First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska continues video conversations with representatives of the countries that joined this year's Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. Last week, she talked to the wives of the heads of state and government of Poland, Germany, Ecuador and Greece.
The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen is an international platform designed to create comfortable conditions for the exchange of experience and the implementation of joint projects for the well-being of people in the world.
"The video calls that we had within the framework of the Summit make it possible to deepen relations between our countries, to learn more about people's lives and their needs. And this is all important for joint efforts and work on joint projects. Together we can do more than alone," Zelenska said.
The talks are aimed at consolidating and deepening cooperation between the countries in the humanitarian, cultural, educational and social areas, as well as in the field of mental and physical health.
During a conversation with First Lady of the Republic of Poland Agata Kornhauser-Duda, the wife of the President of Ukraine expressed special thanks for caring for the youngest generation of Ukrainians, in particular those who need medical assistance, for organizing their treatment both in medical institutions in Poland and abroad. As reported, on the initiative of Agata Kornhauser-Duda, seriously ill patients were transported from a children's hospital in Lviv to hospitals in the Republic of Poland (the cities of Łódź, Toruń, Kraków), as well as medical institutions in Italy and Germany.
During a conversation with the wife of the President of Germany, Elke Büdenbender, the First Lady of Ukraine talked about her initiative "Ukrainian Bookshelf," within the framework of which editions in the Ukrainian language appeared in book chains and libraries of Germany.
"It is important that Ukrainians abroad have access to books in their native language. In the near future, we will expand the assortment of Ukrainian editions in Berlin and other cities," Zelenska said.
In addition, the wife of the President of Ukraine offered Elke Büdenbender to become the patron of the "Stories of Better Times" book project in Germany. It provides for the publication and reading of books by domestic authors in Ukrainian, German and Dutch languages. They will be distributed in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. The interesting part of the project will be the opportunity to read aloud the book on your own. According to the organizers, the initiative will help children overcome sadness, integrate into the environment of the host country and keep in touch with relatives who remained at home.
During the conversation with the First Lady of Ecuador, Zelenska thanked her country for condemnation of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine and for supporting relevant resolutions within international and regional organizations. The President's wife also noted the joint activity of the first ladies – protection of children's rights – and offered to exchange experience on the implementation of relevant programs.
During a conversation with the wife of the Prime Minister of Greece, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, Zelenska positively evaluated the children's rehabilitation program in Greece, which has already reached more than 1,200 young Ukrainians. The First Lady of Ukraine also paid attention to the discussion of the issue of education for Ukrainian schoolchildren who are in the territory of Greece, in particular, the creation of the necessary conditions for studying the subjects of the Ukrainian school curriculum.
"It is important for us that those schoolchildren who wish to continue their education in Ukrainian schools remotely can do so without violating Greek legislation. Therefore, the priority for us is to introduce a flexible schedule and a simplified procedure for visiting Greek schools," she said.
Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis expressed her understanding of the importance of solving this issue and promised to pay attention to it. In addition, the wife of the Prime Minister said that, according to the agreements with the first lady of the United States, three psychologists will soon arrive in Greece to help in the rehabilitation of a new group of Ukrainian children.
Earlier the first lady of Ukraine talked with the wife of the President of the European Council, the first ladies of Belgium, Austria, North Macedonia, Spain, Serbia, the Republic of Latvia, Belize, the wife of the President of Iceland. In total, Zelenska has already held 13 conversations.