Regular contributor Bill Tope has launched a new literary magazine, Topiary, which is now accepting submissions! Please send short stories to billtopiary1950@gmail.com.

In March we will have a presence at the Association of Writing Programs conference in Baltimore which will include a free public offsite reading at Urban Reads on Friday, March 6th at 6 pm. All are welcome to attend!

So far the lineup for our reading, the Audible Browsing Experience, includes Elwin Cotman, Katrina Byrd, Terry Tierney, Terena Bell, Shakespeare Okuni, and our editor, Cristina Deptula. If there’s time, an open mic will follow.

Our next issue, Mid-March 2026, will come out Sunday March 22nd.

Yucheng Tao announces the winners of his poetry competition, Steve Schwei and Mark DuCharme. We’ve invited both winners to submit their poetry to Synchronized Chaos for everyone to read!

Now, for March’s first issue! This issue, Fingering the Spines, pays homage to our annual in-person reading, the Audible Browsing Experience. It’s a visual metaphor for looking through various titles in a global bookstore or library.

Genevieve Guevara rings in the dynamic energy of the Fire Horse for Chinese New Year.

Odiljonova Mohlaroyim Iqboljon qizi celebrates the many styles of Uzbek spoken word art. Umarova Gulsevar Ubaydullo qizi highlights the rich semantic and lexical expressiveness of the Uzbek language. Shuhratova Mohinur Abbosjon qizi explores the layered meaning of “k’o’ngil” (heart) in the Uzbek language.

Jesus Rafael Marcano celebrates the beauty of France, likening the nation to butterflies. Timothee Bordenave honors the beauty and majesty of Christian faith, as shown through Notre Dame. Su Yun’s abstract work reflects a meditative, spiritual sensibility. Soumen Roy describes a physical and mental journey towards spiritual inspiration.

Abdumajidova Zuhroxon Ibrohimjon qizi explores themes of hardship and endurance, destiny, faith, patriotism, and loyalty in Shuhrat’s classic Uzbek novel Oltin Zanglamas. Iroda Ibragimova explores themes of resilience and human dignity through oppression in Shukrullo’s novel Buried Without a Shroud. Bakhtiyorova Zakro Farkhod qizi speaks to the role of the short story in Uzbek literature. Ro’zimatova Madinaxon Sherzod qizi analyzes themes of strength, weakness and humanity in Abdulla Qahhor’s story “Ming bir jon.” Anvarova Mohira Sanjarbek qizi contributes a heartfelt poem from the perspective of Gulchehra, a character in O’lmas Umarbekov’s “Being Human is Hard.”

Azimov Mirsaid draws on Ray Bradbury and traditional Uzbek crafts and hospitality to illustrate the value of human warmth and imperfection. Dr. Jernail Singh Anand urges humanity to look into the words of our past and present writers and philosophers for wisdom in this age of great technological advancement. Dr. Jernail Singh Anand also expresses hope for the continuance of human creativity in the age of artificial intelligence. Daniela Chourio-Soto renders all-too-human morning sleepiness with lively humor. Eva Petropoulou Lianou explores the feelings and inspirations of emerging Greek painter Vivian Daouti.

Author Victoria Chukwuemeka discusses her creative journey towards exploring psychology and the subconscious, becoming deeper and more straightforward in her words. Kassandra Aguilera’s work mourns her speaker’s incompleteness, probing whether we need observers to fully realize ourselves. Ananya S. Guha reflects on distance, separation, and reunion, how roads can both bring us apart and together.

Emeniano Somoza poetically compares creative writing and glassblowing: arts where creators shape, rather than force, their materials. Poet Su Yun collects a set of poems from children at the East-West Public School in Bangalore on the theme of “the power of the pen vs the sword.” Taylor Dibbert’s short piece is almost anti-poetry, suggesting without communicating a metaphor.

Stephen Jarrell Williams’ poetry speaks to the risks and joys of openness to emotion and experience. Komilova Parizod reminds us to make the most of our lives and appreciate the joy around us. Priyanka Neogi urges us to act with wisdom and restraint. Boymirzayeva Dilrabo highlights the importance of motivation and discipline in reaching one’s goals.

