The First Ladies Summit was officially established in 2010, with

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

playing the inaugural host for this biennial event. It aims to gather

First Ladies First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the t ...

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 The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

Ban Ki-moon praised the inaugural First Ladies Summit for its efforts in securing the welfare of the children UN chief praises first ladies initiative
New Straits Times, 31 October 2010.

Meetings

The meetings have been held in: * First Ladies Summit 1: October 11–13, 2010,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

The original plan was to hold the summit every two years, but its future has been thrown into doubt following widespread criticism of its poor turnout. There is speculation that the event was merely an expensive publicity stunt thrown by

Rosmah Mansor Rosmah binti Mansor ( Jawi: روسمه بنت منصور; born 10 December 1951) is the second wife of former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak. Like her husband, she became implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. On 1 Se ...

to justify her self-styled "First Lady of Malaysia" title — technically such a title cannot exist as Malaysia is a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, not a republic. Indeed, as of July 2012, there has been no further talk of hosting another summit.

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 Topi (

Republic of Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares l ...

) # Salomea Neves Aim Gomes ( Guinea Bissau) # Ernestina Naadu Mills (

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

) # Meme Tong (

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

) # Lorna Golding (

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

) # Keosaychay Sayasone ( Laos) #

Sarojini Jugnauth Sarojini Ballah, The Right Honorable Lady Jugnauth (commonly known as ''Lady Sarojini Jugnauth''), a former Spouse of the Prime Minister of Mauritius is the widow of Sir Anerood Jugnauth. She previously held the position from 1982 to 1995 and f ...

(

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

) # Maria De Luz Guebuza (

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

) # Patience Jonathan (

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) # Mercedes Lugo De Maidana (

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

) # Natalie Brigitte Nadage Michel (

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

) # Sia Nyama Koroma (

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

) #

Shiranthi Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

( Sri Lanka) # Thandiwe Banda (

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

)

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 ringgit which she claimed could be put to better use. In addition,

's title as First Lady of Malaysia drew ire from certain public quarters, for such a status is not official in

References

External links

firstladiessummit.org - A global initiative for children's education
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923041714/http://www.firstladiessummit.org/ , date=2010-09-23 ASEAN meetings Organizations associated with ASEAN 21st-century diplomatic conferences Biennial events Recurring events established in 2010