Young Climate Champions celebrate achievements

Tashkent, 19 June 2026 — The Ministry of Preschool and School Education, the International Public Foundation Zamin, and UNICEF celebrate the remarkable achievements of the second cohort of the National Young Climate Champions Network, a platform that has been empowering adolescents to drive climate action across Uzbekistan for the past two years.

52 adolescents of 15-18 years old as well as 13 young mentors and 14 teachers from 14 schools from all regions of Uzbekistan participate in the celebration event. Their achievements demonstrate how young people are changing attitudes toward the environment, fostering a culture of care and responsibility, and inspiring hope for a greener future in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, and beyond.

The network was launched in August 2024, following the endorsement of the National and Regional Strategies on Promoting Sustainable Development Culture and Engaging Children and Youth in the Climate Agenda. Since then, it has become a vibrant national movement, proving that young people are not only participants but leaders in shaping Uzbekistan’s response to climate change.

During the 2025–2026 academic year, fifty-two adolescents from 14 schools from all regions of Uzbekistan joined the network, selected through an open call from Eco Schools. Trained in leadership, advocacy, and climate change, and supported by thirteen peer mentors from the first cohort, these young leaders organized awareness campaigns and eco-events. They represented Uzbekistan at international platforms including the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana, the International Youth Forum in Istanbul, and the Eco Expo in Samarkand.

Their impact was felt across the country. Eco Festivals engaged over 3,000 students and 500 teachers from more than 400 schools in their regions, while in Karakalpakstan the Champions partnered with the National Committee of Ecology and Climate Change to organize a Climathon that brought together youth from multiple districts with a number of bright ideas on mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

In collaboration with the Association of Volunteers of Uzbekistan, Young Climate Champions staged the Clean Games, making history by holding fourteen simultaneous events across all regions. Two Champions from Bukhara and Navoi emerged as winners of the national “Green Innovations” competition, securing seed funding for projects on waste sorting and tree care.

Over the past academic year, the fifty-two Climate Champions mobilized and trained in total 17,831 children and youth nationwide, planted 1,909 trees, and collected more than 18 tons of waste for recycling. These achievements demonstrate how young people are changing attitudes toward the environment, fostering a culture of care and responsibility, and inspiring hope for a greener future in Uzbekistan, Central Asia, and beyond.

In July, the partners will announce the call for applications for the third cohort of Young Climate Champions among Eco Schools across all regions of Uzbekistan, ensuring that this youth-led movement grows stronger and continues to shape the national climate agenda.
 

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