The Zorig Young Leadership Program (YLP) was initiated in the fall of 2003. Since the YLP beginning that year, the Zorig Foundation with its contributing partner, the Khan Bank Foundation, have helped develop scores of young Mongolian citizens who are making positive contributions to their personal careers as well as to their communities and their country.

The Young Leadership Program is open to Mongolian college graduates between the ages of 21 and 25. Through a series of self-development sessions over an eight month period, the young men and women have an opportunity to practice leadership and management skills and broaden their knowledge and experience about their world and their community.

An important aspect of leadership is forming rich, productive relationships that produce strong communities, families and organizations. Over the previous years, the YLP has created a team of graduates who not only can support each other but who have met and interacted with many influential people in the community who can be resources for their future activities. The YLP is based on the premise that leadership development is self-development, so to become a valuable citizen leader it is necessary to help the individual to recognize their personal strengths and to practice using those strengths in working with other people. Leadership requires self-confidence. Self-confidence comes from an awareness of and faith in one’s own capabilities and knowledge of one’s own limitations. Through self-awareness comes the confidence needed to lead and to form strong teams of people to accomplish a common vision. During the YLP year, the participants practice goal setting, team building, and managing people and projects so that they can learn and expand the limits of their capabilities.

Each year between twenty and twenty five young Mongolian college graduates are selected to participate in the rigorous eight-month program that includes an introduction and practice of leadership skills in the areas of communications, analytical thinking, project planning and implementation and team building. The activities are designed to include real world experiences and exercises as well as classroom discussion and debate. Additionally, the participants are given an introduction to social, business and political issues of national and global interest. Many of the learning sessions are supported by leading businesses and experienced professionals from the local community, as well as foreign subject matter experts.

A famous American businessman and author on leadership, Max DePree has written that “Leadership is an art, something to be learned over time, not simply by reading books.”  The Zorig Foundation Young Leadership Program is the beginning of a life-long journey for the participants to learn and expand their leadership skills. It is an inner journey to discover their true selves and to develop faith in their own capabilities.