Ulaanbaatar, June 13, /MONTSAME/. The National Workshop on Effective Governance for Sustainable Development in Mongolia was concluded on June 13 with National Workshop for Media Officials on Risk-informed Communication for Reporting on Emergencies and Disaster Risk Reduction.

Studies, conducted by professional organizations show that Mongolia will experience an annual increase in the risk of drought, flood, earthquake, fire, and infectious illnesses. Therefore, the media workshop aimed to strengthen media officials' and journalists’ knowledge of emergency and disaster information and publicity, including running information-based campaigns to raise awareness of the emergency situation and to lower the risk of disasters.

The workshop organized by the National Academy of Governance and MONTSAME Mongolian National News Agency in collaboration with the United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) was attended by about 80 media officials from the government institutions which include spokespersons, journalists, communication officers, and reporters.

Director General of MONTSAME Mongolian National News Agency E. Sodontogos made a presentation on “The history and lessons of Mongolian media and disaster situation information” where she highlighted “ It is no secret that Mongolia's advantageous location, where disasters do not occur frequently, has caused our media to be less active and limited to reporting on actual events and disaster warnings.”

According to her presentation, Mongolia experienced significant zuds (a severe periodical disaster) in 1944, 1956, and 1968. In 1944, zud lasted 150 days and killed 9.2 million animals. In 1956, zud killed 2.2 million animals. In 1968, zud lasted 165 days and killed 4 million animals. Since 1957, there haven't been any earthquake-related catastrophes that directly harmed the populace, society, or economy. It is influenced by the large area and sparse population. Earthquakes that cause significant damage often occur in rural areas and uninhabited areas, which reduces the risk of disasters.

“The risk of drought in summer often goes unnoticed by the public. Therefore, it may be a topic that is only briefly mentioned by the media when it comes to climate change and desertification. Even the risk of flood and wildfire is short-lived and is only reported by the media at that particular time.”

“The global coronavirus epidemic was the most recent significant calamity humanity faced. Many events took place in 2020-2021 when the principles of work of media organizations and government agencies regulating the development of events conflicted, and in some ways, media organizations' right to inform and citizens' right to know were violated. This was caused by the lack of experience and unpreparedness of government institutions, media organizations, and journalists to work in disaster and emergency situations. However, we believe that the Covid-19 situation has increased the capacity of our media organizations and journalists to work during a disaster that affects society to a certain extent.

Learning from this, it was recognized that media organizations and journalists working in emergency situations and disasters need to establish simple and clear operating standards. Without wasting any time, this work should be carried out with the assistance of international organizations and with the study of best practices from other nations.

On the other hand, it is believed that by ensuring the promptness and accuracy of information by activating the cooperation of state authorities, emergency agencies, and media organizations and improving the coordination of operations, we can meet the requirements of modern transparency and openness,” noted Ms. E. Sodontogos.

In his closing remarks of the 5-day National Workshop on Effective Governance for Sustainable Development Mr. Kyu Chang Ko, Head of United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG)/DPIDG/UN DESA underscored “While Mongolia has made significant progress in advancing the SDGs, challenges still remain. This workshop has provided an opportunity to deliberate on how to address these challenges and align national and sub-national priorities with the SDGs. This is a step in the right direction towards equipping governance institutions for an accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Mongolia's Vision 2050.”

“As this workshop comes to a close, I want to reaffirm that UN DESA through its Project Office on Governance remains fully committed to supporting the Government of Mongolia in its efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Mongolia's Vision-2050. We will continue to cooperate closely with our partners, including the UNRC Office, UNDP, and other UN agencies, to strengthen the capacities of governance systems to promote effective, transparent, inclusive, risk-informed, and citizen-centered public administrations. As we proceed, we must all make frantic efforts to continually strengthen national and sub-national capacities to achieve accelerated progress in this decade of action,” noted Mr. Kyu Chang Ko.