NEWS: Is harsh Mongolia ready for winter tourism?

Originally posted on Skift.com - Mar 23, 2013
by Pearly Jacob

Mongolia’s sweeping steppe and nomadic heritage attract tens of thousands of tourists from around the world each summer. Come winter, though, popular tourist spots are eerily deserted; tour operators have traditionally hibernated. But some are starting to ask: ‘are we missing an opportunity?’

Tourist season in Mongolia typically lasts from mid-May to mid-September. Most operators rely on revenue generated during these months to survive for the rest of the year. “No matter how successful you are in summer, winter is a dead season,” said Gereltuv Dashdoorov, director of operations at Nomadic Expeditions, a tour agency. “That’s the same story for most companies.”

The actual drop in tourist numbers between seasons is hard to calculate as official statistics define a tourist as anyone who enters Mongolia on a tourist visa and stays for a minimum of three days. Dashdoorov says the drop in bookings for most agencies is between 85 and 90 percent. Winter visitors are mostly passengers on the Trans-Siberian Railway on a three-day layover in Ulaanbaatar – the world’s coldest capital – between trains.

The government says it wants to augment Mongolia’s mining-dominated economy. In early March, officials pledged to include tourism as a national investment priority at the Mongolian Economic Forum, an annual event co-sponsored by the government. Tourism contributed 5.7 percent of GDP in 2012, according to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council. The council ranks Mongolia 147th of 184 countries for tourism’s total contribution to GDP.

There are other challenges, besides winter. Mongolia’s tour operators have struggled to compete with the mining industry for trained local staff. And mining-led inflation is making Mongolia an increasingly expensive destination for tourists. But the seasonality of the sector continues to limit growth.

“If we want to try sustainable tourism, we need to have income coming in during all four seasons,” said Khoshartsaga Saraal, the new head of the Department of Tourism Policy Implementation and Coordination at the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism.

To supplement their winter income, some tour operators have started catering to well-off Mongolians wishing to travel abroad in the colder months. “Shopping trips in Spain, beach visits in Thailand. … That’s how tour operators are starting to make money in winter,” said Dashdoorov of Nomadic Expeditions.

Dashdoorov feels Mongolia’s extreme winter temperatures are not the only thing deterring potential visitors. “There’s also a lack of winter tourism products you can offer,” he said.

A handful of companies have been trying to extend the tourist season by collaborating with local communities to organize annual events. In recent years, these have included the Golden Eagle Festival in the western Altai Mountains each October. March events include the Khovsgol Ice Festival, the Thousand Camels Festival in the southern Gobi Desert, and acamel polo tournament near Ulaanbaatar. The festivals have yet to draw high numbers of international tourists, though some have gained a reputation as colorful local affairs, says Dashdoorov, whose company helped kick-start the eagle and camel events.

For organizers, poor infrastructure proves as challenging as the weather. “People come prepared to face the cold. But when you include bad roads and rough travel conditions, it becomes more difficult,” said Enkhbaatar Batbayar, general manger of Active Adventures and Tours, co-organizers of the Khovsgol Ice Festival.

In its 13th year, the festival has evolved from a small rural event to an affair attended by dozens of foreigners and hundreds of domestic tourists. Since 2007, Batbayar’s outfit has joined hands with local organizers to promote the festival on a bigger scale; a job, he says, the government could assist. He points to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculptor Festival across the border in China as an example of good cooperation between officials and tour operators.

“The Chinese local government arranges everything from sculptures to accommodation. The tour agent’s job there is to simply bring the tourists. Until recently we had to organize everything and also try to sell our tours,” he says. This year, 35 foreign tourists booked tour packages for the ice festival directly through the company, a record.

The central government has pledged greater support for the festivals and recognizes their potential to draw visitors. “These can become internationally known events,” Saraal from the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism told EurasiaNet.org.

One unusual sport shows Mongolia could be a hot destination for extreme outdoor winter sports. Joel Rauzy, a French outdoor guide and musher, started offering dogsledding tours in 2003 through his company, Wind of Mongolia. The five-to-nine-day specialized trips are so popular Rauzy says he often has to turn away prospective clients.

Rauzy believes Mongolia’s “unfair reputation” of extremely cold winters and lack of services is hampering the country’s potential to attract winter sports lovers. “I’ve worked in Finland and, believe me, it’s much easier in Mongolia. It’s almost always sunny here and it’s a dry cold that’s very easy to bear,” he said.

