List the key activities that were carried out during this reporting period in order to achieve these expected results. Please describe the activities in detail and note their effectiveness or any problems encountered in implementing them.
Following measures were implemented:
1. Improving the legal environment:
-The Decree of the President of Mongolia on “Promoting of Mongolian Heroic Epics” enshrines the duty of all citizens to safeguard, research, transmit, promote internationally the heritage element, and to support performers, researchers, and practitioners.
-In July 2021, the Law on Cultural Heritage Protection was amended. The article 14.1.10. of the law amended to "Protect and revive the authenticity and integrity of historical and cultural immovable monuments listed in the World Heritage Tentative List and the World Heritage List, safeguard and strengthen the viability of intangible cultural heritage listed in the UNESCO Representative List and List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to include measures in the annual state budget and implement them;". The amendment will take effect on January 1, 2022.
2. In the field of registration and research:
-The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science selected the project “Comprehensive research, promotion and innovation of Jangar Tuul” by the NGO “Jangar Studies” and implemented it in 2017-2018. Within the framework of the project, the "Jangar Study 2017", a joint international research team of Mongolian, Russian and Chinese scientists, with aim to identify the distribution of the Jangar Tuul, traveled 20,000 km and conducted survey in Mongolia, Russia's Buryatia, Bashkortostan, Kalmykia, the Altai Republic, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. During the trip, 6,800 minutes of video and more than 5,000 photos were made and 15 TV series content were produced. In 2018, as a result of this expedition, the “World Epics and Jangar” International Scientific Symposium and Poetry Festival was successfully organized in Ulaanbaatar.
-The Institute of Language and Literature of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences implemented a joint international project “The annotate catalog of traditional motifs of the Mongolian people” (2018-2020) in collaboration with Mongolian-speaking Buryat and Kalmyk scholars in Russia.
3. In the field of training and promotion:
-The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports implemented a project to direct the drama “Jangar” to local theaters, and in 2018, the Khovd Music and Drama Theater staged the 7-act anthem “Legendary King, the Fierce Jangar”, which demonstrates the courage of the heroes of the Jangar epic and the progress they make in consultation and decision-making. This was the first drama based on an epic.
-Zavkhan province's Childrens Theatre is preparing a modern play based on the “Jangar” epic for children.
-A cooperation agreement was signed between the Institute of Language and Literature, the Governor's Office of Umnugovi province, and the Department of Education, Culture, and Arts, on the “Revitalization of Gobi Khalkh Tuul” project. Project was successfully implemented, a total of 5 epics were revived. In March 2019, a research team was set up in the province to revive the Gobi Khalkh epics. Researchers at the Institute of Linguistics have begun a recovery experiment based on the full transcripts and research materials of the eight epics recorded on tape in 1957, 1974, 1983. At the same time, after selecting people who had heard the epic recited at an early age, and conducting two trainings, the reviving measures were implemented in stages. So far, 10 adults have learned and practiced 5 epics, and in 2021 they successfully participated in the International Epics Festival "At the call of the land of Olonkho" organized by the Russian National Commission for UNESCO and the Yakutia Olonkho Center in Russia. The main difficulty in reviving the Khalkh Tuul was the perception that many Khalkhs did not have epics, only the Oirat Mongols, and that much effort had to be made to correct and expand knowledge about them.
-The “Khaan Tuulisiin Urguu (Palace for Khaan Epic)” has established a tradition of performing epics on the eve of Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year), the traditional Mongolian holiday, and broadcast them nationwide. This event was further confirmed by the decree of the President of Mongolia “Honoring the Heroic Epic”, and on the occasion of the annual Tsagaan Sar holiday, the third day of the first month of spring, and the third day of the first month of winter on the occasion of Mongolian Pride Day, heroic epics will be performed at the State Ceremony Hall. In the past, people used to go to Buddhist temples to hear Tibetan prayers and seek refuge in order to live happily without pain in the coming year, but now some people prefer to go to epic performing places to participate in the epic performing traditions.
-“Enlightenment Campaign” initiated by the Prime Minister of Mongolia, the DAS Ikher Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation jointly published and disseminated the original source of the “Jangar” epic. Five copies each were donated to 376 branches of the state public libraries.
-In 2019, the epic performer B.Bayarmagnai gave a master class lecture on “Melody Night of Oral Culture”. He is a state-certified practitioner who completely performs “Jangar” and “Geser” epics. The event was co-organized by the Government Implementing Agency Department of Culture and Arts, the "Temuulel Records" NGO, and the intangible cultural heritage practitioners.
-In 2020, at the initiative of the wrestler Bumbayar D, the originals of “Jangar” and “Geser” epics were archived on a golden and silver flash drives and donated to the Uvs province museum. The wrestler fulfilled his civic duty by combining 12 chapters of “Jangar”, and 50 chapters of “Geser” epics, enriching the museum exhibits with his own resources for promoting to youths.
4. For supporting practitioners:
-A public poll was conducted to identify the heritage practitioners of the Mongolian epic with in high level of skill, and in 2019 Baatarjav Erdenetsogt, a well-known Mongolian epic singer, and in 2020 Baldandorj Avirmed were awarded the “Honored Cultural Worker of Mongolia”.
-In accordance with the “Procedure for awarding monetary prizes to heritage practitioners who have made a significant contribution to the promotion and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage at the national and global levels” approved by the 354th Resolution of the Government of Mongolia, A. Baldandorj was awarded an honorary certificate and prize of 30.0 million MNT.