Sobirova Oydinoy Nozimjon qizi discusses symptoms and types of neurosis. Mashhura Ochilova speaks with poignance and grace of a young woman’s inner battle with depression. Graciela Noemi Villaverde speaks to gaining wisdom through life’s losses. J.J. Campbell’s voice is older, raw, bruised, with hard-won exhaustion and experience.

Axmedova Gulchiroyxon expresses her tender love and concern for her mother. Nurmurodova Masrura Xurshedovna honors the patient, dedicated, behind-the-scenes love of her father. Gulsanam Sherzod qizi Suyarova explicates the value of friendship and how to be a good friend. Aminova Feruza Oktamjon kizi celebrates the beauty and innocence of young love. Qozoqboyeva Husnida yearns with devotion for her soulmate’s arrival. Mesfakus Salahin falls into a reverie about a fanciful love that exists between his imagination and his memory. Prasanna Kumar Dalai smiles through a delicate and tender love. Joeb expresses his hopes for personal and global love and peace. Lan Xin celebrates transcendent union with all others and the universe, with the world as her homeland, in her fanciful dinner piece. Husanxon Odilov laments a love which he acknowledges will never return. Nicholas Gunther reflects on a high school lost love or friendship through a casual ghazal. Bill Tope and Doug Hawley present an unusual relationship arrangement that seems to make several older people happy. Masharipova Yorqinoy Ravshanbek qizi celebrates the tenderness of a mother’s love. Brian Barbeito’s gentle childlike piece creates a surreal atmosphere rich in memory and care. Orzigul Sharobiddinova Ibragimova versifies her love and longing for her Uzbek homeland.

Zarifaxon Nozimjon Odilova qizi highlights the historical contributions of Uzbek statesman and humanist leader Zahriddin Muhammad Babur. Toshkentboyeva Xumora outlines the contributions of Amir Temur to modern Central Asian statecraft. Poet Lan Xin highlights the wisdom and compassion of Chinese Dongba cultural leader Wan Yilong. Abdusaidova Jasmina explicates themes of spirituality, heritage, and love in Alisher Navoiy’s writing. Abduxalilova Shoxsanamxon Azizbek qizi celebrates the benefits of reading culture for society.

Murodova Zarin Sherali qizi explicates the importance of language learning in world communication and international and intercultural relations. Khusanjonova Mukhtasarhkon Khamdamjon qizi discusses how podcasts can help those learning English as a foreign language. Turdimuradova Zulfera Sattor qizi analyzes the use of blended learning in teaching English as a foreign language. Suyunova Zuhra Oybekovna speaks to the importance of writing skills to language learning.

Olimova Marjona Ubaydullayevna celebrates the literary heritage of Zulfiya and her themes of patriotism, women’s dignity, and compassion. Munisa Yo’ldosheva highlights how Zulfiya’s life influenced her works and her contributions to supporting emerging authors. Nozigul Baxshilloyeva discusses emotional and spiritual themes within Zulfiya’s work and how they affect Uzbek readers. Sultonova Shahlo Baxtiyor qizi highlights the literary and cultural influence of Zulfiya’s poetry. Jurayeva Barchinoy does the same, while also highlighting her commitments to education and women’s rights. Nematullayeva Mukhlisa Sherali kizi relates the value of Zulfiya’s work through a narrative story. Gayratova Dilnavo highlights the enduring legacy of Zulfiya’s work, especially what it means for many Uzbek women.

Loki Nounou’s piece dramatizes a woman stripped of her individuality in a toxic marriage, becoming only a vessel to hold others’ dreams. Abigail George probes the maternal and domestic as both sacred and violent, an origin and a wound, along with critiques of colonialism and the power of self-kindness. Manik Chakraborty calls for a natural, spiritual feminine awakening. Asadullo Habibullayev warns of the dangers and social injustices young women can face in Uzbekistan, even when educated, and calls for the younger generation to respect the wisdom of their elders. Eva Petropoulou Lianou urges respect for women and for the roles women play in society, including motherhood. Maxmarajabova Durdona Ismat qizi celebrates the love and care of human mothers and the value of Mother Earth.

