What happens regularly?

There are regular monthly meetings; these are usually on the last Wednesday of the month, although it has been decided not to have meetings at Christmas or during the height of the summer holiday season.

The meetings are all in English and Mongolian. That means that no-one is excluded, and it means that western NGOs have access to local knowledge and vice versa.

Part of each meeting is for discussion, following a set Agenda, which includes:

• Looking at the Minutes of the previous meeting

• Inviting comments on the previous month’s meeting to see how things are progressing

• Asking if anybody has received relevant communications (maybe an email)

• Discussing any items already on the Agenda

• Asking if there are any other matters for discussion (maybe to be included in a future meeting)

• Confirming the date and time of the next meeting.

This discussion is in a friendly atmosphere and so it is realistic.

Added to this, most meetings have an educational presentation, which may be in Mongolian, translated into English, or in English, translated into Mongolian.

Ideally, there is time for questions and answers, and this can be a very productive part of the meeting. This encourages information sharing, and can also lead to the establishment of fruitful cooperation in the future between organisations.

A concise record is kept of what has happened at each meeting. These can be found in the archive section of the website.

As the record of each meeting is reviewed at the next meeting, this connects the meetings and allows things to progress. It is like having one long continuous meeting, but with the addition of individual workshops.