How does GER to GER Spend its Funds and Time?

In addition to Giving Back 70% to 80% Towards Rural Social Economic Development, We Carryout Research Works in Numerous Fields to Enhance Social Economic Supply and Value Chains

Zanjan Fromer

Working within a Reality: Mongolia, Emerging from 300 Years of Oppression

Sometimes its difficult to conceptualize an organization giving so much of its revenues towards nomadic families and rural communities, hence we are humanitarians and social economic developers operating in the private sector. Yes, GER to GER doesn’t make any of us rich at all, so why do we continue to work for such an organization? That’s just the point, our measure of wealth is calculated very differently – we calculate the wealth of a people and a nation in it’s equal opportunities and the extended geographical distribution of this wealth to its population within an open market economy scenario. The more jobs and opportunities that we can create, both directly and in-directly, across a country and/or countries (initial project location: Mongolia – a country traditionally sandwiched between Russian and China; its two past historical communist Masters), allows for greater fostering of mutual-understanding between Mongolia and other Global Partner countries as it grows into its position of becoming a responsible partner within the Global Community. Regardless, Mongolia still has and will continue to have its growing pains owing to its past history; it will continued to be lightly challenged from time to time. Over the past years, Mongols are showing positive adaptive signs here and there, a portion of the population is trying to become more aware, more tolerant while maintaining their self-control; based on personal research. Now I am not giving the Mongols a high score-card by any means, but I do recognize the effort made by many – something of which should be properly considered in light of their overall challenges. Regardless, there is a portion of the population that struggles with the choices of their life and often still revert to old and outdated practices; but they will have to adapt or they will become obsolete and discarded. In today’s modernized world there is little need for the “cold-war/closed minded soviet mentality” – such people will have no choice but to re-learn or become omitted as they don’t contribute towards positive growth but rather slow it down or even stagnate it completely. Studies have been carried out on company level that can be interpreted at country level, those that observe the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UNHDR) have measured an increase of 40% productivity within their company among employees; now translate that on country level and even on international level. When one considers that Open Market Economics coupled with UNDHR, those old mentalities will have no option but to adjust or they will simply go out of business and become obsolete in the following decades.

Hence, international donors from around the world have been working collectively side-by-side with Mongolia since the early 1990s and have invested well over several 100s of millions of taxpayer’s USD into this country. Based on that enormous international investment from the Global Community, we are all counting on Mongolia to produce a strong Return On Investments (ROIs), and if not, then the next question becomes – who is going to carryout the Monitor and Evaluation Reports for Accountability?

Potential: SWOT – RealTime Testing and Analyzation

It is for this very reason that Mongolia could potentially become a beacon of democracy and liberty within the region (in the near or distant future – depending on their Level of Effort LOE) that has been both historically and traditionally been dominated, controlled and oppressed by very strong socialist regimes. Mongolia’s biggest issue beyond nationalism, paranoid suspicions, intolerance, etc., is their short-term vision; very difficult issue for many Mongols – Soviets did a massive head-job on them. Being a small nation of Mongol warriors that once frightened their larger neighbors and even the known world into defensive and befriending approaches, today the Mongols may be returning to the Ancient path of maintaining their Independent Sovereign Strength within the Region; seeking partnerships/handshakes than bowing to past Masters (today’s young and middle aged nation’s mentality). But like many overly excited White Belts (Mongolia as entire population is generally a White Belt Nation when it comes to “feeling” (not merely understanding) other cultures of Europe and Western Nations when slightly challenged; Mongols like to force others to adhere to their culture rather than seeking flexibility), Mongolia still has a great deal to learn when it comes to working both ethically and efficiently with Western and European Societies within internationally accepted norms and practices. Mongols must control their extreme impulses, not to be so easily influenced by what people say and think about the Mongols or Mongolia, and learn to accept their history and issues that exist within their language, minds and hearts before they can become the Masters that they wish to become so eagerly; it’s a great source of power if embraced. Some shared wisdom, it took Taiwan 100 years until they were able to go beyond the semantics and “feel” the culture like western and European societies; proper comprehension leads to enhanced mutual understanding, communications, relations, innovation, etc., the possibilities are endless – but be mindful, its not enough to just “understand”.

Example of One Major Weakness – Limitation of Mongolian Language Towards Innovation

General recommendation, improve semantics of all foreign words introduced into Mongolian language across population to enhanced cross cultural communications, innovation, etc. Seriously, Mongolia needs to fix the language when it comes incorporating foreign words and their semantics into Mongolian language properly; Soviet censorship didn’t include all Western and European semantics properly into Mongolian language hence all the issues in the past 25 or so years since 1989 (all sectors, industries, etc.). Mongolia as an Independent country must start to learn properly, not just relying on the 1% of your population as most new IT Innovations are being carried out originally in English and then into other languages; only after several decades do foreign languages adapt all meanings in their own languages. Regardless of the time investment, look where other countries are today in their social economic development process that have properly incorporated Western and European Terms and Semantics across their population: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, India, etc. Now refer to the all other countries that have not properly adopted all European and Western terminology’s semantics… Its pretty clear that the greater ratio of those that have achieved it properly have better relations, greater levels of nationwide innovation, etc.

