‘Protecting childhood: ensuring a safe future’ — the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was held in Kyiv

The Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, founded by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, took place in Kyiv. This international dialogue platform for the spouses of world leaders was established in 2021 to exchange experiences and implement joint humanitarian projects. The theme of the Summit was ‘Protecting Childhood: Ensuring a Safe Future’.

First Ladies and Gentlemen from Belize, Guatemala, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Finland joined the Fourth Summit, held on the grounds of the National Reserve ‘St. Sophia of Kyiv’, personally. Video messages to the Summit guests were recorded by First Ladies of the Republic of Austria, the State of Israel, Germany, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Türkiye, the French Republic, and Japan.

The First Lady of Ukraine opened the Summit with a speech to the participants: ‘The safety of children can only be provided by all conscious, responsible adults in the world. Moreover, we, as adults, owe them safety. Because they have entered our world, and if something threatens them, it is our collective responsibility to stop that threat’.

The event’s host was Ukrainian TV presenter and journalist Timur Miroshnichenko.

Ensuring a safe present for children is the foundation for creating a successful, healthy, and prosperous future adult generation. The effects of wars, bullying in schools, online harassment, family issues, and environmental problems all cause children physical and emotional harm. Children around the world face both global and local challenges every day. Dialogue between countries, non-governmental organisations, businesses, and communities can help address them. That is why the Summit was focused on the topic ‘Protecting Childhood: Ensuring a Safe Future’, seeking solutions and discussing real-life cases in 5 dimensions: war, family, school, the Internet, and the environment. 

During the event, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressed the guests and participants of the Summit: ‘This Summit, in particular, and all the efforts of Ukraine and our allies in general, prove that child safety today concerns each and every one of us’.

Global research

The results of the comprehensive survey ‘Protection of Childhood: Security Dimensions for Children and Adolescents’ were presented during the Summit. This international study, conducted across 15 countries, aimed to identify the global and local challenges faced by parents and children. The research was carried out specifically for the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen by international company Catalyse Research in collaboration with BRAND UKRAINE, with the support of UNICEF.

Key findings reveal that 75% of parents believe children today face more threats than they did in their childhood. Among the most pressing concerns cited by parents worldwide are rising prices, poverty, and unemployment. Children also listed rising prices as a top issue for their generation, but when asked about challenges affecting them personally, they ranked mental health first, followed by family worries and environmental issues.

The survey also revealed that one in four children in 15 countries directly suffers from wars around the world, while 67% of children are affected indirectly by armed conflicts.

Dimension ‘Child Safety during the War’

The first dimension of the Summit focused on ‘Child Safety during the War’. Its goal was to raise awareness about the scale of tragedy caused by wars worldwide and to offer possible ways to decrease risks for children caught in the crossfire. The discussion centred on the physical safety of children during shelling and fighting, as well as issues such as propaganda, forced deportation, and indoctrination. Anne Applebaum, Polish-American historian, writer, and journalist, moderated the discussion. The speakers included Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine; Janine di Giovanni, journalist, author, and war correspondent; Dmytro Lubinets, Ombudsman of Ukraine; Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation; Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

‘We do not want any child in any other country around the world to experience what is currently happening to our children, and we are ready to share our insights with anyone so that governments in other countries can proactively develop their own policies and strategies, action plans, measures, and steps to enable them to respond swiftly and protect their children from danger,’ — Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation stated. 

Dimension ‘Child Safety in the Family’

The ‘Child Safety in the Family’ part of the Summit discussed the main parenting challenges and problems children may face at home. The topic also touched upon mental health care issues in the home environment and government support programmes for families. Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine, together with a host Polina Medvid were the moderators of the discussion.

Among the First Ladies who joined the discussion of this dimension: Rossana Briceño, Spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize, Dr Lucrecia Eugenia Peinado Villanueva, First Lady of the Republic of Guatemala, Diana Nausėdienė, First Lady of the Republic of Lithuania, and Tamara Vučić, spouse of the President of the Republic of Serbia.

Michael Douglas, award-winning actor, producer, and UN Messenger of Peace and Dylan Douglas, became special guests at the event.

‘Every child has a right to grow up in a home filled with love, care, and protection. Yet for many, this is not a reality. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that no child is left behind, especially when their family struggles to cope and cannot provide the security they need. As leaders, it is our duty to create systems that support these vulnerable children, to advocate for their protection and to help them thrive,’ — noted Munir Mammadzade.

Dimension ‘Child Safety at School’

The ‘Child Safety at School’ dimension focused on creating a healthy educational environment. It was created in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Fund of the President of Ukraine. The discussion aimed to address safe and comfortable school conditions and foster leadership qualities in the younger generation. Olga Budnyk, Advisor-Commissioner to the President of Ukraine on the Fund of the President of Ukraine for the support of Education, Science, and Sports, served as a moderator.

