CASE STUDY 4: UN + UNDP Mongolia | 1997 - 1999 Images
Expertise: Crisis leadership, mission leadership, strategy, communications, web strategy, digital media, crisis recovery, public health, Northeast Asia, UN system.
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 1997 to 1999
UN/UNDP Mongolia Communications Coordinator: David South
The Partnership for Progress brochure raised the curtain on my work in Mongolia. It detailed the country situation and gave a brief overview of Mongolia's journey after Communism.
As part of a busy bilingual publishing programme, small format handbooks were distributed across Mongolia.
A sample of the many publications helping to explain the human development situation in Mongolia during the 1990s.
The Blue Sky Bulletin proved to be a popular resource on how Mongolia was faring during its turbulent 1990s transition.
Various special publications were released to address crises. An HIV/AIDS crisis erupted in 1997 and the Mongolian AIDS Bulletin provided crucial health information and kick-started Mongolia's response. The ongoing political crisis required a special edition of Mongolia Update to help readers better understand what was going on.
Cited by many publications on Mongolia, the UN Mongolia Annual Report 1998 was called by Under-Secretary-General Nafis Sadik “a clear, well-written, attractive and colourful report.”
The UNDP Mongolia Communications Office pioneered online and digital media in Mongolia. This included the country's first online magazine, Ger. Showing how ahead of the curve Mongolia was, the German news weekly Der Spiegel featured my photo taken in the Gobi desert in its profile of the Internet revolution.
United Nations identification card circa 1997.
UNDP Mongolia staff photo 1997. I served for two years as the UNDP Mongolia head of communications (1997-1999). I am sitting front row centre beside UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative Douglas Gardner.
Timeline
1997: Arrive in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, to undertake a two-year assignment with the United Nations mission. Quickly get to work founding the UNDP Mongolia Communications Office and pursuing a strategic communications approach with a busy online and offline bilingual publishing programme. Launch award-winning UN Mongolia Development Web Portal (www.un-mongolia.mn). Launch first Human Development Report Mongolia 1997, and a Mongolian AIDS Bulletin during crisis.
1998: International media tours of the country, launching of Mongolia’s first online magazine, Ger, distribute globally a regular newsletter on Mongolia’s development challenges, Blue Sky Bulletin. Open United Nations Info Shop for the public.
1999: Launch a string of books documenting insights gleaned from the Mongolia development experience.
Testimonials
“Mongolia is not an easy country to live in and David [South] showed a keen ability to adapt in difficult circumstances. He was sensitive to the local habits and cultures and was highly respected by his Mongolian colleagues. … David’s journalism background served him well in his position as Director of the Communications Unit. … A major accomplishment … was the establishment of the UNDP web site. He had the artistic flare, solid writing talent and organizational skills that made this a success. … we greatly appreciated the talents and contributions of David South to the work of UNDP in Mongolia.” Douglas Gardner, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Mongolia
Publications
David South Consulting Summary of Impact
Environmental Public Awareness Handbook: Case Studies and Lessons Learned in Mongolia
Ger Magazine: Modern Life Issue
Human Development Report Mongolia 1997
Mongolia Update - Coverage of 1998 Political Changes
Partnership for Progress: The United Nations Development Programme in Mongolia
UNDP Mongolia Online Development Portal
Stories
Freedom of Expression: Introducing Investigative Journalism to Local Media in Mongolia
Philippine Conference Tackles Asia’s AIDS Crisis
Starting from Scratch: The Challenge of Transition
UNDP Mongolia Partnership for Progress 1997 to 1999 Key Documents
A UNDP Success Story: Grassroots Environmental Campaign Mobilizes Thousands in Mongolia
Citations
The response by the UNDP Mongolia Communications Office has been cited in numerous articles, books, publications and stories. It has also contributed to the development of the human development concept and understanding of human resilience in a crisis and innovation in a crisis.
Book citations include:
Dateline Mongolia: An American Journalist in Nomad's Land by Michael Kohn, RDR Books, 2006
Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia by Jill Lawless, ECW Press, 2000
A more detailed list of citations can be found here: http://www.davidsouthconsulting.com/about/
For research purposes, key documents were compiled together and published online here: https://books.google.ca/books?id=K76jBgAAQBAJ&dq=undp+mongolia+key+documents&source=gbs_navlinks_s
This resource was praised for having: “Very useful references and original materials that documented UNDP Mongolia work. I needed to trace community-based development, and this book provided a valuable source.” Review on Google Books
In 2001, the UN won the Nobel Peace Prize for “their work for a better organized and more peaceful world” and its communications innovations, with work such as that in Mongolia being cited as a contributing factor to the awarding of the Prize.
In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were launched in a 15-year bid to use a focused approach to development centred around eight goals to accelerate improvements to human development. From 2000 to 2005, consulting work was undertaken in various UN missions (Mongolia, South Africa, Turkmenistan, Ukraine) to communicate the goals and to reshape communications activities around the goals.
*Transition and Democracy in Mongolia by Richard Pomfret, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Jan., 2000), pp. 149-160, published by Taylor & Francis, Ltd. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/153756?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)
Mongolia prepares for a magazine explosion by Jill Lawless, UB Post, 08-09-98
© David South Consulting 2017