Zamira Moldiyeva Bahodirovna analyzes what the nature motifs in Alexander Feinberg’s work reveal about his thoughts on memory and identity. Noah Berlatsky draws on trees to illustrate our shared human heritage, how we connect to each other and hold each other up. Dilafruz Muhammadjonova presents a natural and cultural tour of Uzbekistan’s Andijan province. Suyunova Fotima Oybekovna reminds us of how crucial it is to preserve the environment. O’gabek Mardiyev outlines ways to improve the efficiency of solar power generation. Shavkatova Mohinabonu Oybek qizi urges improvements in Uzbek public transit to encourage tourism as well as benefit ecosystems. Sultonaliyeva Go’zaloy Ilhomjon qizi analyzes the social, cultural, ecological and economic aspects of tourism in Central Asia. Turgunov Jonpolat discusses the ways in which media framing of climate issues affects how people address the problem. Surayyo Nosirova highlights the need for more consistent communication from journalists to the public about climate change in Uzbekistan.

The works of primary school children in China, collected by Su Yun, reflect moments of happiness and ordinary summer fun in nature. Alan Patrick Traynor’s Irish-inspired piece becomes incantatory, mystical, inhabiting littoral and transitional zones at the ocean’s edge. Tea Russo’s spiderweb poem seeks both expansive transcendence and the peace of oblivion, melding into various aspects of nature. Turkan Ergor dreams of the permanence of the ocean’s waves. Eleanor Hill reflects on the calm strength and dignity of a whale, unbothered while creating waves and blowing bubbles. Ri Winters turns to the ocean and its kelp forests as metaphor for the deep, isolating, yet restful morass of depression.

Brian Barbeito sends up a preview of his book Of Love and Mourning, highlighting the original content and the memorials to beloved pets who have passed. Filmmaker Federico Wardal celebrates a film award for a very humane documentary about veterinary care that saved the life of a racehorse. Jerrice J. Baptiste’s piece, accompanied by gentle, colorful artwork, expresses a graceful and natural surrender to death. Sayani Mukherjee’s piece sits between devotion and restlessness, calling the sky a neighbor yet screaming at stars. Mykyta Ryzhykh crafts a fevered love elegy at the edge of war, eros, and annihilation.

Patrick Sweeney sends up a set of index cards from a memory archive. Mark Young’s altered geographies trace the outlines of innocence, memory, and rupture. John Grey’s urban character and landscape pieces show dry, unsentimental grace.

Duane Vorhees’ poetry meditates on time’s circularity, embracing contradictions and the past, present, and future. Ibrahim Honjo reflects that one day his home and everything he knows will fade into memory. Christopher Bernard continues exploring hope, ruin, and creative resilience in the second installment of his prose poem “Senor Despair.”

Maja Milojkovic speaks to the implacable ticking of conscience. Mahbub Alam laments the selfishness and wickedness of humanity. James Tian dramatizes the pain of being underestimated, dismissed, and misunderstood. Mark Lipman calls for greater taxes on the wealthy and for economic egalitarianism. Jacques Fleury hoists his commentary on the fragility of modern democracy on the scaffolding of an extended construction metaphor.

Rahmatullayeva Elmira Rahimjon qizi discusses how we form the value systems that guide our lives. Abduraufova Nilufar Khurshidjon qizi outlines the national values and traditions of the Uzbek people. Islomova Maxsudaxon Axrojon qizi explores ways to inculcate values into Uzbekistan’s young people in school through exposing them to the great thinkers of their heritage. Botirova Mubina looks into ways Uzbekistan’s civil society can uplift teens and prevent delinquency through communicating their national values. Abdullayeva Ezozaxon Qobuljon qizi highlights the importance of social and financial investment in education. Ismoilova Jasmina Shavkatjon qizi highlights the importance of quality education for social progress.

Axtamova Orastaxon Salimjon qizi outlines strategies to assist autistic children’s psychological development. Rajabova Nozima highlights methods of improving young students’ reading comprehension. Dildoraxon Turg’unboyeva outlines the effectiveness of play-based learning methods in education. Sevara Tolanboy Mahmudova qizi discusses educational games for preschoolers. Turgunboyeva Dilafruzxon highlights the importance of preschool education to a child’s development. Muxlisa Olimjon qizi Tursunaliyeva and Adhamova Irodaxon Akmal qizi discuss ways to help educate children with learning disabilities. Dilnora Habibullo qizi discusses interactive methods for teaching children with and without special needs. Burhonova Lobar outlines suggestions for working with children on the autism spectrum. Hikmatova Nigorakhon Hasanboy qizi discusses how to upgrade physical education and make the activities more interactive. Turg’unova O’g’iloy Ravshanbek qizi discusses ways to incorporate physical activity into children’s academic education. Shahobiddinova Sevinch explores the use of educational games in primary education. Arziqulova Adiba details various interactive strategies for engaging young children in educational activities at school. Mashhura Kamolova analyzes the limitations of examinations in terms of measuring student capabilities.

