Category Archives: Reflections

Chasing Mongolia

Stephanie Zimmerling, MASc Mining Engineering // Jan 15, 2015

I am incredibly excited to be working on the EITI project in Mongolia and it feels like my involvement with this subject has been a long time coming. I completed my undergraduate degree in 2010 and at the time contemplated pursuing my Masters in Mining Engineering focusing on social, socio-economic and environmental impacts. At the time, it seemed everyone I spoke with pointed to Mongolia and the development of the Oyu Tolgoi mine and what it meant for he nomadic culture. I began familiarizing myself with the subject and became fascinated with the culture. I wanted to understand the implications of mining activity on the nomadic culture and the transition of individuals to urban life.
Well… I did not end up pursing my Masters at that time and instead spent the better half of 2 years traveling. I have dabbled in other areas as an engineer, but now find myself right back where I started pursuing a Masters in Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Coincidentally, I even wrote of my knowledge of the implications of mining activity in Mongolia in my Statement of Intent. I wrote of my desire to pursue studies in this area and how “the development of Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia’s Gobi desert is currently changing the landscape of the nomadic culture present in the same area. As this is a new area affected by the development of the mine, I am interested in exploring the extent of the impacts occurring in this region. The intention would be to address issues relating to water management, environmental sustainability and the social issues arising as herders try to transition in a more urban lifestyle. […] I hope to develop a framework and recommendations for addressing Mongolia’s issues.”
 
My thesis has since morphed into something different, which for the record I am quite happy with, but my desire to contribute to the evolving landscape in Mongolia is ever-present. I could not be MORE excited to be involved with this project. As Debbie highlights below, I have the same flurry of questions and cannot wait to begin answering them. 

On the Importance of Self-Reflection in an Experiential Learning Project

Julian Dierkes // Jan 14, 2015

In the current iteration of the Asia Pacific Policy Project, we’re asking participants to regularly reflect on their experience on this blog. They will be sharing information and concrete lessons that they’ve learned, but we will also be encouraging them to reflect on the experience of an experiential learning project of this kind.

Since the Project is more of a structure in which learning occurs than a course in which the instructors (Dirk van Zyl, UBC Mining Engineering and myself) teach, such reflections are especially important for student to understand and realize the learning that they are doing. We know from many conversations with participants in previous Projects that the experience of an applied, problem-driven, teamwork-based project of this kind has been very valuable and that they have learned a lot about themselves, the nature of teamwork, the open-endedness and indeterminacy of policy-making , and about the subject matter that projects have covered. By reflecting more explicitly about such lessons, we are hoping that students will be focused even more on their learning and view their participation in the Project as an opportunity for the acquisition of policy-analysis, but also project management skills that will be useful to them in professional careers.

We are expecting all participants to post to this blog at least six times over the course of the Spring 2015 term (Jan-April). Obviously, more frequent posts will also be welcome. These posts are written for three different audiences: students themselves (reflection for learning), other participants (information), and the interested public (reflections and information). They will not be edited, but we will try to build up a categorization structure that will allow readers to navigate within posts. Posts will be identified by their author.

Obviously, posts will be of varying length, from brief two-paragraph descriptions of a reflective moment of discovery to a much more extended and more substantive discussion of a specific aspect of the localization of the EITI in Mongolia or elsewhere.

Some students are likely to also include their posts in other social media activities that will allow them to incorporate participation in the project into the construction of a portfolio with an eye toward their future careers.

The Continuation of an Asia Pacific Policy Project

Julian Dierkes // Jan 13, 2015

The Spring 2015 project will be the first time that we’ll be continuing an Asia Pacific Policy Project from a previous (academic) year and I’m very curious to see whether that will make a difference to how the project unfolds.

