CAPS Unlock showcases climate education innovation at World Library Congress

On August 19–22, CAPS Unlock’s education team took part in the 89th World Library and Information Congress (WLIC), held in Astana under the auspices of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). The Congress brought together over 1,600 delegates from more than 110 countries and involved almost 400 Kazakhstani librarians.

The highlight for CAPS Unlock came on the second day, when the team co-led a session titled “Become a Climate Empowerment Champion,” which was dedicated to the role of libraries in achieving the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) of the Paris Agreement. This global goal seeks to help communities become more resilient and reduce their vulnerability to climate change, a challenge that cannot be met without investments in public infrastructure, education, community centers, and citizen engagement. Libraries, as open and accessible spaces, are emerging as key players in this process.

During the session, CAPS Unlock’s Saule Kalikova and Marzhan Tajiyeva presented our flagship project, “Turn It Around: Central Asian Deck of Climate Cards,” an undertaking that is being implemented in partnership with the UNESCO regional office in Almaty. Participants learned about the project’s goals, the results of an art competition that engaged more than 1,000 children and youth across five Central Asian countries, and forthcoming plans to publish the deck in all Central Asian languages.

The session then moved to an interactive exercise, “Turn the Page, Turn It Around,” which demonstrated how the cards can serve as practical tools for librarians to engage their communities in climate dialogue. Each participant received a card featuring a child’s drawing reflecting hopes, anxieties, or visions about climate change. Divided into groups, participants discussed the messages behind the drawings and developed their own interpretations and ideas for library programming.

Examples included:

• A butterfly illustration inspired debate about biodiversity and the role of each species in maintaining ecosystems.
• A card calling for waste reduction led to suggestions for library-based education on overconsumption, including critiques of “all-inclusive” tourism models that encourage waste.
• A drawing of five Central Asians stopping deforestation prompted reflections on raising public awareness of environmental destruction.

By the end of the workshop, participants agreed that such tools were highly effective for fostering sustainable values and responsible attitudes toward natural resources in children and young people.

The importance of CAPS Unlock’s contribution was also underlined in IFLA’s own reporting, which praised the Turn It Around cards as “creative and emotionally powerful” and highlighted their role in inspiring practical climate initiatives in libraries worldwide.

As Claire McGuire, IFLA Policy and Research Manager, noted: “CAPS Unlock shared their creative and emotionally powerful project, Turn It Around Cards. These cards provide a strong jumping-off point for starting conversations. We broke into groups and imagined ideas for library initiatives that could address the issues on the cards. Together, we can help turn it around.”

The four-day congress as a whole offered a broad platform for exchange, with sessions ranging from gender equality and citizen science to the Green Library Awards and new library advocacy strategies.

For CAPS Unlock, meanwhile, the Astana gathering was above all an opportunity to showcase how libraries can become hubs of climate action and to strengthen partnerships across Central Asia and beyond.