By Raymond Lam
Image courtesy of Oyungerel Tsedevdamba
For the past few decades, Oyungerel Tsedevdamba has been prominent as a civic leader and household name in Mongolia. Her interest in human development and the arts is expansive: she spent 18 years in public service, serving as former minister of culture, tourism and sports and as an member of parliament and an advisor to the prime minister. She served as president of the Democratic Women s Union of Mongolia and as a staff and later non-staff advisor to Mongolian president Elbegdorj Tsakhia (2009–17). She is a human rights advocate and co-founder and president of Local Solutions, an NGO. Through Local Solutions, Tsedevdamba launched an ongoing campaign called “Let’s Change Our Toilets” to remove the stigma around toilets and sanitary hygiene, educating people across Mongolia in the importance of good toilets in the home especially in traditional off-grid communities since 2017. She is also the author of