Mongolia should work at developing specialized outdoor services tailored for the winter sports market, he said. “You could organize cross-country skiing tours, pull-cart treks across ice, guided snow treks. […] The clients do exist. There is big potential. The problem is how to manage this potential.”

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Word List:

• sweeping: having an important effect on a large part of something
• hibernated: to spend the winter in a state like deep sleep
• augment: to increase the amount, value, size, etc. of something
• deterring: to make somebody decide not to do something or continue doing something, especially by making them understand the difficulties and unpleasant results of their actions
• draw: to move something/somebody by pulling it or them gently
• musher: a person who drives a dog sled
• hampering: to prevent somebody from easily doing or achieving something
• bear: to be able to accept and deal with something unpleasant

Pronunciation MP3:
= sweep
= hibernate
= deter
= draw
= hamper
= bear

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NEWS: Of Baby Animals and Borrowers in Selenge

Originally posted on Kiva.org - April 13, 2013

Spring has arrived in Mongolia! That means warmer weather (afternoons creeping closer and closer to the double digits)… and, of course, baby animals!

I had the opportunity to travel to Selenge aimag (province) last week with XacBank, one of Kiva’s partners in Mongolia. Batzul, the Kiva Coordinator at XacBank, and I had a jam-packed schedule: Do borrower verifications, check client waivers, conduct loan officer training sessions, capture videos, and present certificates to top borrowers. And after two short days, I was proud to say: Mission accomplished!

driving through the Mongolian countryside

After being delayed by the heavy traffic in the capital, we finally left Ulaanbaatar (UB) close to 11am. Sukhbaatar, the capital of Selenge, is about 300km from UB, and it’s just a stone’s throw from the Russian border. The mostly straight road that took us there meanders along wide plains, with mountains looming on either side.

Though the timid round signs along the road try to impose a speed limit of 50km/h, we easily tripled that speed for most of the ride, and at one point our driver, Turaa, maxxed out at 180. While he’s a very experienced driver, the back seats in cars here don’t tend to have seatbelts… so I must say I was quite relieved when we arrived at our destination in one piece.

Tsetsee and the new barn she worked hard to build

The branch in Selenge was bustling with activity when we arrived. After checking loan documents there, Turaa took us 20km out of the town centre to Tsetsee’s farm, where she had built a barn for her animals using her Kiva loan. Tsetsee is a trained veterinarian, so caring for animals is second nature to her. While she still works part-time as a vet to administer vaccines to animals in her community, this entrepreneurial woman had bought a variety of animals in order to start selling organic dairy and meat products. At last count, she had 30 cows, 5 horses, 230 sheep, and 280 goats.

visiting the newborns on Tsetsee’s farm

We couldn’t have had better timing. Her livestock had produced 200 offspring this year. Some had been born two weeks prior, while others were just two days old! The older offspring were keeping warm in the newly built barn, while the littlest ones had their own ger for a nursery. When we arrived, Tsetsee let them all out, and joy and chaos ensued.

We finally dragged ourselves away from all the adorable-ness. Tsetsee welcomed us into her lovely farmhouse for a chat, where she expressed a deep gratitude for her Kiva loan. I was fascinated to learn that all meat and dairy produced in this country (as well as fruit and vegetables) is organic. (While Mongolia’s agricultural climate does not support extensive fruit and vegetable production, it is favourable to the growth of sea buckthorn, of which the country is a large producer).

Another interesting thing I’ve learned is the Mongolian approach to slaughtering animals—particularly when it comes to smaller scale production. For smaller animals such as sheep and goats, an incision is made in the animal’s torso (which causes it relatively little pain). The slaughterer reaches in and gently snaps the spinal artery, and the animal loses consciousness. It’s considered to be a more humane practice than other approaches.

(This may seem strange to foreigners, but then again, most consumers in the West are so far removed from the farms where our food comes from that most of us never really think about how meat ends up on our plates. And these days, it seems, the truth about farming practices in the West are being kept even more tightly under wraps.)

XacBank’s branch office in Sukhbaatar, Selenge

Back at the branch office, with the work day officially over, we found the loan officers still hard at work. But there was Kiva training to be done! One of the main tasks of a Kiva Fellow is to provide support to our field partners and to help them implement Kiva’s policies and procedures effectively. That includes training loan officers on what Kiva is all about. While loan officers disburse Kiva loans on a daily basis, most of them have had little more than a crash course on Kiva from someone at their institution. As Kiva Fellows, we provide them with a better understanding of what we do—especially in a wider, global context.

training the loan officers

Loan officers play an important role in the disbursement of Kiva loans. Together with the Kiva Coordinators, they are the ones who take the photos and write the stories of the borrowers which lenders browse on Kiva’s website. In order to motivate them to create the best borrower profiles they can, I always remind them that they are competing for funds—not only with borrowers at Kiva’s other Mongolian partners, but also with borrowers from all of Kiva’s 192 partners around the world.

