Just a short post this morning. I received an invitation to meet with Deputy Mayor Purevdavaa, the newly elected mayor of the captial city of Ulaanbaatar at 11:00 a.m. today! I'm very excited to meet with him. I wonder if the issues and challenges he faces are similar to those of our mayors? The mayoral candidates run on a slate of candidates from each political party so it is very partisan.
(Note: In Ulaanbaatar, the mayor and deputy mayors are all referred to as mayor. Mayor Purevdavaa is deputy in charge of industrial and ecological sectors of the city's administration. We had a productive meeting. He asked to continue our discussion and asked if KLC would be interested in a cooperative agreement so that we could exchange information about public participation and engagement in some of their thorny issues such as public concerns over environmental issues related to the booming industrial and mining sectors. He is a very intense gentleman with many responsibilities. We had a thirty minute discussion which is an eternity for any mayor!)
In the August 2012 elections, the Democratic Party, also known as the Reform Party, won the national races for the first time since 1996. Every person I've met this week has expressed the uncertainty that looms over Mongolian politics and there seems to be an uneasiness in the capital city among the NGO's and technocrats which is understandable. Really, not that much different from the US following an election in which party control changes hands.
Immediately following the meeting, Hatnaa and I will travel to Khar-knorum, the ancient capital city of Chenggis Khan and the Mongolian Empire for the weekend. It's about a 7 hour drive. We'll visit some of the villages and soums (small cities) along the way. We're staying with some of Mongolia's nomads in a Ger camp which are essentially tent cities. I'm not talking about camping tents either. They are about as big as a small house back in Kentucky. Can you believe some of them have wi-fi? Even the nomads are "connected."
Here are a couple of photos of a Ger tent. One of the community development organizations that I met with yesterday has its office in a Ger.
I'm looking forward to this adventure, and I'll take plenty of pictures. I'll be out of touch for a bit, and the blog will resume when I get back. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Talk with you soon.
Davaakhuu Purevdavaa, Vice-Mayor of Ulaanbaatar City in charge of Industry and Ecology
(Note: In Ulaanbaatar, the mayor and deputy mayors are all referred to as mayor. Mayor Purevdavaa is deputy in charge of industrial and ecological sectors of the city's administration. We had a productive meeting. He asked to continue our discussion and asked if KLC would be interested in a cooperative agreement so that we could exchange information about public participation and engagement in some of their thorny issues such as public concerns over environmental issues related to the booming industrial and mining sectors. He is a very intense gentleman with many responsibilities. We had a thirty minute discussion which is an eternity for any mayor!)
In the August 2012 elections, the Democratic Party, also known as the Reform Party, won the national races for the first time since 1996. Every person I've met this week has expressed the uncertainty that looms over Mongolian politics and there seems to be an uneasiness in the capital city among the NGO's and technocrats which is understandable. Really, not that much different from the US following an election in which party control changes hands.
Immediately following the meeting, Hatnaa and I will travel to Khar-knorum, the ancient capital city of Chenggis Khan and the Mongolian Empire for the weekend. It's about a 7 hour drive. We'll visit some of the villages and soums (small cities) along the way. We're staying with some of Mongolia's nomads in a Ger camp which are essentially tent cities. I'm not talking about camping tents either. They are about as big as a small house back in Kentucky. Can you believe some of them have wi-fi? Even the nomads are "connected."
Here are a couple of photos of a Ger tent. One of the community development organizations that I met with yesterday has its office in a Ger.
I'm looking forward to this adventure, and I'll take plenty of pictures. I'll be out of touch for a bit, and the blog will resume when I get back. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Talk with you soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment