First Ladies Summit
Encyclopedia
The First Ladies Summit was officially established in 2010, with Malaysia playing the inaugural host for this biennial event. It aims to gather First Ladies
around the world to support a global initiative to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the next generation. The theme of the summit
is "A Child Today, A Leader Tomorrow". Despite relatively lukewarm response, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon praised the inaugural First Ladies Summit for its efforts in securing the welfare of the children
which she claimed could be put to better use. In addition, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor
title as First Lady of Malaysia drew ire from certain public quarters, for such a status is not official in Malaysia.
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
around the world to support a global initiative to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the next generation. The theme of the summit
Summit (meeting)
A summit meeting is a meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security and a prearranged agenda.Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D...
is "A Child Today, A Leader Tomorrow". Despite relatively lukewarm response, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon praised the inaugural First Ladies Summit for its efforts in securing the welfare of the children
Meetings
The meetings have been held in:- First Ladies Summit 1: October 11–13, 2010,
Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia
Participation
15 first ladies, six representatives of First Ladies and 21 ministers turned up for the event. List of First Ladies who attended the Inaugural First Ladies Summit are listed as follows. The following list is conjured to be illustrative and not comprehensive.- Teuta TopiTeuta TopiTeuta Topi - Mema is the First Lady of Albania and the wife of Bamir Topi.-Biography:Topi, born in Tirana on 13 June 1961, graduated from Petro Nini Luarasi High School in Tirana and earned her college degree in 1984, majoring in Agronomy from the Agricultural University of Tirana.She has also...
(Republic of Albania) - Salomea Neves Aim Gomes (Guinea Bissau)
- Ernestina Naadu Mills (GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) - Meme Tong (KiribatiKiribatiKiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
) - Lorna Golding (JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) - Keosaychay Sayasone (LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
) - Sarojini Jugnauth (MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
) - Maria De Luz Guebuza (MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
) - Patience Jonathan (NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
) - Mercedes Lugo De Maidana (ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
) - Natalie Brigitte Nadage Michel (SeychellesSeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
) - Sia Nyama Koroma (Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
) - Shiranthi RajapaksaShiranthi RajapaksaShiranthi Rajapaksa is the wife of the sixth President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa and the First Lady of Sri Lanka. She a professional in child psychology and pre-school education.-Early life:...
(Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) - Thandiwe Banda (ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
)
Controversies
The summit sparked public outcry for its perceived poor attendance. Zuraida Kamaruddin, Member of Parliament for Ampang, criticized the perceived wastage of public funds amounting to 24 million ringgitRinggit
Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area...
which she claimed could be put to better use. In addition, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor
Rosmah Mansor
Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor is the current wife of the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak.-Early life:Rosmah Mansor was brought up in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. She had secondary education in Tunku Kurshiah College , Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. She was touted to have...
title as First Lady of Malaysia drew ire from certain public quarters, for such a status is not official in Malaysia.