The Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen - Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform

The Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen

September 12, 2024

The theme of the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was 'Protecting Childhood: Ensuring a Safe Future'.

Children are the most important and fragile thing that society has. They are the future of humanity and the entire planet. But before they grow up, they need our help to protect themselves from the threats and challenges that come their way.

'The safety of children is multidimensional,' said First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. That is why the Fourth Summit addressed the issue of child protection in several dimensions: 'Child Safety During the War', 'Child Safety in the Family', 'Child Safety at School', 'Child Safety in Cyberspace' and 'Safe Environment for Children'.

First Ladies and Gentlemen of different countries, together with leading international and Ukrainian experts, celebrities and distinguished guests, explored and discussed the threats and the challenges children face, comfortable conditions for raising the youngest generation and state mechanisms for their protection.

Highlights and achievements

Highlights and achievements

18 First Ladies and Gentlemen from around the world attended the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in person, online, or via video. Over 500 guests and over 40 speakers, including children and youth from Ukraine and other countries, also participated.

To see how discussions and debates unfolded across all four dimensions of the Summit, we invite you to view the recorded broadcast.

International sociological research

International sociological research

During the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, the results of the international sociological study on child safety, which involves respondents from 15 countries, were presented. The study aimed to determine the level of key threats to the well-being of children worldwide. We interviewed adults and adolescents to find out their opinions on safety in key dimensions of children’s lives and analyse the current challenges for children.

See the results

Announcement of the Fourth Summit

Announcement of the Fourth Summit

At a press conference on 18 June 2024, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska announced the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. The event will take place on 12 September 2024 in Kyiv, and its theme is child safety.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych, and Deputy Minister for Eurointegration at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Valeriya Ionan spoke about the focus topics of the event, the challenges faced by children and expectations from the Summit.

First Ladies and Gentlemen

  • Olеna Zelenska

    First Lady of Ukraine, founder of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform

    Ukraine
  • Rossana Briceño

    Spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize

    Belize
  • Dr. Lucrecia Eugenia Peinado Villanueva

    First Lady of the Republic of Guatemala

    Guatemala
  • Bo Tengberg

    Spouse of the Prime Minister of Denmark, Danish screenwriter, cinematographer and director

