№ 2 (60) (2023)

The Ulaanbaatar territory and vicinities retain the vast cultural heritage of various eras. Local archeological landmarks go back to epochs that were separated in time by many a century.Simultaneously, Ulaanbaatar is the capital of the young: up to 70% of its population are the people under 40. The city’s economy is booming: new shopping malls, supermarkets, cafeterias are sprouting. A new state of the art airport is in place. In order to attract tourists to the Mongolian capital the Tourism Department and the Transportation Department of Ulaanbaatar have laid the massive groundwork on the setting up of a whole new network of tour circuits. Elements of street navigation have been transliterated, digital mobile transit applications have been adapted to easy use while travelling by public transport. Ulaanbaatar is becoming an ever more open and convenient city for tourism, while taking special care of its citizens’ future.

Since 2020 a smart city infrastructure is being unfolded under the “Digitalized Ulaanbaatar” project. As part of the first branch of the project a system of public services management has been created and is being perfected. Its main goal is to provide the citizens with easily accessible public services, to form a transparent and barrier-free environment for business development. A system of automating the work of local authorities is under development. The “Uniform education platform” for Ulaanbaatar schools has been launched. The second branch of the project is digitalization of traffic administration system. The “Secure city”, as the third branch, is spearheaded at providing security and public order in the streets by means of the surveillance system. Due to intensive digitalization Ulaanbaatar has moved on from the first to the second level of digital maturity and is currently continuing its onslaught.

Mongolia is one of today’s most ancient hearth and homes of nomad culture. Its capital city, Ulaanbaatar sets an example of blending several contrasting architectural styles. The face of the city is a vivid reflection of the Mongols’ rich history. In contrast to the previous decades, the Mongols strive to introduce elements of traditional culture into the exterior design of new construction projects. A showing example is the building of the new state museum named after the Mongolia’s national hero the Genghis Khan Museum. In its turn, the museum makes a major contribution to the country’s economic development, being an attraction in its own right for tens of thousands of tourists. It serves to educate, to preserve the country’s cultural heritage and traditions.

The second most significant normative legal act (after the Constitution) of Mongolia is the Law “On administrative territorial unit and its administration.” The administrative territorial units form the three-level hierarchy. Local government bodies are represented (according to the level) by khurals of civil representatives or khurals of citizens. Characteristic of the Mongolian Republic is centralization of local government and self-government. To provide for their effective performance local government structures must have the powers to collect taxes and determine the budget. They must provide the citizens with continuous feedback. To build such system of communication, it is planned to use such means that are based on up-to-date digital technologies.

Many Russian citizens are quite keen on acquiring new skills that boost professional development. The challenges that are building up as the world is rapidly changing have for many become a signal to upskill universal personal competences. Four distinct trends can be identified in the complimentary education domain, which will dominate in the next five to seven years – easily available access to knowledge, flexible education forms, adaptivity of learning, educational online formats. During the recent pandemic Moscow Metropolitan Governance Yury Luzhkov University launched a conceptually novel online project – Open Educational Space. Free, easily available to any willing individual educational courses were uploaded to its platform, and included instruction materials in webinars, interviews, podcasts format, also offering opportunities of expert feedback. The project’s teem has rigorous requirements to the choice of experts since the goal of the Open Educational Space is to provide quality knowledge to its students enabling them to become more adaptive and happier individuals.

Computer technologies have become part of a citizen’s mundane life. We are surrounded by notebooks, smartphones, smart sensors, cameras, electronic scanners. Virtual reality technologies have long transcended the narrow entertainment domain, and have since been used for the benefit of the public at large. Moscow Metropolitan Governance Yury Luzhkov University has for several years been using VR technology in educational programs for state civil servants. A VR simulator is capable of reproducing virtually any operating situation in the life of an executive authority employee, and allows to master a certain situation multiple times until the needed skills have been acquired. A VR simulator allows for maximum immersion into the learning process, does not permit the user’s distraction. The reality is being imitated to such a degree of accuracy that forming and consolidation of the skill can occur even faster than in ordinary life. Moscow Metropolitan Governance Yury Luzhkov University is pushing on its new educational VR projects in response to requests from organizations of the Moscow Government.

In Ulaanbaatar, as of today, the average indicator of green spaces is lower than in world’s major metropolises. Therefore the city authorities have planned major works to perfect the city’s green infrastructure. In late 2000s a new period of planned landscaping in Mongolian Capital began. More notable changes have been unfolding in the last two years. Ulaanbaatar enters into collaboration efforts with friend and sister-cities. The mass planting of trees is going on nationwide – “The Billion Trees” national movement. Parks in Ulaanbaatar are being landscaped, plantings are being thickened. Laws are being spread, and streets are being made green. Thanks to efforts by city services assisted by employing partners’ best practices, Ulaanbaatar step-by-step is approaching the task assigned.