The 13th International Congress of Mongolists, themed “Mongolian Studies: Tradition and Modernity”, is being held under the auspices of President of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh from August 10 to 13. Around 570 Mongolian studies scholars and researchers from 30 countries are participating in this year’s congress.
The four-day congress features 17 thematic sessions covering Mongolian language, history, archaeology, culture, art, literature, ethnography, traditional knowledge, contemporary society and international relations. More than 530 academic papers are scheduled to be presented and discussed.
President U.Khurelsukh attended the opening ceremony and expressed his appreciation, on behalf of the state and people of Mongolia, to scholars and researchers who have studied the origins, history, language, culture and way of life of the Mongolian people through scientific methods and contributed to disseminating their findings internationally. He highlighted that research by scholars has continued to shed new light on the history and heroic achievements of Mongolia’s ancestors, who established states in the heart of Central Asia and played a role in shaping the region’s historical development, while expanding the body of historical sources available to researchers. “Supporting scholars who have devoted their intellect, passion and efforts to discovering and studying the traces left by the Mongolian people in world history and the valuable heritage they contributed to the cultural heritage of humanity is a noble responsibility of the Mongolian state,” the president said.
He stressed the need to expand traditional fields of Mongolian studies, disseminate research findings, strengthen international and regional cooperation, and place greater emphasis on training young researchers. U.Khurelsukh also called for increasing international scholarship programs and ensuring that the experience of successive generations of scholars is passed on to younger researchers, describing these efforts as essential to the continued and sustainable development of Mongolian studies.
The president further urged scholars and institutions to accelerate the digitization of Mongolian-language and historical documents, cultural heritage and historical records, make them accessible to the international research community, and establish open-access databases. During the congress, scholars who have made outstanding contributions to advancing Mongolian studies internationally and promoting the history, language, culture and heritage of nomadic peoples were honored with Mongolia’s highest state titles, orders and medals by presidential decree.
L.Tserenchunt, a senior lecturer at Indiana University in the United States, was awarded the honorary title of Honored Teacher and 20 scholars received the Polar Star medal. Meanwhile, Dr. Maria-Katharina Lang, an Austrian citizen and senior researcher at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Gabriel Bamana, an assistant professor at Metro State University in Minnesota, were awarded the “Nairamdal” Medal (commonly conferred on foreign nationals in recognition of significant contributions to strengthening Mongolia’s relations and cooperation with their country).
The congress has a long history. The first International Congress of Mongolian Language and Writing Scholars was held in Ulaanbaatar City in 1959, bringing together more than 40 scholars from 15 countries. It laid the foundation for the development of Mongolian studies and expanded international academic cooperation.
Over the subsequent 12 congresses, approximately 4,000 scholars from more than 60 countries have participated, presenting more than 3,000 papers across 20 fields, including Mongolian linguistics, history, archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, religion, culture and international relations.
The remaining program is expected to further promote scholarly exchange among researchers from Mongolia and abroad, strengthen international cooperation, and provide a platform for the next generation of Mongolists to engage with established scholars.