These training sessions are quite useful for loan officers as they really get them thinking, often provoking interesting and thoughtful questions. The sessions we ran in Selenge were no exception. Another benefit is that they make the loan officers’ work more meaningful to them, as they understand more clearly how they fit in to the Kiva picture.

The next day, we set out to meet Shurbat, another Kiva borrower. Shurbat is a cobbler and a veteran in the business—she’s been offering her services in Gurvan Mergid market since 1973! She told us she was really thankful for her Kiva loan, which had allowed her to purchase an inventory of soles. Her plan is to start producing winter boots and summer shoes for children.

Shurbat, the proud cobbler

Due to illness, our visit with Shurbat was limited (we weren’t able to see her shop), but she graciously offered us her time and her attention. After chatting with her about her loan, we asked to take her photo, and she and her daughter made a small fuss over her appearance to make sure she looked her very best. She even put on her bright pink hat just for the occasion!

rewarding a borrower through XacBank’s 9% savings incentive program

Back at the branch office again, we did a spot check on client waiver forms—which Kiva clients must sign if they agree to let Kiva post their information on our website—and also handed out some certificates of appreciation to a few borrowers. In order to encourage its Kiva clients to save, XacBank has an incentive program for those borrowers who pay back their loans on time. It deposits 9% of the interest they’ve paid on their loans back into a savings account for them. After all, savings are an important aspect of a household’s financial health.

Finally, it was time for a lunch break, so one of the loan officers took Batzul, Turaa and I out to a nearby restaurant. There, we enjoyed some fresh khuushuur and other Mongolian foods. Afterwards, he took us for a stroll so we could check out the local market. It was every bit as interesting and colourful as the pictures show…

outdoor market in Sukhbaatar, where clothing and other wares are sold

buying smoked fish, a specialty of this province

It was wonderful to experience a part of Mongolia that I might otherwise never have visited. It’s definitely one of the perks of being a Kiva Fellow. After a busy two days, and our confidence fully placed in Turaa’s hands, Batzul and I let the peaceful scenery of the countryside lull us to sleep as we headed home.

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Word List:

• creeping: happening or moving gradually and not easily noticed
• jam-packed: very full or crowded
• stone's throw: [idiom] a very short distance away
• meanders: to curve a lot rather than being in a straight line
• looming: to appear as a large shape that is not clear, especially in a frightening or threatening way
• timid: small compared to the surrounding scene
• maxxed out: the maximum
• bustling: full of people moving about in a busy way
• second nature: something that you do very easily and naturally, because it is part of your character or you have done it so many times
• offspring: the young of an animal or plant
• chaos ensued: a state of complete confusion and lack of order began
• torso: the main part of the body, not including the head, arms or legs
• humane: showing kindness towards people and animals by making sure that they do not suffer more than is necessary
• under wraps: [idiom] hidden
• implement: to make something that has been officially decided start to happen or be used
• cobbler: a person who makes or repairs shoes
• spot check: a check that is made suddenly and without warning on a few things or people chosen from a group to see that everything is as it should be
• stroll: to walk somewhere in a slow relaxed way

Pronunciation MP3:
= creep
= jam-packed
= meander
= loom
= timid
= bustling
= offspring
= chaos
= ensue
= torso
= humane
= cobbler
= stroll

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NEWS: The riches under Mongolia's Turquoise Hill

Originally posted on BBC - Mar 23, 2013
By Justin Rowlatt


Beneath the Gobi desert lie enormous reserves of gold, silver and copper - but exploiting them is proving to be a tricky balancing act for the Mongolian authorities.

I am sure he would blush at the suggestion, but Samand Sanjdorj is quite possibly the most influential Mongolian since Genghis Khan.

Sanj, as he is known, is from a modest background. Like most Mongolians, he grew up in a ger - one of the round felt tents common in Central Asia. He is from a family of nomadic herders from the west of Mongolia, but he did well at school and managed to wangle himself a place on a geophysics course at a university in Russia.

Now you might imagine the work of a geophysicist would be a bit dull, but I challenge you not to be drawn in by Sanj's story.

