting and Incentivizing Herders’ Participation in Rangeland Management: Insight from a state tax inspector for livestock

10.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia
Responsible rangeland management has an important impact on environmental sustainability and climate change. SDC supported the development of a new livestock tax, implemented for the first time in 2021.

The Parliamentary Service in Mongolia: A crucial office of the governmental structure supporting Parliament

07.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia

Since the beginning of the development of the Mongolian Parliament, there have been offices that support its legislative and decision-making activities. Switzerland has been supporting this crucial service since 2017. This challenging project[1] has several focus areas, such as a training and capacity-building program for the Secretariat of the Parliament of Mongolia, providing technical support for parliamentary oversight, and the development of a parliamentary education program for youth.

Jürg Burri: Looking forward to visiting beautiful Mongolia

05.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia

Dear Ambassador, since September 1, you have been the new Swiss Ambassador for China and Mongolia in Beijing. We would like you to introduce yourself to our readers, as you’re still unable to travel to Mongolia due to the closed border. What would you like to share about yourself with Onsite Insight readers?

My name is Jürg Burri. I’m a Swiss from Berne, a German speaker, and I’ve been a diplomat for 26 years.

Message from Head of Cooperation

03.10.2022 — Local news Mongolia

Dear readers,

It’s that time of the year again. In transitioning to the coldest months of the year, we are simultaneously moving closer to the New Year.

We can use this as a moment to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that our circumstances and actions presented.

The Red Flower: A strong personality in Mongolian history

01.07.2022 — Local news Mongolia
The 20th century has been an extraordinary time for women’s development and Mongolia as a whole. Women’s contributions were not equivalent to men’s in the public sector or culture, arts, and economic development. These women have all built and shaped today’s Mongolia. Unfortunately, there has been no video evidence or other documentation of women’s contributions from that time. It is crucial to bring these women’s contributions and efforts to the forefront and celebrate their achievements to teach the young generation of Mongolia about the past, cultural heritage, arts, and literature.

My pathway connection to Mongolia

30.06.2022 — Local news Mongolia
Ms. Susanne Amsler is the desk officer for Mongolia at SDC’s headquarters in Berne. After two years of virtual collaboration due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related closure of Mongolia’s border, she finally had the chance to visit Mongolia last month to meet SDC colleagues and get to know the various projects.

A local entrepreneur’s story

29.06.2022 — Local news Mongolia
In 2015, Gantulga and his mother established an instant Mongolian tea enterprise. From the very beginning, they were keen to improve their technology and expand production. However, being a small family business, they could not get any business development advice or soft loans. Opportunities were very limited as SME loans provided by the government were not accessible for such small businesses.

Media (41)

Message from the Head of SDC in Mongolia

30.04.2021 — Press release Mongolia
It is true. Time does fly. Memories of my arrival in beautiful Ulaanbaatar are still fresh. In the blink of an eye, I have already spent nine months as Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office and Consular section in Mongolia.

Call for art and culture project proposals

04.01.2021 — Press release Mongolia
The Swiss Cooperation Office in Mongolia is calling for proposals for art and culture projects with the aim to foster local cultural identity and artistic diversity and encourage the creative use of art for social transformation and development in Mongolia.

Switzerland's responses to COVID-19 in Mongolia

04.05.2020 — Press release Mongolia
Despite being itself affected by the COVID-19, Switzerland decided to show solidarity and support to Mongolia in facing the negative consequences of the anti-COVID measures affecting the Mongolian population.

Call for proposals – Environment and Climate Change

22.07.2019 — Press release Mongolia

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s (SDC) overall objective in Mongolia is to contribute to the empowerment of Mongolian citizens and institutions towards an equitable, green and prosperous society, leaving no one behind. The current domains of intervention are Agriculture and Food Security, Governance and Basic and Vocational Education and Training.

SDC Mongolia is calling for proposals for Small Action Projects to address environmental issues and promote climate change resilience of local communities in Mongolia, as well as knowledge generation, through innovative approaches and/or technological solutions. Projects should not exceed a duration of 18 months and be carried out in Mongolia.

