In times of crisis, the goal of the program is to 1) improve access to information and provide reliable information, 2) the media, local governments, citizens and the public gather in one place and integrate their knowledge and communication; then all work as a network to verify, disseminate information reliably and responsibly. Within this framework, a team was formed with nine members to deliver necessary and reliable information related to the COVID-19 pandemic in an accessible form for the residents of the 23rd khoroo of Bayanzurkh District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
 
The “Crisis Communication Chapter” project was implemented in cooperation with the DW Akademie with the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.

CCC Action team members

Members of the Action Team, which includes representatives from the media, government and civil society (see members here), are working together under the theme “Reliable Information Save Lives”. The information dissemination is based on the participation and cooperation of the management of the 23rd khoroo of Bayanzurkh District, Nemuulen Family Health Center, Id Shidiin Oron # 2, Ulaanbaatar's 87th school and the citizens of this khoroo.

Communication activity overview

The task aimed to reach the residents of the 23rd khoroo of Bayanzurkh District of the capital city was carried out in several areas. Particularly,
 
In January, an information package was prepared with the participation of community members, family health center, and specialists to raise awareness of the symptoms of the OMICRON variant of the COVID-19 infection, treatment, prevention, and vaccine benefits. These include TV programs (see here), TV reportage, Facebook Live (available here), and family doctor interviews. Also, printed materials such as linoleum publications, information leaflets, and manuals about celebrating Tsagaan sar at home, and information about booster shots of vaccines were prepared and distributed to the khoroo residents. In addition, the Family Health Center of the 23rd khoroo activated its Facebook page, which is the closest and reliable channel to receive health information of the citizens and disseminate the necessary information in an accessible and interesting way. 


 
In February, due to the pandemic situation, the content of the information was focused on the infection and protection of children in schools and kindergartens. Within the focus, a Facebook Live was organized with the participation of the 87th secondary school of Ulaanbaatar, Family Health Center, and Id Shidiin Oron Kindergarten located in the 23rd khoroo (available here). Also, short videos on infection and protection of children in schools and kindergartens were prepared and distributed. In addition, the Family Health Center's Facebook page provided necessary information regularly.


 
In March, necessary and reliable information about how to cope with the long-term changes after the COVID-19 recovery based on the citizens’ needs was disseminated. These included a workshop on “Recovering Post-COVID-19 symptoms” for students at 87th secondary school and a creative content competition on “Recovering Post-COVID-19 symptoms” in the video, wall newspaper, and essay categories were announced among the students. Furthermore, a citizen's story about sharing his/her experience of overcoming the post-COVID-19 symptoms was published. Information on all of the above activities is available on the Crisis Communication Chapter - Mongolia Facebook page. 

Representatives of the target khoroo participated in the crisis communication training
 

Within the framework of the project, the training was organized to improve the information and communication capacity of the primary units of the 23rd khoroo of Bayanzurkh district, Ulaanbaatar. (2022.03.18)
 
Representatives of “Nemuulen” Family Health Center, 23rd khoroo of Bayanzurkh district, Governor's office of the 23rd khoroo, 87th secondary school, “Id shidiin oron” child protection center participated in the training on “Risk communication in times of crisis”.


 
The project's Action team members participated in the training as trainers. O.Bayarmaa, Head of the Government's Media and Public Relations Department, presented on “Methods and Experiences of Government Public Relations in times of crisis”; B.Tsend, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)'s Media and Public Relations Officer, presented on “NEMA's experience in implementing public relations during the pandemic", and N.Ganchimeg, Project Manager of the MCM, provided information on“ How to make Facebook more accessible”. Also, Ts.Chimeddondog, Advisor to the Action team and a journalism trainer, gave a lecture on “Crisis Communication” and “Methods and Tactics to give an interview to the media during the crisis”.


 
Participants concluded that all the information provided during the training was timely and relevant. "By participating in this training, I learned how to deliver information about the organization's activities to the target group, and it’s important to have a certain strategy and plan in times of crisis," said B.Naranchimeg, a social worker at 87th secondary school in Ulaanbaatar. G.Chantsalmaa, Head of Nemuulen Family Health Center, emphasized that “As a primary health care unit, it is important to listen and study our citizens and clients, and to establish a multi-stakeholder team to work in times of crisis in our khoroo.”

A final consultation meeting of the “Crisis Communication Chapter - Mongolia” project

An extended consultation meeting was held on March 31st, 2022, to present the pilot project’s results and to determine the future orientation. The project team reported on their activities and shared their achievements and lessons learned during the meeting. Click here to see the project activity report.


 
The participants of the meeting concluded that the pilot project was successfully implemented. O.Batbayar, Advisor to the Minister of Health, said, “I have seen the media set a good example of how information reaches families and citizens, learns great lessons, and works together to overcome it.” D.Narantuya, Director of the National Center for Public Health, said, "Let's focus on how to implement this example at the national level and how to engage all around the country." T.Bayarkhuu, Head of the Secretariat of the State Emergency Committee, said the following regarding the experiences from the project and opportunities on how to spread it further: “Our goal is to ensure citizens’ right to know by providing opportunities to access accurate and verified information, overcome the crisis safely or with minimum loss in times of crisis. To do this, it is necessary to have a structure similar to the pilot project. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a national crisis communication team or council next to the national emergency management agency and furthermore, it’s required that the national crisis communication team should work to coordinate with other parties in times of crisis. He expressed that this idea could be supported at the level of Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the National Emergency Management Agency. Researchers and representatives of international organizations who participated in the meeting also expressed their support for establishing the expanded structure and expressed their willingness to cooperate.


 
In her closing remarks, G.Gunjidmaa, Executive Director of the MCM, said: that the MCM successfully fulfilled its role of coordinating stakeholders and strengthening mutual trust between stakeholders in times of crisis through the project. Thus, the tripartite alliance of the Government, the media, citizens, and mutual trust contribute to strengthening press freedom by providing reliable information to the public. Furthermore, in order to further develop the crisis communication system: 1) Sustainability or integration into the social structure, 2) Capacity building of specialists and personnel, 3) Have long-term financial support, 4) Mutual trust is important for fulfilling responsibilities without any challenges for joint participation – Government, media, civil society. For more information, please visit https://www.mediacouncil.mn/a/353.



Please find the video about the closing of the Crisis Communication Chapter and Stakeholders Cooperation project here.