In the late 1990s, an international mining company sent him deep into the Gobi desert as part of a team investigating what he described as "an interesting extrusion". To you and me, that is a great fist of rock punching out from the dusty desert scrubland.

Sanj and his fellow geologists were by no means the first prospectors there. The local name for this "extrusion" is Oyu Tolgoi, or Turquoise Hill. The green stains that gave it its name are a clue to the minerals within.

But first the Soviet teams and then, more recently, those Western mining companies that examined it, dismissed the deposit as too small to warrant commercial exploitation.

Sanj's work told a very different story. His results, he says, rapidly suggested a very unusual geological formation.

"Every day our data showed the potential ore body was bigger and bigger," he told me.

"I couldn't wait to get up the next day and explore further. We were pretty confident we'd found something important."

They could hardly have imagined how important it would be. What Sanj and his colleagues had discovered is reckoned to be the greatest unexploited reserve of copper, gold and silver on the planet.

A decade and a half later, Sanj is showing me around the vast, blue processing plant that rises up out of the sand where once he and his fellow geologists camped.

The $6bn (£4bn) that the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto spent building this place was enough to help power Mongolia to the top of the list of the fastest-growing economies on earth.

The company is predicting that the Oyu Tolgoi mine will generate more than $8bn every year for the next 40 or 50 years. It is an astonishing windfall for a country with fewer than three million people.

And it comes at a time when other forces are also reshaping the nation.

Mongolia has always suffered the occasional extreme winter - they are known as dzuds - but local people say they are becoming more frequent. In recent years they have killed many millions of the double-humped Bactrian camels, yaks, sheep, cashmere goats and cows on which the nation's herders depend.

That has helped drive a great exodus of traditional nomads from the countryside and the growth of the most extraordinary shanty town I have ever seen.

The herders have brought their gers - or tents - to town and have set up home in the hills around the capital.

Over the course of a single decade, a quarter of the entire Mongolian population has given up the lifestyle that has sustained their families for millennia and moved to this sprawling slum.

And, of course, everyone who lives here is well aware of Sanj's great discovery down in the Gobi. Naturally enough, they want a share of it.

And that is where the problem lies.

The first ore - a rather modest mound of black powder - was produced during the couple of days I was there earlier this year. In time it should grow into a mountain, but the Mongolian government wants cash now and it is asking Rio Tinto for hundreds of millions of pounds more than was agreed for this year.

The head of the mining company's operations in Mongolia hinted darkly to me that countries that change the rules like this risk killing the goose before it has laid any golden - or, for that matter, copper - eggs.

"Is that a threat?" I asked.

"Oh, no, no, no," he replied.

Yet the two parties have been locked in "discussions" for over a month now.

Back at the mine in the Gobi, however, Sanj seems unperturbed by the dispute.

Samand Sanjdorj's confidence in the geological formation has paid off

One senses he has been in the business long enough to know that squabbles over how the Mongolian government and Rio Tinto divide the spoils may delay the project but it will not end it.

He knows that a prize this valuable will eventually be exploited.

But that leaves the really big question unanswered. Can the government ensure that every Mongolian benefits from Sanj's extraordinary discovery?

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Word List:

• blush: to become red in the face because you are embarrassed or ashamed
• wangle: to get something that you or another person wants by persuading somebody or by a clever plan
• reckoned: to calculate an amount, a number, etc
• squabbles: to argue noisily about something that is not very important

Pronunciation MP3:
= blush
= wangle
= reckon
= squabble

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NEWS: Mongolia to host UN World Environment Day 2013

Originally posted on UN.org - Feb 22, 2013

Herdsmen drive cattle through Western Mongolia. The government suspended mining licenses to protect the traditional nomadic lifestyle.

Mongolia will host this year’s World Environment Day (WED) celebration on 5 June, which will focus on reducing food waste and loss, the United Nations announced today.

The Asian nation was chosen for its efforts to shift towards a green economy in its major economic sectors such as mining and for promoting environmental awareness among youth, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a news release.

“Mongolia is facing enormous challenges, including growing pressure on food security, traditional nomadic herding and water supplies as a result of the impacts of climate change,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“Indeed it is estimated that annual mean temperature has increased by over 2°C during the last 70 years and precipitation has decreased in most regions, except the western part of the country, indicating that Mongolia is among the most vulnerable nations in the world to global warming.

“Yet its Government is also determined to meet these challenges and seize the opportunities of a less-polluting and more-sustainable future – from a moratorium on new mining pending improved environmental regulations to plans to become a renewable energy power-house and exporter of clean energy regionally,” he said.