Women Leadership Forum with 400 prominent national and local leaders

05.07.2019 — Press release Mongolia

In a bid to address the continued decline of female representation in politics in Mongolia, more than 400 people from throughout the country gathered at a Women Leaders’ Forum in June to discuss the challenges and ways ahead.

The forum provided female Members of Parliament and representatives from Ulaanbaatar, rural khurals, development agencies and the media with a platform to share knowledge, experiences and best practices, expand their networks, and learn from one another.

SDC Director Gabriella Spirli’s speech at the celebration of 55 years of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Switzerland and 15 years of SDC present in Mongolia: “Mongolia and his people will always be in my heart”

05.07.2019 — Press release Mongolia
“I am proud of the tangible results we have achieved together with our partners in all sectors that we are engaged in. Without modesty, I can say that we are making a difference - at national and provincial levels, but also at the level of people’s lives. The Mongolian artisanal small scale mining sector has been strengthened with ASM-related concerns anchored in important policies. More young people are attending vocational training schools and getting better chances to find a decent job. Local parliament members are empowered and better equipped to perform their duties, and recently initiated collaboration between the Mongolian Parliament Secretariat and Swiss Parliament Services have opened new avenues for partnership. The vegetables sector continued to be strengthened, e.g. by reducing vegetables imports from other countries. This list of our joint accomplishments is too long; I will never manage to be exhaustive.

An official visit of the President of National Council of the Swiss Confederation to Mongolia

04.07.2019 — Press release Mongolia
Marking the 55^th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 15^th year of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Mongolia, the President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation Ms. Marina Carobbio Guscetti and the Swiss Ambassador to Mongolia Mr. Bernardino Regazzoni paid an official visit to Mongolia in June, on invitation from the Mongolian Parliamentary Speaker G. Zandanshatar.

Mongolia moves forward on rangeland protection

18.06.2019 — Press release Mongolia

With 57 percent of Mongolia’s rangelands already degraded, of which 10 percent are beyond recovery, the future for hundreds of thousands of herder families hangs in the balance.

The urgency of situation was a call to action for the more than 850 people who gathered at Parliament House on May 7 to discuss ways to improve the current regulatory environment governing rangeland use and protection. Among them were 720 herders and representatives from all 21 aimags and 331 soums in Mongolia.

Improved access to services for survivors of gender-based violence

11.06.2019 — Press release Mongolia
Through the "Combating Gender-Based Violence in Mongolia" Project of UNFPA, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the Mongolian Government, seven new One Stop Service Centers (OSSCs) have been opened in five provinces - Khuvsgul, Bayan-Ulgii, Darkhan-Uul, Khentii, and Dornod - as well as two districts of Ulaanbaatar - Khan-Uul and Bayanzurkh - within the last year. Another two Centers are expected to be launched in Umnogobi and Uvurkhangai in 2019.

ASM Formalisation: Mongolia’s five ingredients for success

08.05.2019 — Press release Mongolia
An estimated 40 million people are engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) around the world. We know that poverty is the most significant driver for this industry, and the dream of discovering a valuable deposit is hard to resist. In all countries, ASM remains predominantly informal; miners occupy the margins, and are a stigmatised sub-section of society living an economically and socially precarious existence. Governments and downstream companies are increasingly recognising that ASM, as the livelihood of many, could and should be considered a significant contributor to global development and granted a legitimate role in global supply chains. Formalising, legalising and regulating the sector has the potential to further many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, from advancing gender equality to increasing the contribution of ASM to the local and national economy.

Call for art and culture project proposals

22.01.2019 — Press release Mongolia
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Mongolia is calling for proposals for art and culture projects with the aim to foster local cultural identity and artistic diversity and encourage the creative use of art for social transformation and development in Mongolia.

Federal elections 2019 – Vote!

18.01.2019 — Press release Mongolia
On 20 October 2019, elections will be held to fill Switzerland's 246 parliamentary seats. Swiss nationals living abroad, who are included in the Register of the Swiss Abroad, can vote for candidates and stand for election themselves.