Sirje Karis, First Lady of the Republic of Estonia, Suzanne Innes-Stubb, spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland, joined to this dimension. Brigitte Macron, First Lady of the French Republic, joined via video. Video message was recorded by Agata Kornhauser-Duda, First Lady of Poland.

The participants also included Oksen Lisovyi, Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science; Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, Bob Saum, Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe, World Bank, and Andreas Schleicher, Director of the Education and Skills Directorate at the OECD.

Video messages were recorded by: Orlando Bloom, British film and stage actor, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Yuko Kishida, spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan; Doris Schmidauer, spouse of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria; Elke Büdenbender, spouse of the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany; Amelie Derbaudrenghien, wife of the President of the European Council; as well as the young French singer and Junior Eurovision winner Zoé Clauzure.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, gave a special speech.

‘In times of conflict, education is a beacon of safety, protection, and hope for children. Safe learning spaces provide a sense of normalcy, allowing them to learn, play and thrive. Education is not just a fundamental right but a shield against an uncertain future. At Education Cannot Wait — the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN — we work with strategic partners, including the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, to ensure children are safe and feel safe to learn. They are the leaders of tomorrow. Our mission is to equip them with the skills and resilience they need to build a brighter, more peaceful future. They deserve nothing less,’ — said Yasmine Sherif.

Dimension ‘Child Safety in Cyberspace’

Another important dimension was ‘Child Safety in Cyberspace’. This segment of the event focused on ways to protect children online and examined the risks and benefits of AI for children. Participants explored real-world cases from various countries and companies addressing these issues. Luukas Ilves, former Government Chief Information Officer of Estonia, was a moderator. Aleš Musar, spouse of the President of the Republic of Slovenia and Bo Tengberg, spouse of the Prime Minister of Denmark, participated in the dimension.

Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, and Valeriya Ionan, Deputy Minister for Eurointegration at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, gave keynote speeches.

‘I consider the internet both a gift and a curse for our children. It gives them access to a world of information, but if we let them use the internet unprepared and unprotected, we risk severe damage to their mental health,’ — explained Bo Tengber, spouse of the Prime Minister of Denmark.

Dimension ‘Safe Environment for Children’

The fifth dimension of the event, ‘Safe Environment for Children’, featured five pavilions with creative installations. Guests were taken on a journey through Ukrainian nature reserves affected by the ongoing war, spanning locations from Crimea to Luhansk. The exhibition also offered insights into the biodiversity of each protected area.

Results

A Declaration was signed during the fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. Its goal is to support the consolidation of efforts by heads of state to protect children’s rights during armed conflicts and wars. The main focus of the projects and initiatives that will be created as a result of signing the declaration is the search, identification, and return of deported children to their homes, assistance to internally displaced children and families, and the evacuation of children from war zones, both in Ukraine and other countries.

Additionally, a freshly developed educational mobile app, ‘Mriia’, for analysing and monitoring students’ performance, was presented.

Among other event guests were Dr Francis Fukuyama, American philosopher and political economist, futurist; Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine; Elina Svitolina, professional tennis player, United24 ambassador, and founder of the Svitolina Foundation; Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine; Mykola Semenyuta, a better care advocate; Bob Saum, regional country director for Eastern Europe, World Bank; Orlando Bloom, British film and stage actor, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; Iain Drennan, executive director of WeProtect Global Alliance; Annette Kroeber-Riel, vice president of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google in Europe; Kateryna Kruk, regional public policy lead Central and Eastern Europe, Meta; Thomas Davin, global innovation director, UNICEF Office of Innovation; Stephan Mergenthaler, head of strategic intelligence and member of the executive committee at the World Economic Forum.

The Summit was supported by the general partners: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Universal Bank; official partners: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Ajax Systems; partners: UNESCO, International Organization for Migration (IOM), KSE Foundation, BGV Charity Fund, La Famiglia Catering, Yalta European Strategy (YES), Catalyse Research, BRAND UKRAINE.

Notes to Editors

The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen is an international annual event initiated by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska in 2021. It is the meeting that brings together first ladies and gentlemen to address global challenges.

Each summit has its own powerful results. The First Summit launched an international platform for solving humanitarian problems. The Second helped raise more than $6 million for 92 ambulances. On the sidelines of the Third Summit, a unique medical partnership was established. Ukrainian and foreign clinics entered into 25 medical collaborations then, and now there are 48 of them.

The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform is a community that brings together First Ladies and Gentlemen who seek to use their influence to overcome global challenges. 

More info about the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen – https://summitflg.org/en/