Observance of World Environment Day began in 1972 as a way to raise awareness of the environment and encourage political attention and action. This year’s theme for the Day is “Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint,” which builds on a global campaign of the same name launched earlier this year by UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other partners to reduce food and waste loss.

The announcement was made during UNEP’s Governing Council session in Nairobi, Kenya, where hundreds of environment ministers and civil society representatives met to discuss some of the most pressing environmental issues.

“I am sure that as the global host of WED, Mongolia will demonstrate to the world that a transition to a green economy is possible, even within some of the most traditionally challenging industrial sectors, when leadership, vision, smart policies and political will are translated into action on the ground,” Mr. Steiner said.

During the Council session, Mr. Steiner also announced that a UNEP mission to Mongolia was scheduled to depart in April to assist the country in its transition to a green economy in areas such as energy, land and water.

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Word List:

• green: concerned with the protection of the environment; supporting the protection of the environment as a political principle
• vulnerable: weak and easily hurt physically or emotionally
• seize: to be quick to make use of a chance, an opportunity, etc.
• moratorium: a temporary stopping of an activity, especially by official agreement

Pronunciation MP3:
= vulnerable
= seize
= moratorium

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NEWS: East Asia’s New Peacemaker: Mongolia?

Originally posted on The Diplomat - Mar 15, 2013
By J. Berkshire Miller

From provocations coming from North Korea to various island spats, East Asia is rife with hotspots. Could Mongolia play a role?

The past year has heightened some important security landmines in East Asia. There is the usual cycle of “provocation followed by negotiation” by a not-so reformed regime in North Korea. More concerning however is the intractable, diplomatic tussle between Tokyo and Beijing over islands in the East China Sea. Add to this the fractured bilateral relationship between the U.S.’ two most important allies in the region – Japan and South Korea – and there appears to be too many problems to be solved by a “rebalance.”

Against this backdrop, there is an underutilized diplomatic asset that could potentially help these quarrels. As Elizabeth Economy pointed out last month on The Diplomat, and others have alluded to elsewhere, Mongolia could take on an enhanced role in mediating the region’s quarrels. The most obvious situation mentioned is the stalemate between the U.S., Japan and South Korea on one side and North Korea on the other. Economy stressed the potential benefits of Ulaanbaatar’s involvement: “While we wait for Beijing’s foreign policy to coalesce, we might look to Beijing’s north for some help. Mongolian officials have regularly hosted their North Korean counterparts for national security and economic discussions.”

Indeed, Mongolia attaches importance to its relationship with Pyongyang and has gone out of its way to point this out to outside observers. For example, in a 2011 speech at the Brookings Institution, Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj noted the importance of Mongolia’s bond with the North: “(Mongolia has) a unique relation with North Korea. We have our embassy there, we have governmental line to connect, and every year meetings, and now we are developing an exchange program. And when they (North Koreans) come to Mongolia, they see that there is a different way of living, a different way of governance.”

Critics will argue that Mongolia’s window into North Korea may be merely cosmetic and incapable of producing tangible results. However, there is no debating the fact that Ulaanbaatar is interested in playing this intermediary role.

Mongolia currently holds the Presidency of the Community of Democracies, a global intergovernmental coalition of democratic countries that seek to promote democratic rules and strengthen democratic norms and institutions around the world. While Ulaanbaatar’s term as chair will end in April, this is a position that Elbegdorj’s government has taken great pride in as Mongolia continues to work through its own growing pains on its way to becoming a model democracy in a region that is flush with corruption. Elbegdorj has leveraged Mongolia’s history before its democratic reforms to push for changes in Central Asia. While it is hard to equate this effort with reforms (the region remains one of the most corrupt in the world), no one believed that Mongolia would suddenly change decades of ingrained corruption.

Turning back to East Asia, there seems to be an opportunity for Mongolia to bring its diplomacy to the next level. Considering the dearth of policy options on North Korea, a stronger dialogue through Mongolia – even if tacit – should not be dismissed by Washington, Seoul or Tokyo. As Elbegdorj has noted previously, “Mongolia was 20 some years ago, like a North Korea like society…. Today we are sharing a community of democracy. Today Mongolia is the champion for the global fight for democracy.”

Last year, Japan accepted Mongolia’s offer to serve as an intermediately in the long stalled talks between Tokyo and North Korea on resolving Pyongyang’s past abduction of Japanese nationals. However, much has happened since then. In December 2012, Japan elected a new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who has traditionally held a more hawkish stance on North Korea. This coupled with Pyongyang’s recent rocket launch and nuclear test has once again scuttled that chance of a meaningful thaw.

