During a visit to the Republic of Lithuania, the wife of the President of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, met with first ladies and gentlemen of different countries and visited the Ukrainian Center in Vilnius, where she spoke with Ukrainian forced migrants.
The Ukrainian Center is the first cultural and educational space for the needs of Ukrainian forced migrants in the EU. The Center was established on the initiative and under the patronage of Olena Zelenska and First Lady of Lithuania Diana Nausėdienė on June 11, 2022. During the first year of its operation, the center hosted more than 1,800 different events. It was visited by 24 thousand people.
“Dear Mrs. Diana, I remember how, more than a year ago, in the first months of the Russian invasion, I wrote you a letter with a proposal to create such a center so that Ukrainians would have their place in your country. And how quickly you implemented it. It was beyond all expectations,” the President’s wife said, addressing Diana Nausėdienė.
The meeting with the First Lady of Ukraine was attended by Ukrainian forced migrants, head of the Ukrainian Center in Vilnius, former Ambassador of Lithuania to Ukraine Algirdas Kumža, and Rector of Vytautas the Great University Juozas Augutis.
The Ukrainian Center was also visited by the first ladies and gentlemen of different countries. In particular, the wife of the Prime Minister of Slovenia Tina Gaber, the wife of the Prime Minister of Sweden Birgitta Ed, the wife of the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Elena Kovachevska, the wife of the Prime Minister of Japan Yuko Kishida, the wife of the Prime Minister of Belgium Annik Penders, the husband of the Prime Minister of Denmark Bo Tengberg, the husband of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Gauthier Destenay, the wife of the Prime Minister of Spain María Begoña Gómez Fernández, the wife of the Prime Minister of Albania Linda Rama, the wife of the President of the European Council Amélie Derbaudrenghien, the wife of the Prime Minister of Greece Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, the wife of the President of the Czech Republic Eva Pavlová, the wife of the NATO Secretary General Ingrid Schulerud, the wife of the President of the Republic of Korea Kim Keon Hee, the husband of the President of the Slovak Republic Juraj Rizman, the wife of the President of Poland Agata Kornhauser-Duda, the wife of the President of Türkiye Emine Erdoğan, the wife of the President of France Brigitte Macron.
In her speech, the First Lady of Ukraine addressed her countrymen, forced migrants who have taken refuge in Lithuania and other countries: "You are the greatest value of Ukraine. Our people are the most important thing for our country. Your safety, your well-being, your recovery from what you have experienced and are experiencing. It is not resources, wealth or infrastructure that make up a country. A country is its people. Ukraine is not defending marks on a map, numbers, or statistics - it is defending against death, against the extermination of its people. Each and every one of you is important. And everything you do for the victory is important, no matter where you are. Your faith and hope are important. And the Ukraine we will rebuild together will be for the people and about the people. Because we know the value of life and mutual assistance. We know how to value each other and our friends," Olena Zelenska said.
She also addressed her colleagues, the world's first ladies and gentlemen: "The role of the first ladies and gentlemen of the world is changing. We can do more, and we are doing more. We are the agents of change who the world needs right now.After all, Russian aggression is a challenge not only for Ukraine and not only a military one – you yourself see how with it there have been more crises in the world, economic and migration problems, insecurity, and, of course, fears and stresses – because no one, in any country cannot feel safe when an aggressor is nearby.”
The wife of the President of Ukraine emphasized that the next, third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which will take place on September 6, 2023, will be dedicated to mental health in the world, as it has no borders.
Olena Zelenska emphasized that the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which she had launched as the first such professional community in the world, is important right now. "Each of us – whether the First Lady or a forced migrant – in his or her place every day, every minute makes the way the world is becoming a better and safer place for our homelands and people," she noted.
The First Lady of Ukraine and her colleagues from Lithuania and other countries visited the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, where a Ukrainian audio guide has been available since 2022 as part of Olena Zelenska's project to introduce Ukrainian-language audio guides at the world's leading landmarks. The project currently includes 67 Ukrainian-language audio tours in 42 countries.
In addition, the President's wife met with the leadership of the University Hospital Santaros Klinikos in Vilnius and the Minister of Health of the Republic of Lithuania Arūnas Dulkys.
The First Lady thanked the Minister for the comprehensive support to Ukraine in the field of healthcare during the Russian invasion.
"I am especially grateful that you are accepting wounded Ukrainian defenders for treatment and rehabilitation, who receive effective comprehensive rehabilitation care in the best medical facilities in Lithuania. They have already helped 170 wounded Ukrainian defenders," she said.
Olena Zelenska expressed hope for cooperation between the countries in the field of mental health: "Lithuania adopted a Mental Health Strategy in 2007. The team of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program has familiarized itself with its main directions and sees that the main provisions are very much in line with the concept of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program, which I initiated in 2022."
In particular, according to her, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health takes as an example the Lithuanian experience of creating primary mental health care centers, which should become the first point of contact for a person with problems or disorders in this area.
The First Lady also proposed to consider the opportunity of establishing direct cooperation in the framework of the All-Ukrainian Program between the Mykolaiv Regional Children's Hospital and the University Hospital Santaros Klinikos in Vilnius.
"Why do we offer these hospitals for cooperation? Mykolaiv region was heavily damaged during the hostilities, with many destroyed medical facilities, which makes the surviving ones very busy. In addition, doctors are forced to acquire new expertise in the field, because there are a large number of victims of hostilities in the region, both military and civilian," the President's wife said.
