Tamara Vucic at the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Kyiv
At the Summit, which this year dealt with the topic of mental health, Mrs. Vucic pointed out that love was the most important factor for overcoming all crises, including those mental health-related.
"Mental health knows no borders, it does not depend on age or religious affiliation, and it is a current topic at any time and in any place in the world. Every day is a test. Life is unpredictable, but the way we understand the challenges and how we face them is completely up to us", Mrs. Vucic said.
As part of the Summit, Mrs. Vucic participated in a panel on the mental health of today’s adolescents, and on that occasion she said that in the age of social networks, it was up to adults to help young people, encouraging them to work on themselves, on their education, on developing critical thinking so that they could view everything they hear or read through the filter of their own virtues, values and emotions.
"Social networks are a truly powerful means of communication, through which high standards are imposed that are impossible to follow. I believe that we live in the time that Warhol predicted, that everyone has those 15 minutes of popularity and fame, and such a situation is a challenge for an adult, let alone for a child and a young person who has not reached that level of maturity and self-confidence. Young people are susceptible to influence and manipulation, and it is our duty to explain to them that this is not the real world, and that they need to make real contacts instead of those online. If we fail in that task, the new generations will be more depressed, more vulnerable, more anxious. That is why I believe that we need to make an extra effort and talk to them. It seems to me that communication is key. We need to motivate them to open up, to talk about their emotions, about their problems, the challenges they face, because adolescence is a period we all went through", said the spouse of the President of the Republic, Tamara Vucic.
She spoke at the panel together with the First Lady of Estonia Sirje Karis, the spouse of the Prime Minister of Armenia Anna Hakobyan and the partner of the President of Slovakia Juraj Rizman.
On the margins of the Summit, the spouse of the President of the Republic, Tamara Vucic, also met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the First Lady, Olena Zelenska, as well as the spouse of the President of Slovenia, Ales Musar, and Hollywood actor Sean Penn.
As special guests, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also attended the opening of the Summit.
Source/Photo: Tanjug
