During her visit to Italy, the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, held several meetings with international partners focused on supporting Ukrainian children and youth.

She met with Rima Al Hashimi, the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Giovanni Accione, President of the Italian association ACRI, Laurent Sen-Martin, the French Minister for Foreign Trade, and Pierre Elbron, Special Representative of the French President for assistance to Ukraine.

During the meetings, the First Lady shared findings from the "Future Index" study, revealing that 44% of Ukrainian children may exhibit signs of potential PTSD.

"According to UNICEF, 61% of parents report that their children show signs of stress and sleep problems. These outcomes stem from the trauma of war," she emphasized.

The Olena Zelenska Foundation presented the "12–21" project, aimed at creating youth spaces for psychosocial support and development. The first five of these spaces will open in Ukraine this year, with Italy contributing 1 million euros.

During her meeting with Rima Al Hashimi, further collaboration in three key areas was discussed: support for family upbringing, access to education, and psychosocial assistance. Olena Zelenska noted that the UAE government is a crucial partner in the "Childhood Address" project, focused on housing for large foster families affected by the war.

"With the support of the UAE, we have already built ten of these homes, and we are currently discussing the status of ten more," she added.

In her meeting with Laurent Sen-Martin and French business representatives, the safety of the educational environment was addressed. The First Lady noted that 17 shelters in schools and kindergartens have been established through the Foundation's initiative, with plans for at least 50 more next year.

Olena Zelenska thanked all partners for their support of Ukrainian children.