‘Eternal Blue Sky Script – 2017’, an exhibition of outstanding Mongolian calligraphy has opened at the Junior Centre for Creative Arts under an initiative of the President of Mongolia. The exhibition is showcasing calligraphic pieces created by eight distinguished artists and 55 school children.  The exhibition will be free-of-charge and open to the public between 17 – 23 November.

On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Restoration of Mongolian National Freedom and Independence, the President issued an important decree (Presidential Decree 155) to promote the official use of the traditional Mongol script. The Presidential Decree states that any kind of official document or correspondence from the President, Speaker, Prime Minister and Government Members to their foreign counterparts should be written in traditional Mongolian script along with an official translation into the official language of the country, or in the official languages of the U.N. In addition, birth certificates, marriage certificates, diplomas, and licenses issued by all varieties of educational institutes in Mongolia should also be written in Mongolian Cyrillic and traditional Mongolian script.

Since 2011, the ‘Eternal Sky Script” calligraphy exhibition has been organised by the Presidential Administration and many books and materials from the exhibition have been published. In order to promote the use of the Mongolian traditional script, Selenge, Bayankhongor, Dundgovi, Arkhangai, and Orkhon, Khentii provinces have also hosted exhibitions, courses and lectures on the national traditional calligraphy.

The traditional Mongolian script has a long history, dating back to the ca. 1204. Developed from the ancient Uyghur alphabet it is written vertically. In 1946 a modified form of the Cyrillic alphabet was introduced to Mongolia, resulting in two generations largely forgetting the old way of writing. In Chinese Inner Mongolia, however, it continues to be used.