Mongolia

A decline in voter turnout is a growing concern for democracy in Mongolia. Using social media campaigns and interactive content in 2020, the Foundation supported a range of youth and women-led organizations to improve voter education and energize youth political participation. Social media campaigns including democracy hackathons, youth policy dialogues, and networking events reached 19,000+ people and accumulated 8 million social media impressions. These efforts helped contribute to a 12 percent increase in voter turnout among 18-25-year-olds, an increase not observed in any other age group.

Despite challenges produced by the global pandemic, The Asia Foundation’s Women Business Center (WBC) registered 600 new clients this past year; conducted 196 individual and group advisory sessions; provided 31 online training courses for 1,000+ participants; and hosted 13 networking events. Seventy percent of graduates of the center’s flagship Business Incubator program are now employing other women. The WBC also launched psychosocial counseling services and small grant support for women entrepreneurs facing hardships caused by the pandemic.