TURN IT AROUND! Central Asia

The TURN IT AROUND! Central Asia Climate and Ecology Flashcards are a message from the youth of Central Asia to their governments and educators: ‘We care about our planet. We want you to take climate and ecological action – and education – a lot more seriously!’
These flashcards are both a learning tool and a call to action, developed from art and text contributed by young people across the region. They express their concerns and hopes in response to the climate and ecological crises, not only in Central Asia but across the planet. At their core is a demand for education that places our relationship with nature and the living world at its centre, as we face deepening environmental challenges.
While flashcards are typically designed by educators for students, this unique deck reverses that dynamic. Featuring original artwork and writing from youth, it challenges education policymakers, politicians, and teachers to think, see, and act differently. In this way, it ‘turns around’ the question of who teaches whom. The project is a collective call – to everyone and everything – to act now, before climate and ecological breakdown become irreversible.
Youth across Central Asia responded to seven guiding prompts through artwork and text. Their responses serve as starting points for new conversations: to reimagine our relationships with nature and with one another, and to rethink how we govern, educate, and live together. They call for the transformation of learning systems, political institutions, and social relations in order to build a more just and sustainable future on Earth.
Each flashcard pairs written reflections with artwork created by young people in the region. Together, these contributions offer personal insights from a generation living through climate and ecological emergency. They challenge educators, activists, policymakers, and citizens everywhere to join what must now be a global effort – to turn it around, before it is too late.

Produced by CAPS Unlock in partnership with the UNESCO Almaty; and in collaboration with Mary Lou Fulton College of Teaching and Learning Innovation at Arizona State University,
and the Artists’ Literacies Institute.