Importance: Self-Discovery

Allowing a Nation to discover the pathway towards Democracy is an important process and not an easy road to walk alone; hence, at GER to GER we try to setup cultural exchanges via community based cultural ecotourism to which we share the benefits across the entire country. This approach allows us to stimulate various nodes across multiple paralleling supply and value chains that assists in job market diversification, industry developments, health, education, small medium enterprise development, etc.

We Understand: We’re Empathetic

GER to GER understands the challenges, constraints and difficulties that rural communities and its inhabitants will have to face all the way up the various chains to international levels – hence, our approach is not aimed towards profiteering but rather systematic, strategic and sustainable development of the nation’s resources.

Sustained Growth vs. Bubble: Maintaining Social Economic Benefits into the Future

So, what do we spend our money on? On fostering a nation’s human resources, cultural resources, multiple industries systematically along various supply and value chains, etc., to ensure greater self-reliance, knowledge sharing, cross-cultural understanding and more.

We operate along social economic supply and value chains to ensure that we play a supportive role in positively influence numerous industry along paralleling and sometimes cross nodes between chains; added value.

Hence, its not like investing into a building where there is risk till you get your minimal % of clients required to carryout initial construction… and if not, then “pop goes the bubble”.

Who Dictates: Who is Allowed and Not Allowed to Enjoy Prosperity?

Mongolia is entering into the next level, but that opportunity should and shall not be enjoyed and dictated by just a few elite people or interest groups; it should be shared among the nation’s peoples without prejudice (including internationals).

Vision of Sustainability: 50 Years? 100 Years? 200 Years? How Long is Your Vision?

Also, its important to remember that though mining industry brings benefits – it needs to raise the standard of living across the entire country (population’s minimal wage or annual dividends to all Mongolian residents – like in Alaska) rather than a few locations to become truly beneficial. If and when that happens, Mongolia will most like resort back to its traditional GDPs (Meat, Tourism and Cashmere) to maintain the country’s sustainability into 100, 200, 300 years into the future. Unless they find another massive deposit, current findings will last less than a person’s lifetime; not very long at all.

Question: What will the next generation of Mongols do?

Guaranteeing Your Future in a Fragile Social Economic and Environmental State

Hence, sustainable approaches have to be initiated to guarantee that the benefits of these industries systematically reach to the rural areas where it can sustain future Mongolian generations and minimize irreversible environmental damages. The concept one has contemplate is displacement or decentralization; once you understand this, you will understand the urgency of supporting initiatives like GER to GER that contribute towards the sustainability of Mongolia’s nomadic populations.

World Economic Forum: Mongolia – Transitional Economy, Not Market Efficient

Once this happens, Mongolia will have achieved its next title from the World Economic Forum from its current ongoing “transitional economy” title into a “market efficient economy” title.

One must remember that one developed or even two developed cities within Mongolia with a population less than 1% earning international salary rates without the ability to comprehend international semantics for innovation, communication, market efficiency, etc., does not generate an environment conducive for a country to earn the title of being a “market efficient economy”. Egos and being rich may make a few powerful people feel that they can argue this logic, but how powerful does the rest of the country’s population feel when they are living near poverty; most do not drive around in $75,000 to $200,000 vehicles? (popular Mongolian approach for visually assessing which Mongol is really rich).

Note: most Mongolians are indeed living near poverty – if you don’t know what I am referring to then you are extremely disconnected from what is happening around here.

Recommendation: Before critiquing this post, please do carryout an intense survey throughout the Ger Districts and throughout rural Mongolia; once you have done your survey and analysis, I am sure you will have reached the same conclusions as I have – to which we will have no criticisms nor arguments but rather we need to start cooperating.

Measuring Tangible and non-Tangible Aspects of Progress: Questions Lead to Answers that Must Lead into Pro-Active Initiatives

So, we must ask ourselves… Social economic market efficiency means what exactly according to accepted international norms?

What is social efficiency according to accepted international norms?

What is economic efficiency according to accepted international norms?

And how do we get an entire nation to become social economic efficient according to accepted international norms?

Current tourism and other business trends in Mongolia are bringing what sorts of contributions towards a country’s aspirations of becoming social economically efficient outside of Ulaanbaatar City according to accepted international norm?

What tangible data-sets exist to support any claims according to accepted international norms?

How long have they been contributing towards the social economic development of communities and the larger nomadic populations according to accepted international norms?

And etc.

Applied Experience and Ability to Replicate: From Remote Nomads, to Remote Villages, to Provincial Centers, Regions, Across a Nation and Internationally

GER to GER is more than simply a community based ecotourism initiative, we are social economic developers, filmmakers and humanitarians that access the tourism industry for sustainability for our social economic development and humanitarian initiatives along multi-industry supply and value chains.

GER to GER’s methodology can be replicated across Mongolia and in other countries via our methodologies rapidly, effectively and efficiently.

 

Simply we spend our funds towards the Stability of Open Market Economics and Social Economic Diversification along supply and value chains to ensure that Mongolia and other developing countries can go Beyond Transitional Economy Statuses into becoming an Market Effective Global Partner as a population vs as individuals while recognizing the importance of the individual’s contribution in the process; respecting the importance of nature, culture, history, humans, etc.

A custom developed, tested and tried Methodology of Success (3 years of research and development between 2003-05 before nearly 10 years of testing from 2005-14) across 11,000 square kilometers (approx. 7,000 square miles) of the World’s most harshest geographic terrain among some of Planet Earth’s exceptionally different peoples (culturally, socially, etc.).