Crown Princess Victoria gave a speech at the World Water Week 2016 “Building a Resilient Future through Water” meeting on September 1. This is part of her work with Agenda 2030 which she took up earlier this year when she was appointed a Sustainable Development Goals Advocate.
[Kungahuset video screengrab]
I was going to include this in yesterday’s royal round up, but I like her speech and wanted to quote the whole thing. The speech was given in English:
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“Sweden had a warm summer this year. My four-year old daughter has been very keen on swimming. She loves to swim – just like I did when I was a child. And like most parents, I want to say ‘yes’ when my child wants to play in the water. But this summer many parents in Sweden had to say no when their children wanted to jump in the sea. Because the water was not healthy. Instead it was a brownish mess of toxic algal bloom.
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“This is just one of many alarming signs that our marine environment is under great stress. A third of the Baltic Sea now has so little oxygen that it is hard or impossible for fish to live and breed. This means that things that we for generations have taken for granted are going to be difficult or even impossible for our children to enjoy. Like taking a swim on a warm summer day. Or being able to eat the fish that they have caught themselves.
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“It makes a mother sad to have to say no to her child’s desire to swim. Still, I know, that this is nothing compared to the losses that other mothers are suffering around the world. Like the mother whose child is thirsty – but she has only dirty water to give. Or the mother who can’t work, because fetching water for her family takes up half of her day. Or the mother who can’t let her teenage daughter go to school because there is no proper sanitation.
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“Disease. Poverty. Inequality. 650 million people lack access to safe water. 2.3 billion lack access to improved sanitation. 900 children die every day of diarrheal diseases. This is what we are really talking about when we discuss water.
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“So, let’s change the perspective – and look ahead: Let’s talk about health. About economic development. And equal opportunities for boys and girls. Because this is what we can achieve, if we make the right decisions about water today.
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“According to the 2016 United Nations World Water Development Report, “Water and Jobs”, three out of four jobs worldwide are water dependent. Three out of four! The report also shows that there is a positive correlation between water investments and economic growth. So, investing in safe drinking water and sanitation is investing in health. And it is also investing in access to education, in jobs and in sustainable economic growth.
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“I am honoured to have been appointed by the United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as an Advocate to promote the global sustainable development goals. I am grateful for the opportunities it has brought me to learn more about the challenges that we face about: Poverty; Inequality; And climate change.
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“One key insight is that the seventeen global goals are not a list of targets. But rather a network or a system. The only way to achieve one goal is by working on the others as well. It is like a wristwatch: if you lose just one of the cogwheels it will stop. And you are likely to be late. Maybe too late. There is no such thing as spare time. There is, in fact, no time to waste at all.
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“I believe Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed it very well when he said: ‘We are the first generation that can eradicate poverty. And the last that can put an end to climate change.’
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“I am proud that Sweden is truly committed to the 2030 Agenda and the global goals. In the government, the civil society, the business sector and academia there is a strong ambition to take the lead. And to lead by example. But: leading is not just about showing the way. It is also about listening About learning from others. And being open to new ideas. And this is why we are here today.
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“Looking around this room, I see leading researchers, decision-makers and opinion leaders from all over the world. I see hope. So much knowledge and ability gathered here, under the same roof. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let this World Water Week give us the energy we need to carry on in order to make great things happen.
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“The former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, once said: ‘No peace which is not peace for all, no rest until all has been fulfilled.'”
[kungahuset.se, in English]
This is a good speech. I like that she included a reference to Princess Estelle, but then moved on to talk about mothers in other parts of the world who are much less fortunate than Victoria. Because if Victoria had only talked about her own situation, she would have seemed very out of touch. I also liked what she said about how in order to achieve all seventeen goals they need to work on all of them together, that they are intertwined.
You can watch a video of her speech below. Victoria is a good public speaker and her English is very good.
