DEMO - Democracy Education Center

Ms. Gombodorj Undral is the director of the Democracy Education Center (DEMO) and coordinator of the Civil Society Council (not to be confused with the Civil Servants Council).  The mission of DEMO is to build the civic capacity of Mongolia's non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  NGOs play an important role in building neighborhoods through citizen participation and conduct research to measure the progress of democracy in the country.

 

Ms. Gombodojr Undral, Director of the Democracy Education Center

 

Prior to the 1990's NGOs were created from the top down.  In other words, only one party of government decided that a NGO needed to be created, for what purpose and who ran it.  In 1997, the NGO Law was enacted by the State Great Hural.  The modern NGO is created at the grassroots level by social activists who want to improve the quality of life in Mongolia.  The American Federation of Teachers came to Mongolia in the late 1990's to develop the leadership capacity of NGOs.  The skills that were taught fundamentally changed the way in which NGOs operated as well as their effectiveness in initiating social and economic change.  Over 12,000 NGOs are registered with the Mongolian State Registrar's Office. 

 

DEMO functions as a clearinghouse for research, training, and innovation.  It is much more than a resource center.  DEMO is "boots on the ground" in implementing change.  In 2007, 10-15% of NGOs were active and functioning.  In 2009, the Civil Society Council implemented a program of accountability for its member NGOs.  23 NGOs  monitor the quality of public accounting.

 

The year 2013 will be a watershed year for Mongolia.  For the first time, the national budget law will mandate that tax funds be returned to local communities and that citizens will drive the decision-making process in terms of where the money is spent and on what projects.  NGOs will assist with the process of public input, development of strategic plans and implementation accountability. 

 

One incredible example of the power of the NGOs to implement change comes froma school district in which students were having to share textbooks...sometimes one textbook for three children.  An NGO started asking questions.   Government officials were stymied.  The books had been bought.  The money had been paid.  The principal and teachers had not received the textbooks and no one could find the answer to this mystery.

 

One day local activists (actually parents and citizens of the community) showed up at the school demanding answers.  They conducted their own search of the school.  In a back room down a long hallway, they discovered a locked door.  Lo and behold, textbooks were found stacked in boxes from the floor to the ceiling.  As many as could be stuffed in the room.  What was going on?  They discovered that the school officials had made a deal with a manufacturing firm to sell the textbooks so that the factories could make toilet paper.  Now, isn't that a crock???  The manufacturer was getting cheap paper and the school officials were pocketing the money.

 

Back to the meeting - In the early part of the last decade, over 100 NGOs of the Civil Society Council met to ask one questions - Should we cooperate with the government?  The past tactics of veiled threats and confrontational meetings were accomplishing little so a new approach seemed in order.  In 2008, the Civil Society Council worked with Parliament to pass Resolution 93 that established a cooperative agreement betweeen the government and the society.

 

Over the next five years, the Civil Society Council wants to expand its role as an accountability partner with the government particularly in economic reform.  They have established the Partnership for Social Accountability.  The goal is to establish ten new NGOs working in each government sector (environment, health, education, mining, etc.) 

 

I asked about the state of philanthropy and corporate giving in Mongolia.  Currently, the Mongolian government does not provide any tax break or incentive for charitable giving.  The council is working with Parliament to draft the Law on public Benefit Activities.  The council hopes that providing tax incentives for donors will create new public-private partnership activities and encourage large corporations to take an active role in building a better quality of life for all Mongolians.

 

Ms. Urdral currently works with over 900 NGOs through the Democracy Education Center and the Civil Society Council.  She is passionate about improving community life and building a better quality of life for her fellow citizens.