October 20, 2025 
3 min read 
In a milestone event for climate change education in the region, the official launch of the Turn It Around! Central Asian Climate Cards Deck took place on October 20 in Almaty.
The initiative is a joint effort by the UNESCO regional office in Almaty, CAPS Unlock, and the Central Asian Alliance for Climate Education (TsAKO), with support from Arizona State University.
Developed in six languages (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Russian, and English), the deck is both a teaching aid and a policy tool. It helps young people understand, in accessible and visual terms, what is at stake as the global climate changes. For a region where glaciers are melting, deserts are expanding, and rivers are running dry amid demographic pressures and rising energy demand, the cards offer a vivid way to connect science to lived experience.
“The Climate Cards Deck is more than a teaching or awareness tool. It is a bridge. It connects knowledge with creativity, the urgency of climate science with the daily lives of young people, and learning with action,” said Dr Amir Piric, director of UNESCO’s Almaty office.
In classrooms, teachers will use the cards as visual prompts to guide discussion and reflection. Each illustration or short text created by young people from across Central Asia serves as a starting point for exploring local impacts of climate change, from receding glaciers and shrinking rivers to pressures on agriculture and daily life. By using these cards in everyday lessons, teachers can turn climate change from an abstract policy concern into an immediate reality that students can understand and respond to.
“From Almaty to Ashgabat, from Karakol to Oral, this project captured the creative power of young people across the region. More than 1,000 drawings, essays, and mixed-media works were submitted by 935 participants aged five to 25, with girls and young women making up almost 70 percent of contributors,” said Aida Aidarkulova, executive director of CAPS Unlock.
A regional selection committee chose 67 of the most compelling works to feature in the final deck. The cards form part of the global Turn It Around! Flashcards for Education Futures project initiated by Arizona State University, which gives young people worldwide a platform to express their views on climate and education reform.
“The cards are a universal tool for teachers of any subject who wish to integrate climate literacy into their classrooms, a flexible instrument for dialogue, reflection, and the transfer of values,” Aidarkulova said.
Alongside the deck, a policy brief will present young Central Asians’ views and demands on climate education, environmental protection, biodiversity, and access to water and green technologies. The brief will be shared ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, amplifying regional youth voices on the global stage.
CAPS Unlock is proud to support this long-developed project as it begins rolling out in schools across Central Asia, turning creative imagination into educational action and helping a new generation truly turn it around for the planet.
