Senior Advisor Fellowship Community Meeting 2025: Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of First Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Offices

On 20 September 2025, partners of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform — the Global First Ladies Alliance (GFLA) — convened the Senior Advisor Fellowship Community Meeting 2025. The meeting took place on the margins of the 80th United Nations General Assembly and marked a key milestone within the multi-year Senior Advisor Fellowship, a programme launched in 2010 at the request of First Ladies and Gentlemen themselves.

The Senior Advisor Fellowship is designed to strengthen leadership, strategic thinking and institutional capacity among senior advisors — the core teams supporting First Ladies and Gentlemen in their programme development, partnerships, communications and day-to-day operations. Since its inception, the Fellowship has engaged more than 300 senior advisors from across the globe.

The 2025 Community Meeting brought together representatives from over fifteen First Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Offices from different regions, alongside leaders of international partner organisations. The programme combined working sessions, peer-to-peer exchanges and practical exercises focused on three core areas: strategic decision-making, conflict management, and building systems for accountability and results tracking.

Discussions centred on how offices can manage competing demands while maintaining a clear strategic focus, assess partnership requests responsibly, and safeguard the integrity of First Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s priorities. Particular attention was given to communications — including the use of digital platforms — as an essential tool for demonstrating progress, strengthening public trust and documenting institutional legacy.

The meeting was attended by Oleksandra Batiy, Head of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform. During the discussions, she emphasised the importance of consistent, strategic communication as a component of institutional resilience.

The Community Meeting reaffirmed a shared understanding that First Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Offices increasingly serve not only representative roles, but also act as convenors and connectors — bridging governments, civil society and international partners. Senior advisors play a central role in ensuring that this engagement remains strategic, credible and effective.

Such international gatherings are particularly significant in the context of soft power. By fostering trust-based relationships, encouraging horizontal cooperation and building a shared professional culture, they contribute to a form of influence grounded in dialogue, credibility and long-term partnership. Over time, these connections strengthen not only individual offices, but also the broader ecosystem of international cooperation shaped through leadership, experience-sharing and mutual support.