Urantsetseg Enkhbaatar currently works as a journalist for the Mongol HD Television in Ulaanbaatar. Instead of taking her vacation and traveling to countryside as she usually does, she volunteered for the ASEM11 this summer.
“I actually felt that I’m quite old for this when I saw mostly teenagers around me during my first volunteer training. However they were so energetic that something inside me told me to stay bit longer and see what happens. The next thing I knew I was already making friends” Urantsetseg jokes.
Given that she is 27 years old, it is true that Urantsetseg is to be included in older aged group of volunteers. However, as she sums up her ASEM11 volunteer experience, she remarks “Volunteering for the ASEM11 really helped me to feel young again. Turning 27 once seemed to me that I was getting old but not anymore”.
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| Urantsetseg meeting her fellow ASEM11Volunteers |
During the ASEM period, she volunteered in the Shangrila Mall office space where she was responsible for maintaining office services for delegates from booking meeting rooms to printing handouts. She also remarked that her work experience as a professional in communications and media greatly helped her to lead fellow volunteers as she was often asked personally to advise younger volunteers on what to do next to successfully complete their tasks.
Volunteering for the ASEM11 changed her perception of volunteerism and its contribution to society. Her past experiences in volunteering when she was an undergraduate student in Russia were mostly related to charity activities, hence she never thought that she can volunteer not only for her country, but also for fostering partnership of Asia and Europe.
Although Urantsetseg was usually the one with most experiences among her fellow volunteers, she admits that she has a lot to learn from younger volunteers. She says “Teenagers these days are very open, energetic and resourceful. I have met many young volunteers in their 20s who speak fluent in multiple languages. I was impressed by how energetic and skillful our younger generations are growing up”.
She realized that volunteerism can play important roles in building employability skills in youth when she says “I wish I could have done more volunteer jobs when I was a student. I would have picked up more skills by the time I finished my studies”.
As a journalist, she hopes to showcase volunteers as an asset not as free labors as it is often misunderstood by public through her work. She understands that changing public perception of volunteerism in Mongolia might take time. However, if ASEM11 Volunteers keep their reputation held high and be role models, she believes that the time will come very soon.