In Spring 2014 the project initially familiarized itself with EITI reconciliation reports to then delve deeper into how these reports could be communicated in a different/additional way to receive more attention in civil society and in Mongolia overall. One of the great successes of this project were the three presentations students gave in Ulaanbaatar in early June to the Ministry of Mining, to NGOs (facilitated and hosted by the EITI Secretariat) and to the Mongolian University of Science and Technology. These presentations showcased the project to Mongolian audiences and will allow us to build on a familiarity with our Project in the current iteration.

While we’re still waiting on a decision about some funding for the Project that will allow participants to travel to Mongolia and thus engage stakeholders even more directly, the fact that some connections around the topic of the EITI in Mongolia have been established already will likely make a big difference this Spring. It also raised the expectations, internally as well as externally.

As we’re focusing on structures and initiatives to create local engagement with the EITI as well as support for reporting at the local level, we are taking the Project in a somewhat different direction. Local-level reporting is new to EITI reporting in Mongolia and elsewhere, so we may find that we’ll have fewer international examples of activities to draw on than we did last year in a focus on communications. But, that means that there is significant room for students’ creativity in imagining or recommending solutions and initiatives.

 

And… off to another Asia Pacific Policy Project: EITI Localization in Mongolia

Debbie Prasad, MAAPPS // Jan 12, 2015

The wait is over and the 2015 mining policy project in Mongolia has finally begun! As a part of this team, I am excited to have the opportunity to finally put the theories I have learned about policy, into practice. As a future potential policy maker, this type of project in which one gains experience in applying policymaking is invaluable.

In my opinion, in order to make successful policies, it is important for a policymaker to understand their audience. It is also important to be aware of the fact that one policy implementation in one region may not be applicable in another. The lanes and avenues of the regions of the globe are diverse, and it is important to realize what each of these lanes and avenues identify with the most. It may not necessarily be true that a mining policy that was successful in Azerbaijan, will have the same success in Mongolia. The quest is to ask, why this may be the case?  I am a newcomer to the mining industry and to Mongolia, and thus I have many questions as I begin this venture. Having questions, and seeking to find answers to these questions will enable me to understand the mining industry, and more importantly, Mongolia. 

My flurry of questions start with: what are some Mongolian cultural norms? What is it that Mongolians identify with the most? Like India, and the Philippines, do Mongolians also identify with idolizing Bollywood or jamming to Pinoy Music? What about their political views? What is the voter turnout in a Mongolian election? Wait- do they have elections? What are the population demographics? Is the population more urban or rural? How does the “average Joe” Mongolian feel about the mining industry in Mongolia? How deeply is an average Mongolian citizen involved in mining? So many questions, and so many answers that need to be searched for!

The most important question of all though, pertains to the weather app on my phone. Today at 9:00 am local Ulaanbataar time, the temperature was -27degrees Celsius, which begs the question…..do Mongolian homes, particularly in the province of Selenge have central heating???

Best experience ever.

 

Hello guys. This is Saya. (As we all japanese students use “moriken” account, I guess it would be better to state who is writing first.)
I hope everyone is doing fine.

 

Reflecting the memories of the program,  it was definetely a great opportunity.
I was working for Labour/Environment/Development/IPR.
As Julia posted previously, our group was quite cooporative, and it allowed our articles to be creative.
Our discussion was not controversial as other teams, but I do believe that these areas are very important for both countries.
Those are global issues which both Japan and Canada have responsibilities to work for as a highly developed country.
However, the thing is when it comes to negotiation for climate change, for exmaple, it suddenly becomes a highly political issue, like which country should be included or which year sould be made a reference year.
What has been left behind is… maybe the victims currently suffered from climate change, and I think that is one of the main areas which current negotiation lacks scope.

 

Anyways, again it was so nice to participate in this program.
We studied a lot, met so many people from institutions, and had loads of fun!
I was so amazed how smart, active and kind the UBC students are.
I even felt sorry that we Japanese students didn’t prepare much as you did, also for my poor English skill.
But still, it was so academically-inspiring, fun experience.
I would like to say thank you for professors to make this event happen, people from institutions for giving us great advice, and Canadian students to plan this wonderful program and your friendship.
Let’s keep in touch.