The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together the 28 European Union member states, 2 other European countries, and the European Union with 21 Asian countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. The ASEM dialogue addresses political, economic and cultural issues, with the objective of strengthening the relationship between our two regions, in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership. But ASEM is not only a high-level platform of regional relations based on multilateral and equitable partnership but also is a platform of relationship and cooperation among citizens. As of today, 14 political, 51 economic and 51 socio-cultural initiatives and programs are being implemented within the framework of ASEM.

The 11th ASEM Summit is going to be organized in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on July 15-16, 2016. However, it’s important to note the nine side events that have been planned before the Summit. These consecutive meetings convene representatives from Asia and Europe on several levels: ministers, civil societies, businesses, students, farmers, and parliamentarians. 
The nine side events are as follows:

No.
Side Event Names
Official Dates
1
9th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP9) Meeting
21-22 April, 2016 
2
ASEM Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM)
12-13 May, 2016
3
12th ASEM Finance Ministers' Meeting (FinMM12)
09-10 June, 2016
4
ASEM Consultative Meeting on Food Security
20-21 June, 2016
5
11th Asia-Europe People's Forum (AEPF11)
4-6 July, 2016
6
7th Model ASEM 2016
6-10 July, 2016
7
8th ASEF Editor’s Roundtable
7-8 July, 2016
8
ASEM Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM)
12-14 July, 2016
9
15th Asia-Europe Business Forum (AEBF15)
13-14 July, 2016
10
11th ASEM Summit
15-16 July, 2016
For more information, please visit www.asem11.mn



Working together with volunteers for the ASEM 11

“ASEM 11 Volunteers”, which is mainly consisted of Mongolian youth (university students), support the organization of the ASEM meetings. The volunteer management, including recruitment, training and deployment, is led by the ASEM 11 Volunteer Working Group under the ASEM Office in Mongolia. About 50 volunteers already supported the Parliamentary Partnership Meeting in April and Senior Officials’ Meeting in May.


The United Nations (UN) in Mongolia also support the “ASEM 11 Volunteers”, by deploying 3 (three) national UN Volunteers. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of UN), UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund) and UNDP (UN Development Programme) contributed to recruiting the UN Volunteers. The 3 national UN Volunteers bring their knowledge and experience in the volunteer management, media and communications coordination, documentation and reporting, as well as youth engagement and development.

Recruitment and conducting a series of volunteer trainings is in progress. It is expected that in total around 1,500 local youth volunteers will be recruited in cooperation with universities in Ulaanbaatar. The youth volunteers will receive general induction training about the ASEM and volunteerism; functional skills enhancement training; volunteer soft skills and representation training.


The Mongolian youth volunteers play an important part throughout the ASEM period. In particular, the assistance and hospitality from the volunteers, for instance welcoming delegations at the airport, escorting participants during meetings and forums, providing documentation and translation assistances, distributing info sheets will be crucial for the smooth logistical flow.  
Even after the ASEM 11, the volunteer scheme, knowledge and experience will serve as a strong base for further endeavors to work with volunteers in various scales of public events in the country. It will also help promote youth participation and volunteerism in Mongolia.