The key facts
- Emine Erdogan spoke at the summit in Samarkand with participation of representatives from more than 100 countries
- According to her, over 21,000 children have been killed in Gaza over three years, and 700,000 students are deprived of education
- Turkey has restricted social media for children under 15 and introduced age verification requirements for platforms
Speech at the summit in Samarkand
Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan on October 21 spoke at the World Summit on Investing in Children's Wellbeing in Samarkand, which brought together representatives from more than 100 countries. She called on the international community to keep the needs of children, especially those living in conflict zones, at the center of the global agenda. «We have gathered here to ensure fair and equal opportunities for all the children of the world and to give a voice to their needs,» she said, adding that it is necessary to speak about children in war zones who «cannot even dream of a future.»
Data on children in Gaza
Erdogan cited figures concerning children in Gaza: over the past three years, more than 21,000 children have been killed, and more than 10,000 have suffered irreversible disabilities or lost limbs. According to her, 60% of deaths from childhood cancer occur in areas of armed conflict. She reported that 197 ambulances, 38 hospitals and 96 medical centers were bombed and put out of service. About 700,000 students are deprived of the right to education, and more than 1 million children in Gaza, according to her, live in hope of obtaining conditions for a happy childhood. «A world in which no one is left behind is possible only when the sirens of war fall silent,» the First Lady declared.
New challenges for children's wellbeing
Erdogan emphasized that investments in children's wellbeing are directly linked to the sustainable development of society, and proposed revising traditional indicators taking into account modern challenges. In addition to basic needs — food, housing, safety, education and healthcare — she named climate change, armed conflicts, forced displacement and new digital threats. Among the new problems she highlighted climate anxiety, artificial intelligence, digital violence and attention exploitation.
Turkey's measures
The First Lady spoke about Turkey's social policy covering the physical, mental, emotional and moral needs of children. 2025 was declared the Year of the Family, and 2026–2035 the «Decade of Family and Population.» She noted the Convention on the Digital Rights of Children, saying that Turkey is among the first countries to protect children from the risks of the digital environment: access to social media for children under 15 is restricted, and platforms are required to implement age verification and parental controls. She also mentioned a foster family project covering more than 11,000 children, including those displaced by war.
Organization of the summit
Erdogan thanked Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, the wife of Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, for organizing the summit and expressed hope that the meeting would benefit children and humanity. The event was also attended by Turkey's Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas and Esra Albayrak, chairwoman of the board of the NUN education and culture foundation. «Children are the heart of humanity. Issues concerning them must always remain at the center of the global agenda,» Erdogan concluded.