Victoria wore a Prada Pink and Green Printed Dress and By Malene Birger Paxilow Pumps in Clay. She carried a white clutch by Abro – the clutch also comes in black and nude.
[Kungahuset video screengrab]
She’s a class act. Her English is so good I can hardly detect an accent and her enunciation is precise. She’s very eloquent. You can tell she truly cares about what she is speaking about and supporting. She gives no airs of being haughty or unmindful like some other royalty. She’s everything a leader should be, she is truly inspiring to me.
+1000
Victoria is an inspiration. She is going to make a great Queen!
Oh, Cathy, I agree. She does womankind proud!
Such a heartfelt speech. I love that when Victoria gives a speech, it sounds like she truly cares and is passionate!
Great speech – she will be a great Queen – and her comments were inclusive and relate able to a broad spectrum.
While I really like Victoria, she does have shortcomings. She has shown in the past that she does not understand or give value to the Republican movement. She cannot understand why some people think monarchy is a ridiculous, archaic institution.
Republican sentiment is rising in egalitarian Sweden. People mock the idea of calling Daniel HRH and think he should have rejected a title. Someone in her position needs to understand how fragile the idea of monarchy is.
“Something as curious as the monarchy won’t survive unless you take account of people’s attitudes. After all, if people don’t want it, they won’t have it.” Charles, Prince of Wales
She is a class act, in every way, and I say this as a hardcore republican!
For someone whose first language is not English it’s a good speech.
Lovely speech and it was informative, intellectual, interesting…it’s quite a contrast to see how I’ve praised how Kate has slowly improved her public speeches which are lucky to be one minute long and tend to be an introduction or a praise of an organization compared to something as in depth and focused as this. I realize Kate’s role is more similar to Daniel’s, and we really should compare Will’s speeches about conservation to Victoria’s water speech, but since this is a Kate centric blog, I just feel she’s missing some great opportunities with her charities where she can make impactful speeches.
Her problem is lack of life experience – waiting around for 10 years for “big blue” with nothing of substance to show for her time and little more since. All the other consorts had something to bring to the table in terms of achievement – even Diana was a nursery assistant and did a lot more at a much younger age – Waity is still waiting – for what I am not sure
+1
+1. Waiting = partying, shopping, holidaying, being available to William’s whims.
No teaching of self-respect and work ethic in the Middleton household.
+1
This was a great speech. I liked that it started personally with her daughter, then locally and then globally. It wasn’t just doom and gloom but ended with hope! “No time to spare” is correct. Florida’s water had a surge of toxic algae blooms this yr.
She was expressive and delivered it clearly and priecisly. All the empty chairs on the dais were a little distracting tho. Where were the peeps? I believe she’ll do great things in this roll.
I can’t even take William and his conservation efforts seriously. Last wk CNN and BBC both had programs on how the # of elephants are even worse than suspected. I decided to finally check out their Twitter feed to see if they mentioned it. Nope nada. Not to mention the use of the helicopter for everywhere they go. Their carbon footprint is ginormous.
Now KMR, if you do a post on Leti, my trifecta of favorite royal ladies will be complete=)
A Leti post will have to wait because she hasn’t done anything since the summer photocall a month ago.
+1
+1
When you compare William’s public speaking abilities vs. Victoria’s (not in her native tongue), Victoria comes out far ahead. She might not be the best-educated upcoming royal of her generation, but she is dedicated and inhabits her role very well.
Agree with you but she is well educated too.
She speaks 4 languages, she went to Yale and in France, education about business and agriculture, training military, diplomatic training.
I’m referring to her formal education. She attended school in the US for a bit, school in France for a time. Neither ended in a degree.
Her eventual degree, Bachelor of Arts, was from Upsala. Like William’s undergrad in Geography, a generic “Bachelor of Arts” isn’t the best preparation for her role.
Others like Haakon, Felipe, Philippe – most of them have bachelors and Masters degrees in things like International Relations, Development Studies, Masters in Foreign Service, in addition to doing stints at embassies, military training, business internships etc. as Victoria has done.
