‘Child Safety in the Family’ dimension: main outcomes

  • Summits
19.09.2024

The panel on child safety in the family was one of the main topics discussed during the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen.

According to statistics, more than 400 million kids in the world are victims of domestic violence. Parents-celebrities, children and professionals who work with kids gathered to talk about parent-kids communication in today’s world, share their experiences and discuss how we can all come together to make children worldwide feel safer in their families. Mental health in the home environment and state family support programs were also discussed.

The first panel’s moderator was Mr Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine. Mr Mammadzade has been working on the topic of kids’ safety and needs for more than 17 years and has immense experience in human rights. His co-moderator of the panel was Polina Medvid, a young girl, the representative of kids, whose voice should also matter regarding children’s safety. The Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Oksana Zholnovych; the Former Danish Prime Minister and the founder of the Social Network/Headspace Denmark, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen; as well as the family and couples therapist from New York, George Faller, were among the speakers.

Mr George Faller shared why it is important to recognise and pay attention to children’s emotions and feelings and gave tips on how to do it properly. Mrs Oksana Zholnovych talked about the necessary training curriculum that еhe Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine is implementing to increase and raise parenting qualities and skills, as parenting is a serious challenge, and few adults know how to handle many issues, while raising a child. Paul Rasmussen shared his story of being a father and the hard times he had to overcome during this experience. In particular, Mr Rasmussen is the founder of the Social Network/Headspace center in Denmark. The centre’s main task is to help parents and kids find common ground before it’s too late. The Social Network/Headspace is a safe place for children and parents in situations when they don’t know what to do. 

There were also some other personal stories from young Ukrainians presented from the stage. One was from Mykola Semeniuta, a young man who spent his childhood in an orphanage, but then managed to find his family and is now a children rights activist. Viacheslav Yalov was the other Ukrainian young man to share his story. He lost his mother due to a Russian attack and took custody over four of his younger siblings. 

American actor and film producer Michael Douglas and his son, Dylan, were the special guests of the panel. The two men shared their experiences after visiting Kyiv and told about their father-son relationships, how to build trust, and why it is necessary to be not a friend but a parent to a child. 

Tamara Vučić, Spouse of the President of the Republic of Serbia; Diana Nausėdienė, First Lady of the Republic of Lithuania; Rossana Briceño, Spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize; and Dr. Lucrecia Eugenia Peinado Villanueva, First Lady of the Republic of Guatemala, were also among the panel’s guests. 

The women shared the specifics of family challenges in their countries. In Guatemala, for example, the most common family structure is a single-parent household, predominantly led by a woman, with low education coverage. So the country is now focusing on early childhood education, mental health, and support for people with disabilities. Meanwhile, Mrs Diana Nausėdienė highlighted the importance of parenting skills, as children’s development and future success are closely linked to them, and shared how Lithuania has been fighting the problem of premature birth.

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