On January 30, UNICEF Turkmenistan in partnership with the Ministry of Education launched and handed over the new Methodological Manuals on Climate Change Adaption for schoolteachers. During the event, the 5 manuals were presented to the participants, and more than 8000 copies were handed over by UNICEF to the Ministry of Education to be further distributed across the schools of Turkmenistan. More than 70 representatives of the Government, educational departments, academia, libraries across the country, as well as Young SDG Ambassadors and the media participated in this event.

The manuals were developed by the Ministry of Education, National Institute of Education together with UNICEF to further support the efforts of the Government of Turkmenistan in implementation of the Climate Change and Environment agenda. These manuals are the first of its kind in Central Asia that, which are designed to facilitate the teaching practice by incorporating Climate Change Adaptation into the 5 environment-related subjects of primary and secondary education, such as Nature Study, Ecology, Geography, Basic Life Skills and Agriculture.

The Methodological Manuals introduce the best international practices and will expand knowledge and skills of schoolchildren and adolescents on climate change, environment protection and disaster risk reduction, the UNICEF press release reads. “The manuals will contribute to sustainability of education system and strengthening resilience of school children to the climate change challenges”, said Mohammad Fayyazi, UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan was among the first countries to nationalize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Agenda 2030.