On World Children's Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena attended the Nationwide Forum of the National Council of Children and Youth “Ukraine Grows with Me”.
Greeting the children - participants of the forum and representatives of the National Council of Children and Youth, the Head of State said that he was very pleased to attend this event.
“I want to live and work for you. I look at you and understand: here it is - our real Ukraine, such young, energetic as you are, very beautiful, new and ambitious. And that's very cool. Because Ukraine is truly innovative, European, democratic,” the President said.
The President also urged children and young people to participate in the political life of the country.
A video of inventions and achievements of talented children was shown to the presidential couple.
Answering the question who Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to be as a child, he said that he had never dreamed of studying abroad, but he strived to become a diplomat and also wanted to be a border guard.
"I am not a border guard now, but I also protect our state," the President of Ukraine said.
The Head of State stresses that today, for various reasons, young people go abroad, and the task of the Ukrainian authorities is to create such conditions that young people want to stay at home. Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the children what the state should do for this.
For their part, children and young people stressed the importance of ensuring accessibility of higher education, participation of children in decision-making and increasing wages in Ukraine.
The President also agreed with the youth's statement that new approaches to education should be formed.
“Today, the world demands education to be completely different. It must be liberal so that you can choose the subjects to study. Sometimes you can study one profession for two years and then switch to another,” the Head of State said.
The President said that the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine was currently preparing a major program in the field of education.
When asked about philosophy he is guided by in life to succeed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied: "I wake up every day with a thought: how can I be useful today".
According to him, he tries to be guided by such principles in politics: to do everything possible so that nobody suffers.
“I really wanted to help people. Honestly. Every day I set myself a challenge - small victories. Sometimes people don't see it because we don't do everything for PR. You don't have to wait 5 or 20 years to win. You know it is a dream, you will come to it, but there must be small practical "dreams" - do something every day," Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained.
He emphasized that there should be respect for yourself and understanding why you lived the day.
“During these five years, we will do everything to make Ukraine a major European project. I really want that” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The President was also asked about his most successful project. "I think my best project is my family. This is a very powerful association,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Head of State believes that a person is strong when there are loved ones who respect you, love you and help you become better.
During informal communication, Volodymyr Zelenskyy confessed that he loved sandwiches, but his wife and coach forbade him to eat them.
The President also said that sport had been compulsory when he had studied in school. However, he starts his day with sport now. “The first lesson in my life today is sport. In the morning, I always do sport. If you start with sport, you have a different day, you have a lot of energy, you want to study, you want to work,” he summarized.