Orinboyeva Zarina discusses how to help children psychologically and emotionally navigate their parents’ divorce. Botiriva Odinaxon elevates the teaching profession and calls for professional development and competence in those who educate young children. Nishonboyeva Shahnoza speaks to her wisdom and dedication towards her goal of becoming a preschool teacher.

Kadirova Feruzakhan Abdiyaminova discusses interactive games that could be useful in science education. Oroqova Nargiza outlines the rise of allergies in children and speculates on the causes. Umidjon Hasamov highlights the potential for artificial intelligence in medical diagnostics. Yunusova Sarvigul Siroj qizi highlights the importance of early screening for gastrointestinal cancer. Rajapova Muqaddas Umidbek qizi highlights the structure and function of the circulatory system.

Shohnazarov Shohjaxon highlights the impact of inflation on a nation’s economy and strategies for managing it. Mamadaliyev Kamronbek highlights the need for cybersecurity technology and cautions about cyberattacks as a weapon of war.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand calls out poets and academics whose lofty ideas don’t connect to present-day reality. While we are all capable of flights of fancy, we hope that this issue is grounded in our world and our humanity.

TAX THE RICH

Who says it has to be like this?

Tax the rich

With a debt ceiling falling in

Tax the rich

And a national economy bottoming out

Tax the rich

While the working class tightens its belt

Tax the rich

The yachting class is getting fat

Tax the rich

On subsidies for billionaires

Tax the rich

And oil companies

Tax the rich

Insurance companies rake it in

Tax the rich

While health care ceases to exist

Tax the rich

And education is being gutted

Tax the rich

While unions and immigrants are being blamed

Tax the rich

So that we can bailout the bankers

Tax the rich

With corporate welfare

Tax the rich

And global warfare

Tax the rich

Capitalization doesn’t work

Tax the rich

For 99% of this planet

Tax the rich

The system is imploding

Tax the rich

And the bombs, they keep exploding

Tax the rich

Tearing up our lives

Tax the rich

With the blood-thirsty shrapnel of their greed

Tax the rich

The measure of austerity is a grave

Tax the rich

No longer shall we be your slaves

Tax the rich

You can hear the drums beating

Tax the rich

It’s on everybody’s lips

Tax the rich

And it’s getting louder

Tax the rich

All together now

Tax the rich

And step forward into that brighter day.

The rose petals

rain and fall on the France…

Colour crimson reds!

When you wake up

you feel to the butterflies

like fluttering.

Leave memories

like several leaves

in the distant fall.

Jesús Rafael Marcano.

Haikus dedicated to the magical lands of France.

Jesús Rafael Marcano Guzmán, (Maturín, Venezuela, 1993)

Founder of Sakura Centro Cultural de Arte y Literatura Japonesa and the Jaykismo Movement. He is a member of the EIDOS International Artistic Movement (headquartered in France) and currently serves as President of the EIDOS International Artistic Movement, Venezuela-Asia chapter.

He stands out for his work as an author of bilingual works in Chinese and Spanish, establishing himself as an important promoter of Sinology and Asian literature in Ibero-America. He has published research on the influence of Chinese religion and philosophy on culture and language for the Association of Chinese Schools in Spain, one of which was translated into French and published in TingaNews Magazine (Burkina Faso, 2026).

He is a contributor to the cultural magazine China Bambú, Dragones y Tinta (Spain, 2025), the portal Japón desde Japón (2025), and a columnist for the Spanish newspaper Siglo XXI. His poetic work abroad includes the publication of haikus in English in the Greek magazine Homo Universalis (2026). In February 2026, the Greek magazine Polis Magazino published a series of his haikus in a bilingual Greek-English edition to commemorate World Greek Language Day, edited by Eva Petropoulou Lianou. This publication consolidates his work as a multilingual author and promoter of poetry and Asian literature in Ibero-America and Europe.

