Kyiv Hosts Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Focused on Children's Safety
Today, the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, is hosting the Fourth First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit. The main topic of the event is child safety.
According to Ukrinform, this was announced the day before by the President's wife, Olena Zelenska, who initiated the summit.
‘This is an important event for both me and the international community of first ladies and gentlemen, which has rapidly developed into a global platform that is constantly operating and benefiting Ukraine and the world. It's nice that we not only exist, but that we are constantly developing and helping people,’ Zelenska said.
According to her, the theme of this year's First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit is ‘Child Safety’. The spouses of world leaders, leading Ukrainian and international experts will discuss the threats and challenges that children face, including at home, at school and on the Internet. The first panel will focus on children in armed conflict.
‘The central dimension for us will be ‘Childhood safety during war and military conflicts’. This is a very deep topic. Ukraine, unfortunately, is now the largest expert on this topic. But we must not forget that there are conflicts in other countries as well. There is experience and memory of conflicts and wars in other countries. For example, the war in the Balkans is still being felt. Nowadays, I meet adults who consider themselves children of war and still experience this trauma of war. Conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. Everyone has a different experience,’ Zelenska said in an interview broadcast on the United News telethon on the eve of the summit.
She noted that other challenges would be discussed during the summit.
‘Another dimension is the family. It would seem that this is the most natural environment for a child, but unfortunately, there is also danger or other unfortunate circumstances, such as abandonment, divorce and parental childcare, abuse and domestic violence, etc. We will talk about this and share our experience,’ the First Lady said.
Another dimension to be discussed at the summit is the educational one. ‘We will consider not only physical security, but also mental and psychological security,’ the President's wife said.
In this context, she said, they will also talk about the digitalisation of education and cyberspace.
Zelenska noted that all the panels would include several events related to the environmental safety of children.
‘It will be a busy day, we expect many interesting guests. The moderator of one of the panels will be the well-known journalist Anne Applebaum. Andreas Schleicher, a well-known education expert, will also be present. We are looking forward to Michael Douglas, who is a UN Goodwill Ambassador, and we hope that he will contribute to what we want to convey to the general public. We will be joined by guests and online participants - some first ladies and gentlemen and celebrities, people that everyone knows,’ Zelenska said.
According to her, more people will come to the summit this year than last year. ‘And this is great. Because in times of war, not everyone is ready to travel to a country at war. I'm also happy that we have expanded our geographical range. There will be two representatives from Latin America, new members of our community. I am happy that these are active and effective women in their roles. I think this summit will be much more interesting,’ the First Lady concluded.
*Cultural Diplomacy