But there are other opportunities for dialogue with the North. The moribund Six-Party talks are not going to be resumed anytime soon and the Obama administration should start looking for meaningful alternative approaches. President Obama’s now-bankrupt policy of strategic patience has in practice led to strategic ambiguity and benefitted Kim Jong-un as he builds his credentials as a “military-first” leader.

While regional democracy promotion in Central Asia and its relationship with North Korea are noteworthy, Mongolian diplomacy – while limited in capacity – needs to go the extra step. There are other disputes in the region where Mongolian involvement could yield tangible benefits.

For example, Mongolia could be a useful venue for Japan and Russia to meet over their long-standing territorial dispute. A third party will probably not change the calculus of either Tokyo or Moscow, but it has the potential to institutionalize talks and promote sustained discussion. This would avoid the long delays between talks that have become the norm as a result of political statements or actions.

Of course, this is not to advocate for Ulaanbaatar positioning itself to adjudicate every dispute in East Asia. Mongolia will need to pick its battles and should distance itself from intractable and sensitive disputes such as the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Nonetheless, there is room – and the need – for Mongolia to initiate a strong diplomatic offensive in East Asia. It is clear that Mongolia covets this role but it will need the requisite support of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

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Word List:

• heightened: if a feeling or an effect heightens, or something heightens it, it becomes stronger or increases
• intractable: very difficult to deal with
• tussle: a short struggle, fight or argument especially in order to get something
• underutilized: not used as much as it could or should be
• alluded: to mention something in an indirect way
• norms: standards of behaviour that are typical of or accepted within a particular group or society
• flush: completely level with each other
• ingrained: that has existed for a long time and is therefore difficult to change
• dearth: a lack of something; the fact of there not being enough of something
• tacit: that is suggested indirectly or understood, rather than said in words
• hawkish: preferring to use military action rather than peaceful discussion in order to solve a political problem
• moribund: no longer effective and about to come to an end completely
• ambiguity: the state of being difficult to understand or explain because of involving many different aspects
• adjudicate: to make an official decision about who is right in a disagreement between two groups or organizations
• covets: to want something very much, especially something that belongs to somebody else

Pronunciation MP3:
= heighten
= intractable
= tussle
= underutilized
= allude
= norm
= flush
= ingrain
= dearth
= tacit
= hawkish
= moribund
= ambiguity
= adjudicate
= covet

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NEWS: Apps, Websites, Services & Resources for Students

Originally posted on DailyTekk.com

College life can be crazy… that’s why we’ve compiled a list of awesome tech tools for university students. Whether you are studying, socializing, finding food (our first three categories) or looking for a way to pay for tuition, we’ve got you covered. As usual, we’ve included plenty of brand new startups so there is a ton of fresh new content to explore. Isn’t it nice to have everything in one convenient, bookmarkable place? So, I thought I’d hook you up with some actually useful tech tools that will help you rock at everything from academics to relaxing. Game on!

Study

1. StudyHall.com - Study, share, connect with your classmates.
2. Quizlet – Study languages, vocabulary or almost anything (share with friends).
3. iStidiez Pro – Sophisticated student planner for Mac, iPhone or iPad.
4. Wolfram|Alpha – Enter what you want to calculate or know about.
5. STUDYBLUE – Make online flashcards and notes. Study anywhere, anytime.
6. Boundless – The free textbook replacement; high-quality, open-licensed content.
7. Brightstorm – Quick homework help (math, science, test prep).
8. Notesolution - Ace your exams with the best notes at your school.
9. instaGrok – Understand concepts like gravity thoroughly and intuitively.
10. Chegg – Expert help in all subjects, eTextbooks, course reviews and more.
11. OpenStudy – Social learning network and global study group.
12. Koofers - Free test bank, lecture notes, professor ratings and more.
13. Desmos – A beautiful, free online graphic calculator.

Socialize

1. Path – Stay connected with family and close friends.
2. Pair – An app just for couples.
3. Meetup – Find a meetup group near you by topic or interest.
4. Wendr - Discover what your friends are doing tonight.
5. Flaunt - A social network for student professionals.
6. Highlight – A fun way to learn more about people nearby.
7. Ourspot – Rediscover relationships.
8. Pearescope – Privately introduces you to nearby friends of friends.
9. Banjo – Notifies you when any of your friends are near.
10. Everyme – The private social network.
11. Diaspora – A creative way to remix your world.
12. Touch – Share and chat with your closest friends and family.