His most notable published works include Hanasaki (2021) and Haikus (2025) under the seal of Editorial Giraluna, among others.

Recognitions and Memberships:

· First place poetry prize at the first “Aventuras de papel” exhibition (Mar del Plata, 2024)

· Prof. Ciro Artemio Constantino Álvarez International Award by the Royal International Academy of Art and Literature (Mexico, 2024).

· Member of the Andrés Eloy Blanco Society of Poets.

· Member of the Latin American Poetry Route (Monagas State).

The white gaze

“To create is to live twice.”

Albert Camus

“I used to think the goal was to be loved. Now I know it’s to be understood.”

Emma Thompson

We are kind to each other

The cooking utensil to the other 

cooking utensils in the drawer

The spoon to the other spoons, yes, everything 

must have its place, every trace 

of prey, each invisible doorway  

into the kitchen

What is courage, 

what is increase? It is only a

place to start

The garden is cool, 

the tree’s shade

My father’s voice

I murmur a response

The washing hangs on the line

My brother’s daughter strums 

a toy guitar, we have a 

butternut pizza for supper

We can’t get the boys out of the angry green sea,

nor can we get them out of the jacuzzi

The white gaze lies dormant

in the shade like our brown bodies

We put a plaster on her finger

the wound is bloodless now

I make iced matcha lattes for myself and my dad

I lick the white moustache off my upper lip

Overnight I have turned into a capitalist

My fingers into stars, my legs 

into a wave, the bead of the presenter’s 

tongue on the television into a fig

The current moves through me

This time it’s personal

It catches the light of the fire

inside my father, inside all of us

The smell of burning meat, drumsticks

The kitchen is time and memory

Legs are tanned, burned by the sun’s time and memory

The boys and my sister play a board game

My mother screams and screams at me

The room grows quiet

A pink geranium grows out of my mother’s throat

Something within me is crushed like a pill

Slowly the sun in my mother’s eyes

turns into a mocking face, a laugh

Its poison is killing me slowly. She is just a woman

and I am just a woman

The moment passes

The child starts to laugh too because my mother is laughing

I break, I break

A wave flows into me and I lose consciousness

It’s evening

The game continues

A woman walks by the house with her dog

The dog barks

There’s a white feather in my mouth

It tastes like snow

Going

“When we can’t think for ourselves, we can always quote.”

Ludwig Wittgenstein

I offer you cranberry bread.

I offer you this knife for the hard cheese.

I offer you this clock.

I offer you the dark.

I offer you this fruit.

I offer you this orange.

I offer you this as a blessing.

I offer you this sweetness.

I offer you this shroud.

I offer you this veil.

I offer you this truth.

I offer you this memory.

I offer you, Africa.

I offer you these gifts.

I offer you equality.

I offer you this ancient sea.

I offer you music.

I offer you this river.

I offer you this garden as meditation.

I offer you the history of this continent.

I offer you this as an alternative.

I offer this to you for our salvation.

I offer this to you because I love you.

I offer you this because today you are getting on a ship,

and sailing far away from me.

I offer you sleep, captor.

I offer you this forest that I dragged behind me

because you have the personality

of foolish paper and the medicine of the wildflower.

I offer you this frozen mist.

I am offering you this blue cat. Take it.

Please accept it gracefully.

Let it be your companion.

I offer the dissolution of the sun.

And now, now I come to peace.

Now I come to minister to you.

I bring you coffee and poetry books.

I will bring you a pen and an empty journal for your thoughts.

It was Christ who brought us this morning.

It is time. It is the hour of your departure.

I turn to embrace you, to say goodbye.

Waiting/Relapse

“Put down the pen someone else gave you.  No one drafted a life worth living on borrowed ink.”

Jack Kerouac

“Today I can’t stand myself, and I will force myself to write because you’re unhappy. So, I must mask the monster within and find the landing place. I must smile because I want to see you smile. I must count the days and remain quiet in your presence, because you are not at peace. This is what I tell my mind on bad days.”

I took a walk and found a poem.

It gave me good advice.

It told me to be kind to myself.

It told me to do the dishes,

to go for long walks.

That fresh air is good for me.

It told me to listen to my mother.

It told me to forgive my father.

That to fix my broken brain,

I had to love myself.

I live in the past.

I live inside this year of sadness.

