Young Herders University

Duration:  August 2004 – January 2008
Partner: World Vision
Donors: United States Agency for International Development 

Young herders have come into a post Soviet context. Income from small herds is no longer guaranteed by the state as it was in their parent's era. Isolated young herders are at risk as a result of lack of access to information and limited educational opportunities in their childhood.

Mongolia enjoys a high rate of literacy but young isolated boys are vulnerable to being kept out of school to look after herds. Pact produces educational media for World Vision (www.worldvisionmongolia.org) packaged as ‘Young Herders University’. Targeted to 15-19 year olds (though in practice accessed by a much wider age group), these are distributed to marginalized children and their families in five economically challenged aimags (provinces) of the country. Young Herders University products fall under World Vision Mongolia’s program, Mongolian Herder Livelihood Diversification Project.

Materials, based on a thoroughly planned curriculum framework include a monthly newspaper, radio and television programs and board games. These tools provide the basis for life long learning and focus on business skills, basic literacy, democracy and governance principles and healthy lifestyles. Materials produced contain culturally specific content and are produced in Kazakh and Mongolian. 

The base line study, curriculum design and story and characters for these products were developed by consultants Tracey Naughton (Australia/ South Africa) and Patrick Cockayne (South Africa). The program is underpinned by a behaviour change process that builds knowledge to prepare young herders to make changes to the ways they conduct their herding businesses and improve livelihood with better information.

Some Key Results:

• Ten thousand newspapers are distributed monthly to readers in five of Mongolia’s poorest aimags (provinces).
  
  
• Pact Mongolia is one of the few producers of up-to-date printed materials in Kazakh that can be accessed by this minority group for whom Mongolian is a second language.
  
  
• Seven 26-part radio drama series' have been produced and broadcast nationwide. These give voice and an added dimension to the complimentary newspapers.
  
  
• Sixteen audio visual programs have been created and distributed to every World Vision learning centre. The series characters give life and animation to young herder characters who have to deal with eeking out a marginal existence but who are thirsty for knowledge that will enable them to progress in life.
  
  
• A herding and life skills board game has been produced and is being played in World Vision Learning Centres across Mongolia. The game is the first in a series and takes players through the important decisions they need to make in order to mitigate against the risk of natural disaster, prepare for Mongolia’s harsh winters, sell their primary produce and maximize gains. Game developer Joseph Dedinas has ridden over 20,000 kilometers across the Mongolian steppes and is well placed as a herder games inventor.