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In 2007, Mongolia ratified the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. With funding from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), established under the Convention, the Creative Industry Innovation Center (CIIC) will begin implementing the "Promoting Social Equality Within the Cultural and Creative Industries" project from July 2024 until December 2025.

This initiative aligns with Mongolia's "Vision 2050" long-term development policy, prioritizes the cultural and creative industry as a leading economic sector. Key policies and legal frameworks, such as the Law on Supporting the Cultural and Creative Industries (2024) and the Priority Sector of Cultural and Creative Industries (2022), outline specific objectives, such as developing the cultural and creative industries, diversifying cultural products, enhancing global competitiveness, building robust cultural infrastructure, and bolstering local initiatives.

Currently, Mongolia is facing several challenges, including low skill levels among cultural creative producers, weak business competitiveness, and underdeveloped infrastructure. The increasing shift towards digitalization further exacerbates social inequalities, limiting opportunities for women artists, artisans, and people with disabilities to engage in social and economic activities due to inadequate digital skills. Moreover, there is a lack of public awareness and understanding regarding gender roles, human rights, and the role of culture and creativity in sustainable development. These factors contribute to the perpetuation of social inequalities and the violation of basic rights and freedoms.

To address these challenges, the project "Promoting Social Equality within Cultural and Creative Industries" will implement the following key activities:

1. Cultural creative industries research: Studying the business environment of cultural creative industries and assessing the business skills of women artists and artisans.

2. Workshop on “Business Skills for the Creative and Cultural Industries”: Training sessions on cultural business planning, product development, intellectual property, and social marketing for women artists, artisans, and people with disabilities.

3. "Entrepreneurship for the Creative and Cultural Industries" program: Supporting startups led by female artists, artisans, and people with disabilities to enhance competitiveness through an incubation process.

4. National consultation meeting on "Social Equality within the Cultural and Creative Industry": Bringing together stakeholders from the sector, including policymakers, banks, investors, intellectual property organizations, and media to foster cooperation and innovation partnerships.

The project implementation aims to enhance public awareness of gender roles, human rights, culture, and creativity in sustainable development. It seeks to amplify the impact of the cultural and creative industries through innovative business models and digital solutions, promote gender equality in development cooperation, and engage diverse stakeholders through a cultural entrepreneur network comprising government organizations, civil society, banks, investors, and media. These efforts are designed to encourage greater cooperation and increase women's participation in cultural entrepreneurship.

The CIIC is a non-governmental organization that provides training, research, and consulting services within the sectors of creative industries and innovation. It is dedicated to strengthening the capacities of policy-makers, assessing the cultural and creative industries, formulating recommendations for the elaboration of policies and strategies, and raising awareness. The CIIC has previously been awarded with an IFCD project in 2019, which was successfully completed in 2021.

IFCD, established in 2010, helps to develop and implement cultural policies, build the skills of cultural entrepreneurs and create new business models, creative new income opportunities, identify new markets for creatives and promote social inclusion and fostering peace. To date, more than 140 projects across 69 Member States have benefited from more than US$10 million of the fund. This is the third time a Mongolian organization has been awarded with an IFCD project.