    Denmark
  • Sirje Karis

    Spouse of the President of the Republic of Estonia

    Estonia
  • Diana Nausėdienė

    First Lady of the Republic of Lithuania

    Lithuania
  • Tamara Vučić

    Spouse of the President of the Republic of Serbia

    Serbia
  • Aleš Musar

    Spouse of the President of the Republic of Slovenia

    Slovenia
  • Suzanne Innes-Stubb

    Spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland

    Finland
  • Doris Schmidauer

    Spouse of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria

    Austria
  • Michal Herzog

    First Lady of Israel

    Israel
  • Elke Büdenbender

    Spouse of the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany

    Germany
  • Emine Erdoğan

    First Lady of the Republic of Türkiye

    Türkiye
  • Brigitte Macron

    First Lady of the French Republic

    France
  • Yuko Kishida

    Spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan

    Japan
  • Agata Kornhauser-Duda

    First Lady of the Republic of Poland

    Poland
  • Jill Biden

    First Lady of the USA

    United States of America

Participants of the Summit

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy
    Volodymyr Zelenskyy
    President of Ukraine
  • Andriy Kostin
    Andriy Kostin
    Prosecutor General of Ukraine
  • Dmytro Lubinets
    Dmytro Lubinets
    Ombudsman of Ukraine
  • Ihor Klymenko
    Ihor Klymenko
    Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
  • Oksen Lisovyi
    Oksen Lisovyi
    Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine
  • Mykhailo Fedorov
    Mykhailo Fedorov
    Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
  • Oksana Zholnovych
    Oksana Zholnovych
    Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine
  • Valeriya Ionan
    Valeriya Ionan
    Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration
  • Daria Herasymchuk
    Daria Herasymchuk
    Advisor and Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Child's Rights and Children Rehabilitation
  • Olga Budnyk
    Olga Budnyk
    Advisor to the President of Ukraine on the Fund of the President of Ukraine
  • Munir Mammadzade
    Munir Mammadzade
    UNICEF Representative to Ukraine
  • Ursula von der Leyen
    Ursula von der Leyen
    President of the European Commission
  • Karim Khan
    Karim Khan
    Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
  • Ylva Johansson
    Ylva Johansson
    EU Commissioner for Home Affairs
  • Thomas Davin
    Thomas Davin
    Global Innovation Director, UNICEF Office of Innovation
  • Bob Saum
    Bob Saum
    Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe, World Bank
  • Dr. Francis Fukuyama
    Dr. Francis Fukuyama
    Political scientist, philosopher, professor of Stanford University
  • Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
    Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
    Former Danish Prime Minister, founder of the Social Network/Headspace Denmark
  • Andreas Schleicher
    Andreas Schleicher
    Director for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
  • Yasmine Sherif
    Yasmine Sherif
    Executive Director, Education Cannot Wait
  • Iain Drennan
    Iain Drennan
    Executive Director of WeProtect Global Alliance
  • Luukas Ilves
    Luukas Ilves
    Former Government Chief Information Officer of Estonia
  • Annette Kroeber-Riel
    Annette Kroeber-Riel
    Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google in Europe
  • Anne Applebaum
    Anne Applebaum
    Pulitzer Prize winning Historian, Journalist and Commentator, The Atlantic
  • Janine di Giovanni
    Janine di Giovanni
    CEO of The Reckoning Project
  • George Faller
    George Faller
    Family and сouples therapist
  • Orlando Bloom
    Orlando Bloom
    British film and stage actor, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
  • Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    Award-winning Actor, Producer, and UN Messenger of Peace
  • Dylan Douglas
    Dylan Douglas
    Actor/Podcast host
  • Amélie Derbaudrenghien Michel
    Amélie Derbaudrenghien Michel
    Spouse of the President of the European Council
  • Kateryna Kruk
    Kateryna Kruk
    Regional Public Policy Lead Central and Eastern Europe, Meta
  • Mykola Semeniuta
    Mykola Semeniuta
    Better care advocate
  • Elina Svitolina
    Elina Svitolina
    Professional tennis player, United24 ambassador, founder of the Svitolina Foundation
  • Timur Miroshnichenko
    Timur Miroshnichenko
    Ukrainian TV Host and Journalist
  • Polina Medvid
    Polina Medvid
    Host
  • Viacheslav Yalov
    Viacheslav Yalov
    Young participant of the Summit from Ukraine
  • Adile Dzhelyalova
    Adile Dzhelyalova
    Young participant of the Summit from Ukraine
  • Christa Salam
    Christa Salam
    Young participant of the Summit from Belize
  • Zoé Clauzure
    Zoé Clauzure
    Young participant of the Summit from France
  • Maya-Natuk Rohmann Fleischer
    Maya-Natuk Rohmann Fleischer
    Young participant of the Summit from Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Summit Program

  • Dimension:

    'Child Safety During the War'

    Children all over the world suffer as a result of warfare: their childhoods are destroyed by shelling, occupation, propaganda and deportation. The dimension aimed to draw attention to the scale of this tragedy and to find solutions that will allow children to live safely and happily. Within this dimension, the guests and experts addressed the issues of child indoctrination, recruitment and legal mechanisms for child protection. A video presentation of this dimension can be found here.

  • Dimension:

    'Child Safety in the Family'

    Parenting is a critical aspect of children’s safety. This perspective guided our discussion in the second panel, where we addressed parenting challenges, government programs supporting families, and children’s mental health care within the family setting. A video presentation of the dimension can be found here.

  • Dimension:

    'Child Safety at School'

    Education is an undeniable right of every child. The COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts, and natural disasters have limited children’s access to education worldwide and diminished its quality. This dimension of the Summit focused on discussions about physical safety, psychological comfort, and developing leadership skills in children. A video presentation of the dimension can be found here.

  • Dimension:

    'Child Safety in Cyberspace'

    Due to their age, children can be at particular risk online. Lack of privacy, various types of fraud, fake information, and data forgery are just some of the dangers children face online. During the event, experts discussed the protection of children in the digital dimension, shared case studies of countries and companies, and explored the risks and benefits of AI for children. A video presentation of the dimension can be found here.

  • Dimension:

    'Safe environment for children'

    Modern environmental challenges are an integral part of the conversation about child safety. Climate change, environmental pollution, and ecocide are factors that negatively affect the well-being and harmonious development of children. As part of this dimension, we allowed the Summit participants to get acquainted in an interactive format with the voices of teenagers from communities, current environmental challenges, and ecological issues of today. We also learned how art and environmental protection are combined.

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