The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, met with representatives of Google – Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy Annette Kroeber-Riel and Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe Patrick Warnking, who arrived in Kyiv.
The President's wife expressed gratitude for their long-standing and productive partnership in various areas of cultural and public life, as well as for the company's principled stance during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In particular, Google was among the first to impose sanctions against Russia. The company suspended advertising in Russia and cooperation with Russian advertisers. YouTube removed over 9,000 channels and 70,000 videos that distorted the truth about Russia's aggression.
On February 26, 2022, Google suspended monetization of Russian state media worldwide, including RT and Sputnik, indefinitely. On March 2, YouTube blocked all channels in Europe associated with Russian state media.
Google also enhanced cybersecurity for the accounts of Ukrainians and assisted Ukrainian government resources and media in defending against DDoS attacks.
Olena Zelenska emphasized that accurate search results on Google are now part of global information security.
In preparation for the meeting, the First Lady held a series of consultations with relevant ministries to gather their most current and urgent requests.
"I want to draw attention to an issue of fundamental importance for us. This concerns the incorrect representation of Ukraine's territory by the Google Maps service, an issue we have been dealing with since 2014, from the beginning of the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Russia. Depending on the country or region from which the query 'Ukraine' or 'Ukraine' is made, Google Maps displays Ukraine differently: if the query is made from the territory of Ukraine, then Google Maps shows Crimea as part of Ukraine. If the query is made from the territory of Russia, Google Maps displays Crimea, which is an integral part of Ukraine, as part of Russia. If the query is made from Europe, Google Maps shows Crimea as a disputed territory. We hope for your support in resolving the issue of the incorrect representation of Ukraine's map on the Google platform in accordance with internationally recognized borders of 1991, regardless of the user's location," the First Lady stated.
She also emphasized the need for the derussification of Google's search.
"We thank you for the partial derussification of the search and kindly request more active efforts in derussifying Google search results for Ukrainian users in Ukraine and abroad when Ukraine is selected in the settings of the operating system or browser," she noted. She emphasized that this also applies to the typical recommendations on YouTube, which are currently predominantly in Russian.
"We appeal to you to configure YouTube settings to dissociate Ukraine from the geographical affiliation to the CIS space and change the automatic display of Russian-language content for users from Ukraine and with Ukrainian IP addresses. Additionally, please change the automatic presentation of recommended and popular content for Ukrainians from Russian to Ukrainian and European," the First Lady added.
Olena Zelenska offered joint projects in the field of mental health to the company's representatives. She emphasized that during a sociological study conducted prior to the Third First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit in 11 countries, it was revealed that mental health, alongside poverty, ranks among the top five global challenges. This challenge is especially significant for young people and adolescents.
The First Lady called for the continuation of cooperation on child safety on the internet, stating, "Internet safety for children, teenagers, and youth remains a critical issue for the prevention of mental disorders and problems. We are interested in further collaboration with Google Ukraine to increase the availability of solutions such as Google Interland - a game that teaches children to be polite online, distinguish truth from scams, share information, and protect their personal data."
She also proposed the creation of a library of quality content on mental health.
"In a challenging situation, when there is no one to turn to or you don't want to open up, many of us seek help through Google," she added.
Olena Zelenska emphasized the need to include mental health support centers, which are being established within the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program, on Google Maps.
She also highlighted the importance of collaboration in creating an inclusive environment for Ukrainians.
"Google has digital solutions and information-educational components that are currently undisclosed or not localized for Ukraine but could be beneficial for people with disabilities and those with limited mobility, for adults and children with hearing and visual impairments, cognitive impairments, autism spectrum disorders, and more," the First Lady emphasized.
The discussion also covered cooperation in the digitization of Ukrainian cultural heritage and museums, including the creation of immersive exhibitions to promote Ukrainian culture and knowledge worldwide.
"We are grateful to Google for supporting Ukraine and active cooperation, particularly in the realm of culture and art (Google Arts & Culture / GAC). As is known, the GAC platform has one of the most extensive digitized and consolidated libraries of visual art, containing many works by Ukrainian artists. Unfortunately, for historical reasons, a significant number of these works still have incorrect identification - their origin is identified as Russian. We hope for further cooperation with Google in determining and correcting the identification of artists," noted the President's wife.
The First Lady also shared insights into the work of her foundation, the Olena Zelenska Foundation, including a project to provide teachers and students with equipment for remote learning.
"The need for devices remains relevant. In total, gadgets are required for over 516,000 Ukrainian students and more than 80,000 teachers. That's why we don't stop," she stated.
Foreign philanthropists and companies can participate in providing direct assistance to Ukrainians through the foundation's projects.
"Google is known for always seeking new ways to use technology to have a positive impact on the world. We are ready to find these ways together. Because it is not only important for Ukraine but for the whole world that the word 'to Google' continues to mean finding a quick and objective answer to any life-critical question," concluded Olena Zelenska.
