Zorig Foundation

Zorig Foundation (Mongolian: Зориг Сан) is a Mongolian nonprofit, non-governmental organization (NGO) established in October 1998 after the assassination of Mongolian pro-democracy politician Zorig Sanjaasuren. The Zorig Foundation stated that its goal was to spread democratic values in Mongolia.

Zorig Foundation

Formation	October 1998; 26 years ago (1998-10)
Focus	Humanitarian
Location	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Area served	Mongolia
Key people	Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun (Founder)
Website	www.zorigfoundation.org www.facebook.com/zorigfoundation
Affiliated with Zorig Foundation USA and Zorig Foundation Japan

History

Zorig Sanjaasuren (1962–1998) was a prominent Mongolian politician and leader of the country's 1990 democratic revolution.^[1] He is called the "Golden Magpie of Democracy" (Mongolian: Ардчиллын алтан хараацай, Ardchillyn altan kharaatsai).^[2] He was murdered in 1998; his murder case is still unsolved. After his death, his sister, Oyun, entered politics and founded the Civil Will Party along with the Zorig Foundation.^[3]

Projects

Zorig Foundation runs two notable programs: the Young Leadership Program (YLP) and the Environmental Fellowship Program (EFP).^[4]

The Zorig Foundation provides scholarships to Mongolian students studying domestically. Each scholarship is provided through a partnership with the Foundation and various organizations and companies, such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Rio Tinto, and The Asia Foundation.^[5]

Organizational structure

The head of the foundation is Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun, a Mongolian politician who is also the Director of External Affairs at the Green Climate Fund. Its current executive director is Maralmaa Munkh-Achit. The foundation auditing board's members are as follows: Bold M., Solongo J., and Sukhbaatar D.^[6][7]