Competitions

2024 Naadam Essay Competition Winners

Uyanga Batsaikhan is a third-year undergraduate student at Harvard University studying Neuroscience on the pre-med track, with aspirations to become a neurosurgeon. She was born in Mongolia and grew up in the Washington D.C. area, graduating at the top of her class at Yorktown High School. In Boston, she currently conducts cutting-edge research on brain organoids in the Arlotta Lab at the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Beyond her academic and research pursuits, Uyanga is deeply committed to her volunteer work with Lantuun Dohio, a Mongolian non-profit organization dedicated to ending child abuse and neglect both in Mongolia and around the world. 

First Place Essay - Uyanga Batsaikhan (Harvard University, 2026)

My name is Cender, and I am a rising senior in high school. I’ve always had a passion for my heritage and culture, volunteering and interning at different Mongolian non-profit organizations and the Mongolian Embassy as well. Naadam is my favorite Mongolian holiday, and I’m glad I was able to express my appreciation through this essay competition.

Second Place Essay - Cender Gansukh (Hampton Roads Academy, 2025)

Third Place Essay - Khulan Tsogt-Erdene (National University Mongolia, 2025)

Baina Molokaeva is an educator, mother, and student at Columbia University's Teachers College with a concentration in Special Education. Baina's interests include working with children with autism, down syndrome, and intellectual disabilities. She believes in the necessity of building an inclusive society founded on principles of equity, education, and the cultivation of strong communities. 

After moving to the States one and half years ago, Baina has taken the initiative to establish Junior Nomads NY with Soyola from Buryat community, an organization aimed at working with immigrant children, assisting them in adapting to the educational system of the USA, and supporting the identification and preservation of their culture and language. Through this work, Baina’s leadership and values has helped unite the  ethnic minorities of Russia into a stronger community. Baina also teaches Russian, English, and Spanish and is skillful in essay writing, critical thinking, and fostering well-being.

Honorable Mention - Baina Molokaeva (Teachers College Columbia University)

Naadam Essay Competition 2024

In honor of Naadam, the Mongolian Heritage Society, in collaboration with the Embassy of Mongolia, is introducing an essay competition. This competition is open to all high school and college students.

Contest Information

Three essays will be recognized and will receive prizes.

First place - $1,000 

Second place - $500

Third place - $300

Submission Details

Include a cover page with: 

  • Full Name

  • Mailing Address

  • Telephone number

  • Email Address

  • Highschool or college attending

  • Highschool or college graduation year

Essays must be written in English and include a reference list (this will not count towards the word count). Submissions should be emailed as a PDF with the subject line “Naadam 2024 Essay Competition” to mongolianheritagesociety@gmail.com. The deadline for essay submissions is 11:59pm EST June 15, 2024. Results will be revealed on July 11, 2024.

Writing Prompt

Naadam is a festival that has been celebrated throughout all of Mongolia, with some sources claiming it to be a 2,000-year-old tradition. In 2010, the festival was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and today, it has become internationally known as cities across the globe take part in Naadam.

In a minimum of 500 words, discuss a brief history of Naadam and why it still holds importance today.