INFORMATION PROGRAM

Goal: The information program seeks to support creation, development and dissemination of knowledge and information demanded by the local needs, through supporting the creation of the content and enabling the access to the content; enhancing intermediate institutions, which could facilitate the use of the created information through the model sites and through making changes in the Information Program areas and this way influencing to the development of the necessary policy and legal documents to guarantee the government involvement in the implementation activities within this area.

Program description:
The mission of the Information Program of the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society for 2002 was to strengthen the systems that provide citizens and organizations with the information and communication necessary to find opportunities and make decisions that improve their lives. The program supported the use of traditional and new technologies as tools to provide access to quality information, information use, and information dissemination, all of which allow citizen participation in decision making processes for better, transparent and open governance as well as allow the empowerment of civil society through the tools of information and communications technology.

Startegic objectives:
· The development of the tools, toolkits and other materials for media, government, NGOs, business to improve make those institutions sustainable and benefit from using information and technologies
· Targeted staff development and training will be carried out, perhaps coupled with limited financial support, to ensure the success of the Foundation's investment in community information centers to make them more sustainable

The integration of the national content into the global content in English language (science, humanities, social science and others) will enhance the presence of Mongolian content in the global content market.

Program summary and achievements:
The Mongolian Information Development Application Scheme-II project has been successfully carried out by MIDAS, an NGO, to provide support for the development of Mongolian language applications and software for civil society organizations. Out of 76 projects applying for grants, 21 projects, addressing pressing needs of Mongolian language applications and software, were supported. These included applications of e-office management, step-by-step guided development of business plans, an on-line library database, and many other applications.

The Information Program together with the NGO Support Program focused their attention on the implementation of the NGO Resource Center project. The Open Web Center project, previously implemented by the Internet and Information Center, an NGO, has been carried out by the activities of a team consisting of national staff and UNVs. Multiple discussions, round-table meetings, and study tours to countries with the experience of setting up NGO resource centers were organized throughout the year to fully address capacity building and information and networking needs of Mongolian NGOs. As a result of joint efforts, the Open Center for NGOs project was developed and approved for implementation in 2003.

Based on the results of evaluations and recommendations from the previously supported Community Information Center projects implemented in Bayankhongor, Umnugobi, and Dornod aimags, the second and third phases of the project were successfully carried out by the Information Program, namely, the Aimag-Wide Area Network and Cyber Aimag projects. The Aimag-Wide Area Network project has been implemented in three aimags to provide access to the Internet and its services to schools, local governor offices, judicial departments and media organizations through high-speed radio modem connections. Considering the need for experience and acquiring knowledge, the Information Program together with the East-East Program initiated and got support for the implementation of the Experience-Sharing Trip to Baltic Countries project. The project enabled managers of community information centers, Cyber Aimag project coordinators, and administrators of the Aimag-Wide Area Network of Dornod, Bayankhongor and Umnugobi aimags visit Lithuania to learn from their experiences of setting up, functioning and operating library-based community information centers. The participants of this study tour are now working on ways of implementing ideas and recommendations received from this trip and integrating them into the Cyber Aimag of Mongolia project. The Cyber Aimag project is currently being implemented in these aimags to address the information needs of the citizens of the aimags, the provision of demand-based information, and the conducting of capacity building exercises. A joint project of UNDP, VSO and MFOS, the E-teams project to identify the information needs of rural communities and provide demand-based services and information is currently being implemented in Umnugobi aimag, with VSO and National UNV selected and placed there. Within the framework of the project, a survey was conducted by the E-teams project and will be followed up in 2003.

In addition to implementing these projects in three aimags of Mongolia, the Information Program also supported initiatives to organize regional conferences on the development of information and communications technology in rural areas, namely in Uvs and Bayan-Ulgii aimags. The proposal from West.com company of Khovd aimag was approved to establish an Internet service provider in Khovd aimag to provide services for pupils, students, teachers, NGOs and governmental organizations.

As a member of the Global consortium, MFOS supported Mongolia to have access to electronic information for libraries, particularly to the EBSCO database of over 5,000 journals and publications on science and technology, social sciences, economics, business and other areas. In order to improve public awareness of this opportunity and to educate students, teachers, researchers and others, the project was implemented at the National University of Mongolia, Mongolian University of Technology, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, and Amarjargal Foundation. As a result of the project, Mongolia moved from the bottom of the list of number of hits and searches within the EBSCO database to tenth place out of over forty-six countries subscribed to this database.

Moreover, the last Book Donation project was developed and implemented in 2002. As a result of the intensive work, 62 out of 172 books and 17,127 copies were selected to be distributed to public libraries and research centers in Mongolia. The specifics of this project outlined that public and school libraries, resource centers and others would share fifty percent of the cost for the purchase of the books in order to participate in this project.

Finally, a project was developed and started in 2002 to translate and publish books and publications on civil society developmental issues. Based on recommendations of professionals and experts, ten books were selected for translation and publication, and this project will be continued throughout 2003.