Eat

1. Thryve - Start eating what makes you feel great.
2. Evernote Food – Find and remember memorable food experiences on your iPhone.
3. CookItFor.Us – Get the recipes you crave made.
4. Feastie – Search top food blogs for the tastiest new recipes.

Stay Organized

1. Evernote – Remember everything.
2. Schooltraq – A smarter academic planner for a smarter you.
3. Scheedule – The calendar reinvented for students.
4. Workflowy – Organize your brain.
5. inClass – The last school app you’ll ever need (schedule, notes and more).
6. Springpad – Smart notebooks to organize and share whats important to you.
7. Awesome Note - Combine notes and todos in one app (iPad and iPhone).
8. Clear – Breathtakingly-simple todos for iPhone.
9. Things – Comprehensive todo list for Mac, iPad and iPhone.
10. Wunderlist – Free and easy-to-use task manager.
11. Any.DO – Award-winning reminder app that helps you do anything (iOS/Android).

Finance Your Education

1. Campus Shift – Make money, save money, have fun!
2. Alltuition – The college financial aid common application.
3. ScholarPRO – Get matched with personalized scholarships; manage them online.
4. SoFi – Connects students and alumni for community financing opportunities.
5. Go Financial Aid – Advisors and consultants for FAFSA and CSS profile.
6. BookRenter – Rent your textbooks, save a bundle.
7. MeritAid.com – Comprehensive directory of merit and academic scholarships.
8. Scholarships.com – Find scholarships while colleges recruit you.
9. Learndipity – Scholarships + savings.

College Life

1. SparkCollege – Blogs, admissions, college life and school reviews.
2. Spill - Peer support network for empathy and encouragement.
3. OOHLALA – Energize the student experience.
4. Localmind - Know what’s happening around town, right now.
5. Roommat.es – Makes living with roommates easy.
6. HackCollege – Student-powered life-hacking. Work smarter, not harder.
7. UniYu – Support network for students.
8. JusCollege – Social experiences, local services and deals on goods.
9. Sumpto – Free stuff for college students.
10. UCampus – Better connect with your city and school.
11. 99U – Insights for making ideas happen.
12. Amazon Student - Exclusive deals for college students.
13. Blog U – Inside higher ed.

Online Learning

1. Khan Academy - Learn almost anything for free.
2. Udemy - Online courses from the world’s top instructors.
3. Coursera - The world’s best courses, online, for free.
4. Udacity - Free online courses from world renowned university professors.
5. Skillshare - A community marketplace for classes.
6. TED-Ed - Lessons worth sharing.
7. Sophia - Learn in your own way. Over 25,000 tutorials.
8. Memrise - The free and fun way to learn anything.
9. The Concord Consortium - Digital learning for science, math and engineering.
10. General Assembly - A network of campuses for technology, business and design.

Miscellaneous

1. Acceptly – College prep; see your chances of getting in.
2. Inkling – Interactive books for iPad and the web.
3. Kno – eTextbooks for iPad, Galaxy Note, Windows and the web.
4. 30 Second MBA – Tips from business leaders.
5. Fit Campus – Get fit, win prizes.
6. Thoughtback - Program your mind, one thought at a time.
7. Acceptional – Sample college admissions essays.

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NEWS: Dividing Up Mongolia's Mining Riches from Oyu Tolgoi

Originally posted on BBC.co.uk - March 27, 2013
By Tim Bowler

The Oyu Tolgoi mine will boost Mongolia's GDP by a third when fully operational

Mongolia has for centuries been characterised as a nation of nomads and cattle herders, but this is all changing thanks to a huge new copper and gold mine.

The mine is Oyu Tolgoi, which is Mongolian for Turquoise Hill, and it is already beginning to transform the economy of this sparsely-populated central Asian nation, sending it towards the top of international growth tables.

But this year, there has been disagreement over the details of the contract between Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government. Ulaan Baatar wants Rio Tinto to explain why it has over-spent on the project by more than $2bn (£1.3bn).

The size of the ore deposit is staggering - running for some 20 miles beneath the Gobi Desert. When this mine is fully operational, in 2020, it will produce 450,000 tonnes of copper and 330,000 ounces of gold a year.

One of those who has been involved with the mine since the very beginning is geologist Samand Sanjdorj, vice president of Oyu Tolgoi operations, who first came to the site 16 years ago.

