Улаанбаатар
Office of the President of Mongolia Participating at the National Book Festival to Promote Mazaalai Bear Protection
Society
Ulaanbaatar, May 16, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The 37th National Book Festival will be held at Sukhbaatar Square on May 16-18, 2025, and the Office of the President of Mongolia will participate under the theme “The Mazaalai—A Source of National Pride.”
Mazaalai, or the Gobi Bear, is one of the many species being pushed to the brink of extinction due to climate change, desertification, and environmental degradation, issues that affect the entire world and Mongolia in particular. The Mazaalai live in the Gobi near the Altai Mountains, with fewer than sixty individuals remaining. Protecting and breeding this bear and raising public awareness are the priorities for the President’s Office.
During the Book Festival, visitors will also receive updates on the “Billions of Trees,” “Food Supply and Security,” “Healthy Mongol,” and “White Gold” National Movements initiated by the President of Mongolia, and other ongoing environmental projects.
The Festival is organized by the “Nomyn Soyolt Yurtunts” NGO in cooperation with the Office of the President, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth, the Governor’s Office of the Capital City, and the Ulaanbaatar Department of Culture and Arts.
Under Presidential Decree No. 158 and the Law on Public Holidays and Commemorative Days, the “National Script, Culture, and Book Days” are observed on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the third week of May and September. The Book Festival seeks to nurture reading habits among citizens, especially children and youth, foster a positive relationship with books, and promote authors, creators, volunteer writers, the book-publishing industry, and public reading initiatives.