You, the man, are no longer here.

I tell myself that I’m free.

I have no mother.

I have no father.

I am not a daughter anymore.

I have no sister.

I have no brother.

These days I keep to myself.

Birds inside my head.

Birds kept inside mental cages.

The cold sea is a great comfort.

Some nights this pain is endless.

Tonight, the garden is psychotic.

I have been put in isolation.

The door is locked from the outside.

I receive no visitors.

There are bars at the window.

Charles Bukowski’s ghost sits beside me.

He strokes my hair.

He makes me feel beautiful.

I took a sip of his beer.

It makes me feel warm inside, good.

I hear the women’s laughter.

They start throwing stones at me.

Even this pain is medicine.

Although it makes me feel mediocre.

Strong medicine like Chopin.

I finished the bottle.

I hid the green bottle away

under the sheets that felt like winter

I jumped out of the window.

The slow torture of night catches me.

Mrs Williams, the dead pastor’s wife,

told me to stop complaining. You’re alive

for a purpose: to dream, to have a child.

Live, she said. Find reasons to live.

I read a poem by Kobus Moolman.

I write to the Dutch English poet

Joop Bersee. Nothing makes the

darkness go away. My brother

locks me out of the house.

But first, his fist rains down on me.

I disappeared somewhere.

Once Rilke’s wife, always Rilke’s wife.

The cloud hurts.

The sun hurts.

The snail laughs at me.

You couldn’t even land a man, it says.

How to be great, I ask?

Be kind, Oprah says.

So, I am kind.

The world forgets all about me.

Just like my mother did.

On my birthday there was no cake

or presents. There were no red balloons.

I ate beans and rice in the kitchen

with my father. The stigma is refreshing.

The bones of madness is a gem, trivia.

I went on holiday to Provincial Hospital.

This trip taught me to understand others.

It taught me to understand myself more.

Nowadays when depressed I give myself flowers.

I keep my pain to myself.

Tourism and Its Impact: Economic, Cultural, and Environmental Dimensions

Abstract
Tourism has become one of the fastest-growing global industries, influencing economic development, intercultural communication, and environmental sustainability. This paper examines the multidimensional impacts of tourism through a qualitative analytical approach based on existing scholarly literature and international tourism reports. The study identifies tourism as a significant
driver of economic growth, a facilitator of cultural exchange, and a factor that can both protect and threaten the natural environment.

The findings suggest that sustainable tourism practices are essential to balance economic benefits with social and ecological responsibilities.

Keywords: tourism, economic impact, cultural exchange, sustainable tourism, environmental impact

YOUTH, MEDIA, AND THE FUTURE OF CLIMATE COMMUNICATION

Abstract: Environmental degradation in Central Asia is often accompanied by a lack of visibility in public discourse, resulting in what can be described as a climate communication gap. This article explores the challenges faced by journalists in reporting climate change, including limited access to data, fragmented narratives, and audience disengagement. Special attention is given to the role of youth, digital media, and innovative storytelling formats in reshaping climate communication. By analyzing the potential of cross-border journalistic collaboration and human-centered reporting, the article positions climate journalism as both a communicative and ethical practice. It concludes that strengthening climate narratives is vital for transforming environmental silence into informed public action.

Keywords: Climate communication, environmental journalism, youth engagement, digital media, cross-border reporting, public awareness

One of the most dangerous aspects of climate change in Central Asia is not only environmental degradation, but silence. Many climate-related stories remain invisible—not because they do not exist, but because they are underreported, fragmented, or framed as technical issues beyond public concern. This silence carries a cost. When climate impacts are not communicated effectively, they fail to translate into political urgency or social mobilization.

Journalists often face structural barriers when covering climate topics. Limited access to reliable data, lack of training in environmental reporting, and editorial priorities that favor short-term political news all restrict the depth of climate storytelling. In some cases, environmental journalism is perceived as “soft” or secondary, despite its long-term consequences. This marginalization reflects a broader misunderstanding of climate change as an environmental issue rather than a comprehensive societal challenge.

The absence of strong climate narratives also affects public perception. Without consistent and contextual reporting, climate change appears abstract or inevitable. People adapt individually—saving water, changing crops, migrating—without recognizing their experiences as part of a larger pattern. Journalism has the power to transform these isolated adaptations into collective awareness.