"When we first came in 1997 it was just open steppe. We had only 11 of us, two ration jeeps and one truck - that's it."

When the survey team realised the size of the deposit below their feet, he says "it was exciting, very exciting".

"This ore body is something like Manhattan Island, this deposit is among the top three in the entire world."

Samand Sanjdorj says the mine

will be one of the biggest in the world

In the past few years Oyu Tolgoi has been transformed. A massive open-cast pit has now been excavated with trucks and diggers the size of houses at work extracting the ore-bearing rocks, and production is due to start this June.

The Anglo-American mining giant Rio Tinto has spent $6.2bn so far on developing the site, which lies in the Gobi more than 300 miles south of Mongolia's capital Ulaan Baatar.

Construction challenges

Besides the opencast pit, Rio Tinto is also working on a deep mine to extract copper and gold ore and this is due to start operating in four years time.

Cameron McRae, chief executive of Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi operations, says there have been huge logistical challenges in developing such a remote site.

"It didn't have roads, it didn't have a railway - which it still doesn't have - it didn't have power, it didn't have water, it didn't have an airstrip for flying people in and out.

"A lot of that infrastructure has had to be put in place as well as building the mine. And just getting the materials to the site to start putting that infrastructure in place has been a challenge in itself."

Yet even though the mine has not yet started producing, Mr McRae says its very construction has already benefited Mongolia's economy.

"Six billion dollars has been brought into the country in terms of goods, money for local businesses to assist in the building of the mine, and there have been a lot of indirect effects into the economy."

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mongolia will be the largest beneficiary - with the country receiving up to 71% of the income from the mine.

Under its agreement with Rio, Mongolia has a 34% stake in the mine and the project is already a major jobs provider, with 13,000 workers of whom 87% are Mongolians.

But Mongolia is concerned it will not receive royalties any time soon because development costs have increased. Under the terms of its deal, Ulaan Baatar won't get a share of the profits until Rio has recovered its investment.

Referring to the current dispute with Rio, President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj says that firms mining in Mongolia have a great impact on the country.

"We would like to see that footprint bring development to Mongolian society - not scar it."

"The world has changed, change has to come to mining business. Our people are more informed, more educated and because of that are asking more questions."

Rio Tinto's Colin McRae insists his firm wants to deal fairly with Mongolia's government, but that politicians should let the miners get on with their business.

Politicians should let miners get on with their business,

says Cameron McRae

"Some countries talk of resource nationalism and then what you see is that the investment just leaves the country. And the size of their mining industry shrinks.

"A pretty consistent fact across the world, whether in mining or other businesses, is that governments aren't good at running businesses. They are better off getting out of the way and letting businesses do that - but making sure that businesses do those to the standards that the government desires for its country."

But he denies he is issuing a warning to politicians in Ulaan Baatar.

"I think what we have been saying to the Mongolian government is we want to build a business here that Mongolia, the government and its people, will be absolutely proud of, that will be seen to be run by Mongolians to the highest standards in the world."

'We will not gain'

Elsewhere in the capital, some Mongolians are skeptical that the new mine will really bring benefits. Among them is rap artist Gee, who says the government is not doing enough to protect the interests of Mongolians.

"They can't, they are not doing enough."

Rap artist Gee does not think many Mongolians

will gain from the mine

He doesn't accept that the wealth from the mine will trickle down to ordinary Mongolians.

"They can't get richer, they don't have power. People who have power, they will get the wealth, and they will get more powerful. People like us will not get it."

Yet it is not just Western mining firms that come in for criticism. Much of the mine's output will be taken by road over the border to China, leading some to fear that it will be Mongolia's huge southern neighbour that will ultimately benefit from the mine.

"Their needs are their needs, we should be working on our needs," says Gee.

When asked what he thinks China wants from Mongolia he has a simple answer, "Everything".

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Word List:

• massive: extremely large or serious
• extract: to remove or obtain a substance from something
• logistical: the practicalities needed to make a complicated plan successful when a lot of people and equipment is involved
• infrastructure: the basic systems and services that are necessary for a country or an organization to run smoothly, for example buildings, transport and water and power supplies
• beneficiary: a person who gains or benefits as a result of something
• skeptical: having doubts that a claim or statement is true or that something will happen
• trickle down: the theory that if the richest people in society become richer, this will have a good effect on poorer people as well, for example by creating more jobs

Pronunciation:
= massive
= logistical
= infrastructure
= beneficiary
= skeptical
= trickle down

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