I am one of the volunteers contributed to the organization of the ASEM summit, which is a very rare opportunity that happens once in 100 years in Mongolia.
I was a girl who surrounded myself by a spiky fence that avoided me from connecting to the social commitments. I used to think that participating in competition, communicating with people, and being socially active will never be a crucial part of my life, and that I would live my life among few people that I know. Maybe it was such a horrible idea of a selfish girl.
I can’t forget that night during the sleepover with friends when I was inspired by my girlfriend who was volunteering for ASEM. We talked about something very special, which was about ASEM. Hearing my friend was working candidness and overloaded seems like very surprising to me yet has motivated my enthusiasm. The next day, very nervous and excited at the same time, I went to ASEM’s registry office to fill the form to become a volunteer.
Soon after, I and other registered people were called to take part in the first training. I went to the training place that I never went before and in there, there weren’t any familiar faces that I know. Many of them came from the same universities so they knew each other well and the room was filled with noisy voices. I don’t remember when was the last time that I attended in a very intriguing training like that. The distinct side was that it was not about to take a pen and sheets to write on, it was to get involved in every interesting moment during that time and to acquaint with each other in a very polite way. We divided into groups and familiarized with each other. I still think whoever organized that training had good skills to compose and manage a group.
During the second training every child was asked to share their inspiration why they wished to volunteer. Everyone was telling various reasons and purposes. And when it was my turn, I stood up and after long silence, I said, “to be experienced”. From that moment until the end of the ASEM summit, I kept thinking why I was there, what is the history of the summit and how it will influence on others and me.
I learnt that the first idea came out in 1990 which was about the need for having an open communication to extend relations between Asia and Europe. Singapore has pioneered from Asia, and France has pioneered from Europe and the first meeting was then held on 1 March 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand. Since then, it was agreed to organize it once in every two years. In 2008, ASEM was held in Beijing and then, for the first time Mongolia was involved in the 11th ASEM meeting which was coincided with the 20th anniversary of the ASEM.
The meeting has 30 members from Europe, 21 members from Asia totaling to 51 member countries, which shows how massive reverential the meeting is.
As a Mongolian citizen, I witnessed some conflicting opinions among Mongolians about holding the event in Mongolia. Some thought that Mongolia should not participate as there are no benefits for the country, and for this reason, our President spoke more about the advantage and importance of organizing ASEM. I thought that was truthful and right.
The President said “It is easy to look at things from negative perspective. People who see things from the good perspective always try to encourage others and they value the world.”
The President proved that the event associated with the history of Mongolia saying that in 1206, Mongolia was known as the Great empire that consolidated Asia and Europe and many countries in Asia and Europe recognized the culture, history and regulation of this country. 800 years ago in Mongolia the decision makers convened to discuss about policy of these two continents. After 800 years, this historical meeting repeated.
Interestingly, an International Conference has been organized in Finland in 2006 which was titled “From Chingiss Khan to the ASEM”.
ASEM has significant impact and influence for developing open policy, improving relations and friendly cooperation among countries, and this is an important meeting that gives opportunity for people to have an open consultative communication.
During my volunteering, I gained great knowledge about the history of ASEM and understood the importance and purpose of this work. I started to be passionate towards the job, to keep and manage time, and found a patriot part of myself from small things such as acting friendly towards the foreigners, and placing garbage that I find on the streets in the trash bins.
Not only have I gained practical experience of volunteering, but learnt new things, found many friends. I hoped that they would call for my help for another extra day because it was a very nice feeling to know that I had contributed to the development of my country through my volunteer work for ASEM. It is certain that hearing criticism from others also will be useful for my future. The experience and knowledge I gained while working with colleagues who have the same goals and passion at the only event of Mongolia that included the most volunteers in Mongolian history is the most precious for me. Moreover, I am positive that more young people now understand the meaning of volunteerism and will actively volunteer because of the volunteers of this event have set good example.
The volunteers worked really hard on the major day of 15th July without noticing the time passing.
It was very important to contribute to this significant event, and I am happy to say that I have volunteered and gained a lot of knowledge and wisdom that is not comparable to any monetary amount.
Now I can proudly say that I am one of the volunteers that contributed to the ASEM summit – the event which happens once in 100 years in Mongolia.
Maral Battur, ASEM11 Volunteer
