The Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen
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.
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 ZelenskyyPresident of Ukraine
Andriy KostinProsecutor General of Ukraine
Dmytro LubinetsOmbudsman of Ukraine
Ihor KlymenkoMinister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Oksen LisovyiMinister of Education and Science of Ukraine
Mykhailo FedorovDeputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
Oksana ZholnovychMinister of Social Policy of Ukraine
Valeriya IonanDeputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration
Daria HerasymchukAdvisor and Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Child's Rights and Children Rehabilitation
Olga BudnykAdvisor to the President of Ukraine on the Fund of the President of Ukraine
Munir MammadzadeUNICEF Representative to Ukraine
Ursula von der LeyenPresident of the European Commission
Karim KhanProsecutor of the International Criminal Court
Ylva JohanssonEU Commissioner for Home Affairs
Thomas DavinGlobal Innovation Director, UNICEF Office of Innovation
Bob SaumRegional Country Director for Eastern Europe, World Bank
Dr. Francis FukuyamaPolitical scientist, philosopher, professor of Stanford University
Poul Nyrup RasmussenFormer Danish Prime Minister, founder of the Social Network/Headspace Denmark
Andreas SchleicherDirector for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Yasmine SherifExecutive Director, Education Cannot Wait
Iain DrennanExecutive Director of WeProtect Global Alliance
Luukas IlvesFormer Government Chief Information Officer of Estonia
Annette Kroeber-RielVice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google in Europe
Anne ApplebaumPulitzer Prize winning Historian, Journalist and Commentator, The Atlantic
Janine di GiovanniCEO of The Reckoning Project
George FallerFamily and сouples therapist
Orlando BloomBritish film and stage actor, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Michael DouglasAward-winning Actor, Producer, and UN Messenger of Peace
Dylan DouglasActor/Podcast host
Amélie Derbaudrenghien MichelSpouse of the President of the European Council
Kateryna KrukRegional Public Policy Lead Central and Eastern Europe, Meta
Mykola SemeniutaBetter care advocate
Elina SvitolinaProfessional tennis player, United24 ambassador, founder of the Svitolina Foundation
Timur MiroshnichenkoUkrainian TV Host and Journalist
Polina MedvidHost
Viacheslav YalovYoung participant of the Summit from Ukraine
Adile DzhelyalovaYoung participant of the Summit from Ukraine
Christa SalamYoung participant of the Summit from Belize
Zoé ClauzureYoung participant of the Summit from France
Maya-Natuk Rohmann FleischerYoung 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.
