| ICES, a non-governmental organization under the
laws and jurisdiction of State of Mongolia, is dedicated to building
cross-cultural awareness of Mongolian arts and culture in foreign
countries by supporting Mongolians to travel and perform abroad,
to share Mongolia's rich cultural traditions with the rest of
the World.
ICES is also committed to introducing world artists
to Mongolian audiences through hosting festivals, special programs,
performances, exhibitions, and residencies by visiting artists
from countries outside Mongolia. Shortly ICES helps Mongolians
to reach the World and the outside World reach Mongolia.
Address: Suite #202, Youth Cultural Palace, Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia.
Mailing address: C.P.O.BOX- 432, Ulaanbaatar- 13, Mongolia.
Tel: (976) 11 316022;
Fax: (976) 11 315358;
E-mail: nk@thisismongolia.com
Website: http://www.thisismongolia.com/ices
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the International Cultural Exchange
Society (ICES) is to foster the sustainable development of Mongolian
arts and culture and to promote it throughout the world and at
the same time to introduce world culture to Mongolia by creating
a broad network of cooperation between Mongolia and the international
arts and cultural community.
BRIEF HISTORY OF ICES
 In
July of 1997, while working as an interpreter in Mongolia's western
provinces, Enkhbayar Shagdarguntev (Enki), made a connection with
Mr. Michael Dingle, an American arts organizer on his first visit
to Mongolia. During the next six months, they conceived of an
international arts and technology festival to be staged in Ulaanbaatar
and the Mongolian countryside in July 2000.
In 1998, Enki came to California to visit Mr. Dingle
at SomArts Cultural Center, an arts facility that offers a variety
of services for San Francisco's multi-ethnic communities. (see
www.somarts.org for more information) Continuing discussions about
the Mongolia 2000 project created an awareness of the need for
a host organization in Mongolia to facilitate the Mongolia 2000
Festival.
Upon his return from the United States, Enki met
with leaders from the arts and business communities and with appropriate
government organizations and individuals in Ulaanbaatar and the
countryside. Everyone recognized the need for an arts and cultural
management organization that could offer increased opportunities
for Mongolian artists to reach a broader world audience, that
would contribute to the transition and development of a Mongolian
arts and culture that responds to society and stimulates the existing
cultural system into further development of diverse, efficient,
and sustainable cultural institutions.
In November 1998 the International Cultural Exchange
Society (ICES) was created in Ulaanbaatar under the laws and jurisdiction
of State of Mongolia. After its creation, the first objective
was to establish an arts and cultural management organization
that would assist in the development of the Mongolian art and
cultural community by educating, supporting and promoting artists,
arts and cultural professionals, organizations, institutions and
schools through local, regional and international cooperation.
ICES first project was an international Mural art
project that took place in Ulaanbaatar in June 1999. During this
project ICES organized a mural art workshop for Mongolian and
international artists from 6 countries (3 countries from the region)
that painted two big murals in Ulaanbaatar. Since its first activity,
ICES initiated and successfully implemented 22 international,
regional and local projects. ICES is perhaps best known for creating
the Mongolian Cultural Information Center (MCIC), developing the
first Mongolian arts and cultural website (see: www.mongolart.mn
), and providing different arts and cultural services as project
assistance, trainings, PR, information, web site development,
consultancy and mediating for Mongolian and international arts
and cultural community. ICES has also trained several highly skilled
arts managers who can manage any size of project or program.
CAPACITY OF ICES
Human resources:
- " ICES Board of Directors is composed of 5 people with
extensive experience in arts and cultural management and international
relations. Some of them are highly recognized individuals in
Mongolian cultural world.
- "Young, attractive, dedicated and flexible small team
with very good English language and arts management skills and
experience. According to the March 2002, MCIC project evaluation
by MFOS, "ICES team works in Western hard working style,
with no bureaucratic actions." There are 3 full time managers
(administration, projects, and cultural tourism), 2 contract
managers (production and web master) 1 full time and 1 part
time intern. ICES team can undertake and implement any size
and scale of project.
- "ICES has over 50 local volunteers from students to highly
recognized artists and cultural professionals, 6 foreign volunteers
and countless supporters around the world.
Office and Facilities
- "ICES has one of the best designed offices in Mongolia
with a unique interior and furnishings, and an exhibition space.
It has an excellent working environment with over 130 square
meters of space and 2nd floor deck. Although most of the computers
and equipment are out dated, ICES continues to produce results.
- "ICES office is located at the Youth Cultural Place
in the central area of Ulaanbaatar city, which is an important
cultural venue for Mongolian arts and cultural life.
Contacts, Reputation, Information and Services
" In just five years ICES has become one of
the most recognized cultural organizations in Mongolia, with wide
spread foreign and local contacts and a reputation for successful
project implementation and management, while providing a variety
of user friendly services. We have developed a rich cultural database
gathered from a variety of sources (Internet, OSI- Soros Foundation,
and other cultural networks and resources) and an excellent distribution
network.
ENVIRONMENT
Mongolia has extremely rich cultural traditions,
with talented, creative artists, and a vital, emerging contemporary
arts community. But the transitions that took place in 1990 brought
new problems and new challenges for Mongolian society.
During the seventy years of communism and isolation
from the rest of the world community, Mongolian arts and culture
were controlled by the Soviet Union's socialist realism policy,
which limited both artistic freedom and foreign relations. The
art that advocated the glories of socialism was forgotten by politicians
who were busy incorporating the new principles of democracy and
the market economy.
Since the democratic reforms Mongolia has been characterized by
new relationships with the international community. Mongolia looks
to the world's democracies for development assistance, financial
support, partnerships and information exchange. Because of the
hardships of this transition period and the current economic crisis,
Mongolia's arts community needs to develop a new management model
and arts and cultural infrastructure, while increasing foreign
exchange, and identifying new funding sources.
Mongolia needs experienced, and motivated art managers and policy
makers to facilitate the transition of state owned, underfunded,
and poorly managed cultural organizations into sustainable, diverse,
mobile and independent art institutions with greater involvement
in international enterprise and in networking. The drastic reduction
in government support for the arts, combined with the lack of
tax incentives to encourage private donations to the arts, creates
a major obstacle for Mongolia's cultural development and the preservation
of the nation's cultural heritage.
There is increasing interest from foreign countries
interested in partnerships and cooperation with Mongolia. Although
Mongolian cultural and arts organizations have the need and desire
to develop these foreign relations and partnerships, they are
faced with hardships due to a lack of information, communication
and barriers of language. There is a growing need for promotional
and introductory materials about Mongolian artists and arts organizations
in other languages, as well support for cultural management organizations
that can provide the necessary services and activities to support
the sustainable development of Mongolian arts and culture.
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