15 April 2022, Tashkent – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has conducted a regional educational event applying the ‘Climate Fresk’ methodology for students from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 

‘Climate Fresk’ is an innovative interactive game designed to help those interested in climate change learn the science behind this issue. Built on the latest IPCC report data, this game allows players to learn about the cause-and-effect relationships between climate change induced issues. 

Participants joined the event by using Zoom and Mural software packages, which allowed for active digital interaction. Aleksey Semyonov, the project consultant, shared that “use of Mural software in combination with Zoom’s technical facilities have really made the event stand out. Participants have not only been able to share their views and discuss the matters at hand, but also collectively design an interactive map of climate change issues, indicating their cause-and-effect relationships.”

The event was facilitated by a group of trained ‘Climate Fresk’ instructors, who were able to clarify students’ questions and help them correctly resolve the climate puzzle using scientific evidence presented in the latest IPCC report. Cholpon Aytakulova, a game facilitator from Kyrgyzstan, highlighted that “events like this help build connections and mutual understanding of climate change matters across the three Central Asian countries. Climate change knows no borders, and synchronization of actions at national, regional and global levels is key to our success in combatting climate change and its negative effects.”

This event was the second time the ‘Climate Fresk’ game was used at a regional level. It was conducted within the framework of the regional project ‘Policy actions for climate security in Central Asia - Phase II’ implemented by UNDP jointly with the Centre for Hydrometeorological Services of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzhydromet).