Civic and Voter Education

The Law on General Election Commission approved by the State Great Hural (SGH) in 2006, for the first time defined voter education and related training and research as the duty of the General Election Commission of Mongolia (GEC). National Programs approved by the SGH or the Cabinet also refer to democracy education to various extents.

Mongolia’s Law on Education defines the purpose of education as “… rearing of a citizen with adequate mental, ethical and physical capacities and competencies for upholding humane ideals and pursuing independent learning, livelihood and employment” and states that “Education in Mongolia shall be humane, democratic, continuous and accessible to all and shall be rooted in national and universal civilizational values, progressive traditions and science”.

Civic Education is implemented as a part of school curriculum in primary level in Mongolia. It includes moral education, traditional lifestyle, national cultural heritage, personal dispositions and skills of a citizen, relationship between the state and citizen and responsibilities of a citizen.

The real purpose of democracy education is to help in developing the young generation that has an ability to respect laws and exercises civil duties and responsibilities through implementation of their own rights. In other words, democracy education is education in self-government.

Mongolian non-governmental organizations contribute to the development of democracy education through extracurricular programs. Informing and educating citizens is one of the key areas of NGOs’ activity. This relates primarily, if not solely, to NGOs that have carried out public education programs on democracy, human rights, gender equality, reproductive health, gender-based violence, civic and voter education, children’s rights, citizen oversight of government, citizen participation in budget processes, legal reform, international treaties and many other subjects. NGOs make a wide use of seminars and training programs and, increasingly, publications in their public education programs.

Since 1990s, many CSOs have been actively engaged in education for democracy such as Civic Education Center, Mongolian Foundation for Open Society, Democracy Education Center, Academy of political Education NGO, and Voter Education Center.

Source
Background Paper #8, Role of Educational Institutions in the Enhancement and Dissemination of Democracy, Ms. Undral Gombodorj (Democracy Education Centre, Mongolia), The 6th International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD-6), Doha, Qatar 29 October-1 November, 2006, “Building Capacity for Democracy, Peace and Social Progress”

National Democracy Education Action Plan Mongolia, 2015, the Council for a Community of Democracies (CCD) and the Center for Citizens’ Alliance
http://www.ccd21.org/activities/education/pilot_projects/Mongolia_NDEAP_final.pdf.

Resource :

PDF : Mongolia: Voter Education Survey (The Asia Foundation: 2009)
PDF : Voter Education Seminar (IFES: 1995) – The report discusses voter’s rights and responsibilities, women’s issues in the 1990, 1992, and 1993 parliamentary and presidential elections, as well as a summary of data gathered on voter education.
PDF : Background Paper #8, Role of Educational Institutions in the Enhancement and Dissemination of Democracy, Ms. Undral Gombodorj (Democracy Education Centre: 2006) Background paper for The 6th International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD-6) Doha, Qatar 29 October-1 November, 2006 “Building Capacity for Democracy, Peace and Social Progress”.

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