New Nomad Institute

New Nomad Institute (NNI) is a not-for-profit research and action organization dedicated to integrate nomadic and indigenous knowledge in addressing contemporary climate, social, and technological issues. Rooted in Mongolia’s living nomadic traditions, NNI works at the intersection of research, education, and cultural exchange to cocreate resilient and sustainable futures.

NNI conducts collaborative and situated research with international experts, practitioners, and herder communities focusing on pastoral knowledge, environmental stewardship, and adaptive practices that have long been present in nomadic lives. Our broader research agenda underpins the overall programmatic areas, informing applied initiatives across education, exchange and types of partnerships we seek out. In parallel, New Nomad Institute seeks to build narrative and storytelling movements across multiple media to document, interpret, and share nomadic knowledge and lived experience. This work is developed collaboratively with herders, artists, filmmakers, writers, and researchers, and aims to shift dominant narratives.

Our education work includes our pilot program, Knowmadic Arts Lab, which is an immersive, place-based learning program that brings together students, scholars, and practitioners into a direct engagement with nomadic lifeways through field work, hands-on practice, and interdisciplinary dialogue. The program bridges liberal arts inquiry with lived experiences of nomadic communities, emphasizing ecological literacy, systems-thinking and indigenous worldviews. Building on this pilot, New Nomad Institute aims to further develop and scale this curriculum within and beyond Mongolia’s public education system, responding to the post-socialist educational legacy and contributing to the development of a new, globally relevant education model grounded in place-based and indigenous knowledge.

The Institute also leads Steppe Together, a global exchange platform that connects herders, artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners across regions. The initiative facilitates knowledge exchange and shared learning, and creates space for nomadic perspectives to be represented within global conversations on climate, culture, and sustainability. In 2026, Steppe Together will convene participants in conjunction with COP17, hosted in Mongolia, providing a platform for dialogue between herder communities and international actors.

Looking ahead, New Nomad Institute aims to expand its research partnerships, deepen long-term collaboration with herder communities, scale its educational programs, and strengthen global exchange and narrative initiatives that position indigenous knowledge as a critical resource for addressing contemporary global challenges.