‘Child Safety at School’ dimension: main outcomes
- Summits

One of the panel discussions during the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was dedicated to child safety at school.
Olga Budnyk, Advisor to the President of Ukraine on the Fund of the President of Ukraine, moderated the panel. Mrs Suzanne Innes-Stubb, Spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland, was the first one to give a speech. In particular, Finland is known for having one of the best education systems in the world and for becoming a global leader in education, showing the value of caring for students’ physical and mental health. Mrs Innes-Stubb shared an experience of her country’s journey of a complete reboot of education. She shared how Finnish schools provide students with medical, psychological and social services. According to Mrs Innes-Stubb, prevention measures and cooperation with parents are key to ensuring child safety at school. Mrs Suzanne Innes-Stubb also mentioned Finland’s support of Ukrainian kids and schools: Finland provided Ukrainian schools with school buses, laptops, smartphones and screens.

‘Currently, there are about 9,000 Ukrainian children who have been forced to leave their home country and are now in pre-primary and primary schools in Finland. We are happy that we can support Ukraine by providing education for these children so that one day they can successfully return to a democratic, prosperous and independent Ukraine,’ – mentioned the Spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland.
The panel was also attended by Sirje Karis, First Lady of the Republic of Estonia, who shared her experience of combating bullying and ensuring the safety of students. Mrs Karis emphasized the importance of international cooperation and shared her experience on this issue during her speech. Furthermore, Brigitte Macron, First Lady of the French Republic, joined the panel online to share her experience with the summit participants.

One of the panel’s discussions was specifically about the safety of Ukrainian kids during wartime. Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, took part in it, as did Yasmine Sherif, the Executive Director of “Education Cannot Wait,” Bob Saum, the World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe, and Andreas Schleicher, the Director for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The main topic was how Ukraine has been overcoming the challenges of studying in wartime.

Oksen Lisovyi shared how the Ukrainian education system is being adaptive to function among all the threats and psychological terror that Russia has been using against Ukraine for more than two years now. Dealing with this unique experience requires a lot of coordinated action from not only Ukrainians but also the international community. During the same panel meeting, Bob Saum announced that the World Bank, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine had signed agreements for approximately $415 million to support the education process in Ukraine.
Andreas Schleicher mentioned the following during the discussion: ‘Ukraine is really the frontier in thinking about how we devise a school that is not just about physical learning and academic success but gives students that kind of empowerment. And that’s where the sense of safety really comes from’.
Orlando Bloom, the British actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, left a video message for all the panel visitors. Earlier, Orlando Bloom had shown incredible courage and even secretly visited the Ukrainian Donetsk region during wartime. He encouraged summit participants to ensure that every policy and decision adults make is child-centred and should be in the best interest of every child in Ukraine and worldwide.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, delivered the final speech. Mr Fedorov also presented an app called ‘Mriia’ (‘dream’), the key point of which is to help create the most flexible education system in the world. It will inform teachers, kids, and parents about the newest technologies to help them become more competitive in the modern world.
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