Gender Centre for Sustainable Development (GCSD) Mongolia

The Women's Information and Research Centre (WIRC) is a non-governmental and non-profit women's organization established in 1995. Its main objectives are:

• To create a database and a network for the collection of information concerning gender issues and to serve as a resource centre.
• To conduct researches on the status of women and social problems affecting them.
• To raise the public awareness on the gender issues and influence policy-making and legislation.
• To link and assist the activities of women's NGOs and groups.
• To set up an information network and to cooperate through it with interested organizations at the local, national and international level.
• To promote the women's empowerment with the improvement of their education and professional training at all levels.

The Centre supports and promotes the process of mainstreaming gender issues into government policy, planning and programming in Mongolia. It also collaborates with other women's service and advocacy groups towards achieving women's political and economic empowerment. The WIRC's main areas of work are: 1) Gender research, 2) Information, Documentation and Media, 3) Networking and 4) Training.

WIRC runs a library, containing a solid collection of domestic and foreign books, periodicals and other educational and research materials relevant to the gender issues. It has also started a computerized data-base containing various women-related topics. Both services are open to the public.

WIRC cooperates with the following Women's Networks:

• FEMINET
  WIRC works with other FEMINET Asia centers in People's Republic of China, Korea, and Malaysia.
• 3rd EAST ASIAN WOMEN'S FORUM
  During the Third East-Asian Women's Conference held on 23-26 August 98 in Ulaanbaatar, WIRC advocated and advertised the activities of Mongolian women's groups and the Conference events through its Web-Site.
• MONGOLIAN RESOURCE CENTER NETWORK
  Network of local and international resource centres in Ulaanbatar which is developing a shared data-base that will accessible through the web.

WIRC completed the nation-wide survey entitled "Mongolian Women's Economic Status in Transition" involving 5 regions with over 3800 residents from urban and rural areas, which was greatly appreciated both by NGOs and the Government. The Centre is maintaining close cooperation with women's NGOs, community groups, government agencies, universities and academic institutions in implementing its planned activities. The WIRC has started cooperating with a number of reference centres such as the UNDP Reference Centre, Citizen's Information Centres, Press Institute of Mongolia and other public libraries. The Centre is in the middle of formulating a joint workplan with the Poverty Alleviation Program Office supporting poor women in helping themselves through income-generating activities. The WIRC is working on integrating and mainstreaming gender issues in the projects funded by donor agencies such as German GTZ, Soros Foundation and ADB in Mongolia.

WIRC works with the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society in promoting the use of information technology among women's organizations and other NGOs through a project called Information, Documentation and Media Center project. This project aspires to facilitate the effective dissemination of information about women and their participation in social development and in political economic processes and about their invaluable role in education, health and environmental protection.