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Spring, 1998. Vol. 85 No. 2 |
R. Burmaa speaking to Placerville Area League |
Mongolian Activist Inspires Northern California Leagues
R. Burmaa, founder and chairperson of Women for Social Progress in Mongolia, has fascinated Placerville Area and Humbolt County Leagues in California and Leagues in Indiana and Virginia during her 4-month visit to the United States to research her paper "Women's Role in Democracy Building." When asked which of all the universities and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) in the United States she wished to visit, she simply replied, "The League of Women Voters."
Hosting Burmaa's California visit was our newest League, LWV of the Placerville Area. Member Gwen Erwood met Burmaa while on a "Travel with the League" tour of Mongolia, a sparsely populated country nestled between China and Russia which has undergone profound democratic reforms since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
At the forefront of these reforms is Burmaa's organization, Women for Social Progress (WSP), Mongolia's first political but nonpartisan NGO. Burmaa, a 39 year old electronics engineer, writes, "When we started WSP in 1992, we had 2 staff without salary, no office, and a lack of experience. We just had an idea and enthusiasm."
And their enthusiasm has carried them far. In 5 short years WSP has branches in all province centers, 6 regional centers with full-time paid staff, a Civic Education Information Center, a Voter Education Center, monthly TV and radio programs, a Voter Service Hotline, e-mail networks, a bi-weekly newsletter, and a Women's Technical Center. When Burmaa was asked by supporters to run for Parliament, she declined. "I prefer this job." she said of her position with WSP. "I think we can do even more (for democracy)."
Burmaa says that WSP has taken many ideas from the League of Women Voters. The focus of her visit was to learn more about expanding her outreach to include youth with such programs as Mock Election and Model United Nations. "She (Burmaa) says that our country is the role model for her country, but I believe we can learn much from her," says LWV Humbolt County member Byrd Lochtie. And as Burmaa and her organization begin to face tough issues in her homeland, such as campaign finance reform and youth involvement, topics that we Americans still struggle with, we can draw from their experience.
Burmaa invites League members to be guests of WSP and plans are underway for a visit to Mongolia in June. Interested members should call Gwen Erwood at 1-800-762-4216 for tour information. Burmaa hopes to return to the Bay Area in April when a delegation of Mongolian students and WSP advisors take part in the Far West Model UN.
There are many opportunities for local Leagues to participate in hosting international visitors. "A project such as this kind allows Leagues to be creative in planning and hosting an international visit and demonstrates that local Leagues can have an impact on international issues," says Erwood. The LWV Education Fund sponsors many visitors in the United States in addition to sending League representatives to emerging democracies throughout the world as trainers and consultants. Interested Leagues should contact Kendra Davis, LWVUS Project Manager of International Relations at (202) 429-1965, extension 242.
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© Copyright 1998 by the League of Women Voters of California
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