The First Lady, of Seychelles,Veronique Herminie joined 45 other First Spouses at the inaugural “Fostering the Future Together” Global Coalition Summit in Washington DC held from 24th to 25th March 2026, at the US Department of State and the White House respectively on the personal invitation of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.
The coalition is focused on advancing children’s wellbeing through education, innovation and responsible use of technology.
In her intervention at the opening day of the summit, First Lady Veronique Herminie stressed the importance of education to ensure that “every child can live with dignity, opportunity and have an equal voice in shaping the future.” adding, “education is the key and innovative technology the pathway”.
She highlighted that it is through “positive exposures and adventures that we improve the chance of our next generation being more informed and thus better able to navigate challenges and build healthy relationships as adults.”
She however cautioned that “in this digital era where gender-based violence is being aided and escalated using technology, we need to ensure mandatory digital literacy not only for our children but for parents, teachers and caregivers to support responsible and safe digital learning and to ensure that technology improves rather than diminishes our children’s critical thinking.
She further added that “as parents who truly care for the development of our children, we need to ensure that handheld devices should never replace laughter and fun; and should complement rather than replace our judgment or our parental roles.”
First Lady Veronique Herminie ended her address by thanking First Lady Melania Trump for taking such bold steps in encouraging all First Spouses to come together to promote digital education for all, through the global coalition.
Seychelles as a small island state has made meaningful progress in integrating digital technologies into education. Representatives from leading tech companies held an exhibition at the global coalition summit showcasing the products and services they offer for schools and children including OpenAI, Zoom AI, Microsoft, Google, Alpha School, Starlink, and Meta.
High level U.S. officials, including Ambassador Monica Crowley, Chief of Protocol of the US; Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Linda McMahon, U.S. Secretary of Education, lead the panel discussions.
The summit also provided opportunities for networking and among the 45 participating countries were other island states such as Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Aruba, Cabo Verde, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Palau and First Spouses from countries including France, Ukraine, Georgia, Ghana, Israel, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Paraguay, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Kosovo, and the UAE.
The Seychelles delegation at the summit also included our Ambassador to the United States and the Permanent Mission of Seychelles to the UN, Ms Vivianne Focktave; Mrs Teresa Laurencine, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of Seychelles to the UN, and Ms Marie-Neige Philoe, the Principal Programme Officer at the Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Seychelles.
SOURCE
State House News