News
Queen Silvia visits Veracel - 11.26.03
On her knees in a gesture of humility, Queen Silvia of Sweden planted a pau-brasil tree seedling in front of a school named in her honor that was inaugurated November 25 in Barrolândia, a district of the municipality of Belmonte. The ceremony was part of the royal visitor's scheduled activities during a visit to Veracel, which is building a pulp mill 18 km from Barrolândia. Prior to this stop, Queen Silvia visited the Veracel Station, a private Atlantic Forest reserve owned by Veracel, and flew over the mill construction site.
The queen visited the location accompanied by the president of Veracel, Vitor Costa, the presidents of the Veracel controlling shareholders - Carlos Aguiar of Aracruz Celulose, and Nils Grafström, of the Stora Enso Latin América Division - and the Secretary of Industry, Commerce and Mining of the state of Bahia, Otto Alencar. On a non-official visit to the country, Queen Silvia arrived at Porto Seguro after a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio da Silva on November 24 in Brasília. In Bahia, she met the governor of the state, Paulo Souto.
The daughter of the Brazilian mother and a German father who was raised in Brazil from the ages of 3 to 14, Queen Silvia Sommerlath will be 60 years old on December 23. Married to King Carl XVI Gustaf and the mother of Prince Philip and Princesses Victoria and Madeleine, she is recognized outside of royal circles for her social work, especially for activities to combat the sexual exploitation of children, which led her to found the World Childhood Foundation, an organization that helps children in situations of risk, including in Brazil.
"Today, you are children. Tomorrow, you will have social responsibilities for Brazil," said Queen Silvia to a group of 50 children from the local community. She was honored with a bouquet of roses given to her by Tatiane do Carmo Silva, 10, a student enrolled in the "Being a Child" project in Ponto Central, anneighboring community of Barrolândia. Visibly touched, the Queen invited Jaira Nunes, 7, a student at the Clemenceau Teixeira Municipal School in Barrolândia, to help her plant the seedling. The "Being a Child" project, designed to help children 7-10 years old who are in situations of jeopardy, is run by Veracel in five municipalities in the region.
Social responsibility
"This is a singular ceremony, one with the deepest meaning for Veracel and for Barrolândia," said the president of the company, Vitor Costa. He reminded his audience of the projects the company is planning to set up to improve the quality of life of the population, such as sewage networks and incentives for companies that want to establish themselves in the area. He reaffirmed Veracel's commitment to fight leprosy in the region. "We are involved in the effort to eradicate this disease within two years time. We expect that, in the future, these children will be proud to live in Barrolândia," he said.
The president of Aracruz Celulose, Carlos Aguiar, stated that the Barrolândia community will undergo a process of redemption with the setting up of the pulp mill. "This is a part of the culture of the shareholders, who practice the principles of social responsibility and are committed to development of the region," he said. For his part, Nils Grafström, the president of Stora Enso Latin América said, "We do not seek only profits. We also must participate in society.