Emine Erdoğan highlights Ukraine’s resilience in Kyiv summit message

By Yusuf İNAN | Wise News Press

ANKARA, TURKEY — Emine Erdoğan, wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, praised the unity and social resilience demonstrated by the Ukrainian people during more than four years of war in a video message to a summit held in Kyiv.

Addressing the 6th Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, Erdoğan also congratulated Ukraine on the 35th anniversary of its Independence Day and wished the Ukrainian people peace, security and well-being.

She thanked Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for hosting the summit and said the experiences shared by different societies could provide guidance in confronting major global crises.

Erdoğan highlights Ukraine’s resilience during wartime

A central part of Emine Erdoğan’s message focused on Ukraine’s ability to maintain social cohesion despite the continuing effects of war.

According to Anadolu Agency, Erdoğan described Ukraine’s experience as one of the most recent examples of how societies can overcome severe challenges through collective resilience.

She noted that children continue their education despite wartime conditions, while women have taken responsibility across many areas of daily and public life.

Erdoğan said the Ukrainian people were continuing what she described as an inspiring struggle to protect their future.

She also used the occasion to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day.

“I sincerely congratulate Ukraine on the 35th anniversary of its Independence Day and wish the Ukrainian people peace, tranquility and well-being,” Erdoğan said in her message.

Her remarks placed social solidarity at the center of Ukraine’s ability to continue functioning under the pressure created by prolonged conflict.

Summit focuses on social resilience

The summit in Kyiv brought together discussions on how societies maintain stability and solidarity during periods of crisis.

Erdoğan said every society has its own world of values shaped by history, faith and collective memory, and argued that these shared values play an important role in determining how communities respond to major challenges.

She presented volunteerism, philanthropy and solidarity as particularly important elements of Turkish social culture.

According to Erdoğan, the strength of social connections becomes especially important during periods of war, natural disaster or other major crises because people are better able to withstand hardship when they feel supported by the wider community.

She warned that modern societies are increasingly discussing loneliness even among people living in large communities and cities.

As interpersonal ties weaken, Erdoğan said, societies can also become less resilient when confronted with emergencies.

Turkish tradition of solidarity cited as an example

Erdoğan devoted part of her speech to Turkey’s historical tradition of charitable foundations and social assistance.

She said more than 26,000 foundations were established during the Ottoman period, contributing to what has often been described as a “civilization of foundations.”

Those institutions, she said, were created for a broad range of purposes, including caring for elderly people, protecting orphans, helping people repay debts and even treating injured or sick birds.

According to Erdoğan, the tradition reflected an understanding in which social responsibility extended beyond immediate family circles and covered people, communities and other living beings in need of assistance.

She also referred to the Turkish cultural concept of “hamilik,” or protection and patronage, describing it as an approach based on supporting those in need and recognizing a fair right to life for every person and living creature.

Erdoğan said centuries of accumulated social experience had transformed the idea of sharing both joy and hardship into an established social practice.

February 6 earthquakes offered as a recent example

Emine Erdoğan also pointed to the February 6 earthquakes in Turkey as a modern example of social solidarity during a national disaster.

The earthquakes caused widespread destruction across southern Turkey and killed more than 50,000 people.

Erdoğan said the scale of solidarity that emerged after the disaster demonstrated the importance of strong social relationships during times of extreme hardship.

She described the collective response as an example of the idea that “one person is another person’s home,” referring to the ability of people to provide emotional and practical support to one another.

According to Erdoğan, the experience showed that one of the greatest strengths available to a society is its capacity to act as one during difficult periods.

She linked this experience to the broader theme of the Kyiv summit, arguing that social resilience cannot be considered only in terms of institutions, infrastructure or government capacity.

Strong interpersonal relationships, trust and willingness to help others also form an important part of a society’s ability to recover from crises, she said.

Ukraine and Turkey presented as different examples of resilience

Erdoğan’s remarks drew a parallel between Turkey’s experience following a major natural disaster and Ukraine’s experience during wartime.

While the circumstances differ significantly, she said both illustrate the importance of social cohesion when communities face severe pressure.

In Ukraine, she highlighted the continuation of education, the role of women and the wider population’s determination to maintain daily life and defend the country’s future.

In Turkey, she pointed to the nationwide response to the February 2023 earthquakes as an example of communities mobilizing rapidly to help those affected.

Erdoğan said such experiences demonstrate that resilience is closely connected to a society’s capacity to maintain trust, belonging and mutual support.

Her comments also emphasized the role of cultural traditions in shaping how different societies respond to crisis.

Rather than presenting a single model, she said experiences from different societies and cultures could help the international community understand how people confront major challenges.

Erdoğan calls for shared experiences to guide future responses

At the conclusion of her message, Emine Erdoğan said the discussions held through the summit represented an important contribution to a shared future.

She expressed hope that the experiences of different countries and cultures would help guide humanity as it attempts to overcome major global crises.

Erdoğan later reiterated the message in a social media post, saying she was pleased to participate in the Kyiv summit through a video address.

She said she hoped the experiences presented during the meeting on social resilience would provide useful lessons for confronting the deep crises facing societies around the world.

The 6th Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was hosted in Kyiv by Olena Zelenska and continued the platform’s focus on humanitarian, social and international issues.

Emine Erdoğan’s participation highlighted both Turkey’s historical traditions of solidarity and Ankara’s continued attention to the humanitarian and social consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Her message also placed Ukraine’s wartime experience within a broader discussion about how societies preserve cohesion, trust and the ability to function during prolonged periods of uncertainty.

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