Turkish first lady hosts leaders’ spouses at NATO summit event in Ankara

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan on Wednesday hosted the spouses of leaders attending the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Erdogan welcomed the guests at the Cankaya Mansion, where they attended a roundtable titled “Children, Technology and Security: Protecting the Next Generation.”

Addressing the meeting, Erdogan said child safety should not be treated as an additional setting on digital platforms, but as “the first principle of design.”

“The black box of algorithms must be opened, and technology companies must submit the social impact of their products to independent audit,” she said.

Erdogan said children’s exposure to digital platforms cannot be left solely to profit-driven companies.

“Companies are responsible to their shareholders, while states are responsible to their nations,” she said, adding that governments have a duty to build a human-centered framework to protect children in the digital age.

Türkiye, she said, has sought to advance the issue internationally through its Children’s Rights in the Digital World initiative, while also introducing domestic measures including limits on social media access for children under 15, age verification requirements, and parental control obligations for platforms.

Erdogan also said the aim is not to deprive children of the opportunities offered by technology, but to make those opportunities suitable for their dignity, safety, and development.

Several leaders’ spouses also addressed the roundtable, including Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French president, Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukraine’s president, and the spouses and partners of leaders from Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Poland, South Korea, Slovenia, Albania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Montenegro, Estonia, Canada, Germany, and the EU Commission.

Following the meeting, Erdogan hosted the guests for lunch, where they were served samples of Turkish cuisine, including fava, Urla artichoke, stuffed zucchini flowers, stuffed vine leaves, keskek, and Emiralem strawberries.

The guests later viewed a collection featuring traditional Turkish fabrics, embroidery and handicrafts reflecting Anatolian, Mesopotamian, Ottoman, and Turkish cultural heritage.

The program ended after a family photo, with Erdogan seeing off her guests individually.