On April 12, the IAUNRC and the Mongolia Society were pleased to host Consul Battsetseg Tuvshintugs and Vice Consul Ganzorig Tseden-Ish from the Consulate of Mongolia in Chicago. After a tour of the Indiana University campus, which included a VIP tour of rare books and manuscripts at the Lilly Library and a guided viewing of the Mongolian collections at the Wells Library, Consul Battsetseg delivered a lecture on the past, present, and future of Mongolian immigration to the United States and to the Midwest in particular.
The lecture addressed the challenges facing Mongolian immigrants, such as a high rate of undocumented migration stemming from unemployment and underemployment in Mongolia and the limited number of US work visas available to Mongolian citizens. Consul Battsetseg also spoke about the consulate’s efforts to serve the Mongolian diaspora in the Midwest, which include plans to open a new community center in the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights and cooperating with community groups and Mongolian-owned businesses to promote the Mongolian language and culture.
Consul Battsetseg’s visit was a continuation of Indiana University’s long history of promoting public diplomacy and intercultural understanding, and we hope to continue to support similar events in the future.