Each year, the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar conducts outreach to rural areas to meet with Mongolians, discuss Embassy programs, and engage aimag leaders in education, civil society, and government. On May 17-23, 2015, staff members from the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy conducted an educational and cultural outreach in Bayankhongor and Gobi-Altai aimags. The staff members traveled over 2,000 kilometers and met with over 1400 rural people, including local government leaders and professionals, artists, secondary and university students and teachers, as well as the general public. In addition to the Embassy staff, the U.S. outreach participants included an Education USA representative, Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, a Fulbright Researcher, and an American volunteer teacher.
At meetings with aimag governors and educational and cultural department chief officers, Public Affairs Associate Shannon Moore presented the areas of collaboration between the aimags and the U.S. Embassy. She also described the educational and cultural programs offered by the U.S. Embassy to Mongolians and emphasized the Embassy’s interest in increasing the involvement of professionals and students from rural parts of Mongolia in its scholarship programs. At the local museums, libraries and theaters, Embassy staff discussed U.S. Government grant opportunities for preserving cultural and historic heritage, in addition to learning about the local history and ethnic culture. In both aimags, Ms. Moore conducted grant workshops to inform local NGOs about the grant opportunities and teach them about best practices for writing a successful grant proposal. At local colleges, vocational training centers, and universities, Embassy staff met with students and faculty and discussed the scholarship programs offered by the U.S. Government. The team also organized public presentations and facilitated question and answer sessions about the grants and scholarship programs funded by the U.S. Government that are available to the general public.
During the trip, the team visited 9 local secondary schools where they were warmly welcomed by talented students and teachers. The team enjoyed learning about the successes of the rural schools, organizing English and cultural lessons and speaking about U.S. universities and scholarship opportunities. The team also visited orphanage centers, centers for children with disabilities, and an elderly care facility where they taught English songs, played games, engaged in conversations comparing American and Mongolian culture, and delivered donations from Embassy staff. In each of the aimags, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Sarah Tomlinson conducted a teacher training for local English teachers. The team gave TV and radio interviews in each aimag and the local media covered many of the events during the trip.