Environmental Advocacy in Mongolia

Professional Research Assistant at the University of Colorado Boulder, Evan Coffey, took part in the Environmental Advocacy in Mongolia exchange which brought together environmental professionals to learn best practices in advocacy and data collection methods. The inbound-program took place in Washington DC, and Denver, CO and included a series of hybrid meetings, panel sessions, trainings, workshops, and lectures. During the outbound exchange, participants had the opportunity to participate in the international UNICEF Mongolia Air Pollution Conference to hear from experts about the importance of strengthening evidence-based policy making to reduce the impacts of air pollution in Asia. 

Following the exchange program, the University of Boulder and Public Lab Mongolia officially partnered to extend the Air Quality Inquiry (AQIQ) project from the U.S. to Mongolia, a project that teaches students to conduct their own air quality research with affordable sensors. 60 students across three high schools performed air quality experiments and presented their findings at an end-of-year symposium hosted by Public Lab Mongolia. Evan is hopeful that the AQIQ project will be expanded to schools beyond Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in the second year of its implementation.