Great speech, great accent : very impressed by her!
This was a wonderful speech. When she said “It is like a wristwatch: if you lose just one of the cogwheels it will stop. And you are likely to be late. Maybe too late. There is no such thing as spare time.” That was a great analogy for the importance of action.
Wonderful and thought provoking round up review, KMR.
Fashion-wise, I thought I recognized this dress. It was from her is-she-isn’t-she expecting phase about 3 months in with Oscar.
http://katemiddletonreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Crown-Princess-Victoria-Export-Hermes.jpg
http://katemiddletonreview.com/2015/09/01/royal-round-up-crown-princess-victoria-princess-sofia-princess-madeleine/
With Victoria, what she is wearing is usually the LAST thing I notice about her and I love this. I can remember why she appeared at every appearance and approximately what was discussed, etc. The clothing doesn’t make a lasting impression on me.
Unlike with Kate… Another blue dress, another nude shoe, another did-she-pr-didn’t-she flash everyone.
This is mostly true for me, that what Victoria wears is appropriate and doesn’t distract from the work. When she stays in her classic box, things are fine. When she breaks out of it, she can have epic fails.
http://us.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/royalty/201109166139/princess-victoria-of-sweden-swedish-parliament-opening-pregnant/0-24-558/victoria-2–z.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhKhC4FMp6Y/UIzm2m0DqeI/AAAAAAAAnLE/9AlgQM7q3q0/s1600/EJlSA0Iy5DN3wPYFjFqav7XYs8g_1200.jpg
There is a third horrible silver outfit out there, but I cannot find any pictures. It was a silver lame crop top with cheerleader mini. She looked like an extra from Star Trek in the 60s.
What a wonderful speech!! I found it interesting, the correlation between access to water and economic stability and equality. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes and I’m glad that the Crown Princess touched on each of those areas. I am always impressed by how well Victoria does in public speaking, especially in a language that is second to her. Her posture was fantastic, I think holding the cards up instead of laying them on the podium helped in that regard and her interaction with her listeners was spot on.
On to fashion, which really is secondary here but must be covered none the less. I can’t say I’m a big fan of this dress for this event, I found the puckering at the shoulders a bit distracting and the style was vaguely juvenile imo. But again, what she wore today was really secondary to what she had to say and how she said it, with ease and grace, maturity and deportment.
I always forget her voice is so deep! It’s interesting to me because Princesses Madeline and Sofia have higher pitched voices. I’ve been very impressed with the entire family’s english, that much make it easier to deal with Chris. Oh and she looks very pretty:)
Just out of curiousity, I was wondering whether she smokes, since she has this very deep voice (I also just recognise from Madeleine’s wedding), and don’t get me wrong, I love CP Victoria, she always seems to be very open and warm person..
Very impressive speech on a very important global cause. Bravo Victoria, yet again!
Victoria is the complete embodiment and epitome of what a royal and Queen-to-be should be: she’s warm, gracious, well-spoken, educated, sharp, composed. She’s my ultimate role model and inspiration, and she’s not even a royal of my country (the U.S., well, has no royals). Sweden has a bright future monarchy under Victoria.
What a great speech, so warm, so touching!
Sweden is so lucky to have Victoria.
Kate that’ s how a princess act!!! It’ s not about clothes !
+1
Wonderful speech! I really, really like her and the more I see of her… she’s just great!
Ofc one could argue that she was born into that role and has an advantage through rhe way she was raised and educated and to some point that might be true but it doesn’t need a born princess to care, to get information and to raise awareness. To do her job.
I am very impressed by Victoria. She speaks beautifully and I agree with others that it was nice to make the issue personal by talking about her child, but she quickly pointed out more serious problems other mothers face. Her global approach to the subject was spoken most effectively.
Victoria is an inspiration. She will, as Cathy pointed out, make a great Queen.