Young people occupy a paradoxical position in the climate crisis. They are among the most affected by long-term environmental changes, yet they often lack decision-making power. However, youth are also reshaping media consumption and communication practices. Social media platforms, digital storytelling, and visual journalism offer new opportunities to engage audiences that traditional reporting struggles to reach.

Climate journalism aimed at younger audiences must move beyond fear-based narratives. While urgency is necessary, constant catastrophe leads to disengagement. Stories of local innovation, community resilience, and cross-border cooperation can inspire agency rather than despair. When young people see themselves reflected in climate stories—not as passive victims but as active participants—the conversation shifts from survival to responsibility.

Digital tools also allow journalists to experiment with formats: interactive maps, short videos, podcasts, and data visualizations. These formats are particularly effective in explaining slow-onset climate processes such as desertification or water depletion, which lack the immediacy of sudden disasters but are equally destructive. Central Asia’s environmental future is deeply interconnected. Rivers, air currents, and ecosystems cross borders effortlessly, while policies and narratives often remain confined within them. Climate journalism can function as an informal form of regional diplomacy, fostering understanding where political dialogue may be limited.

Cross-border reporting projects allow journalists to compare data, share methodologies, and contextualize local stories within regional trends. A drought in one country becomes part of a regional pattern; a policy success in another offers a model for adaptation. Such collaboration not only improves journalistic quality but also challenges audiences to think beyond national frameworks.

International conferences and summits provide rare spaces for these exchanges. They enable journalists to reflect on their role not only as observers but as mediators between science, policy, and society. Climate change demands this mediating role more urgently than any other topic.

Climate change in Central Asia is not a future scenario—it is a present condition. Water scarcity, ecological inequality, and environmental silence are already shaping lives across the region. Journalism stands at a critical intersection: it can either reinforce fragmentation or cultivate shared understanding.

To report on climate change is to make ethical choices—about language, framing, and whose voices are amplified. When climate journalism connects data with lived experience, local realities with global processes, and fear with possibility, it becomes more than information. It becomes a form of civic engagement.

As water slowly shifts from presence to memory, the stories told today will determine how that memory is understood. Whether it becomes a symbol of loss or a catalyst for change depends on the narratives journalists choose to build—and the courage to tell them clearly, persistently, and across borders.

REFERENCES

IPCC. (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

United Nations Development Programme. (2022). Climate Change Adaptation in Central Asia. UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS.

World Bank. (2021). Water Security and Climate Risks in Central Asia. World Bank Group.

Boykoff, M. T. (2019). Creative (Climate) Communications: Productive Pathways for Science, Policy, and Society. Cambridge University Press.

Nisbet, M. C. (2018). Strategic Communication in the Climate Change Debate. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science.

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. (2020). Journalism, Media, and the Challenge of Climate Change. University of Oxford.

Surayyo Nosirova was born on May 13, 2006, in Narpay District of the Samarkand region, Uzbekistan. She is a sophomore majoring in English Philology at Uzbekistan State World Languages University. Surayyo is an author and young writer with a strong interest in literature, language learning, and creative projects.

Curse 

Innocent people have possessions, honor, quiet shelter. 

Lean not to fight, who does not indulge in conflict. 

Love to be yourself, happy stage. 

Living in good education and culture leads to life. 

At the movement of these people, the evil people in dams roar, 

Innocent people’s lives are destroyed by fear. 

A wicked man knows better – does not know the answer, he will suffer torture. Many people are busy creating pressure with this thought.

 Can’t answer in time, hides wrong doing because of honor, 

With a pain in the chest, no word torturer wanders around, 

He has no people, turns, administration. 

Where does he remove his sorrow! 

There is only cursing, 

Why will you leave the one who did the damage & loss, 

As a result of the curse, he should understand the damage & loss is. 

Day and night the curse in the mind, be the revenge of the mind.

India, Date: 01.02.2026

Amb. Dr. Priyanka Neogi is from Coochbehar. She is an administrative controller of United Nations’ PAF, a librarian, a CEO of Lio Messi International Property & Land Consultancy, international literacy worker, sports & peace promoter, dancer, singer, reciter, live telecaster, writer, editor, researcher, literary journalist, host, beauty queen, international co-ordinator of the Vijay Mission of Community Welfare Foundation of India.