Swedish State Visit to Germany, Day 3

Queen Silvia of Sweden during a visit to an inclusion initiative in Berlin on day three of the State Visit to Germany

(photo kungahuset.se)

The Swedish State Visit to Germany has continued in Berlin with a day all about inclusion. From the fun of the circus to the harsh realities of life as a refugee, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia have been seeing projects that work towards making sure everyone in society is welcomed and has the opportunities they need and deserve.

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State Visits always cover business and the day started with a meeting with trade leaders and the royal couple heard about the way that graduates from both Sweden and Germany are integrating themselves into the lives and economies of each other's countries.

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King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia then headed to the Chameleon Theatre which is housed in the early art nouveau building, the Hackesche Hofe. This visit focused on the first professional circus in Germany to include people with Down's Syndrome or disabilities among its performers.

King Carl XVI Gustaf then moved on to a seminar about the digital economy and development while Queen Silvia took part in an event on sustainable fashion at Bikini Berlin, a shopping centre which opened two years ago featuring all sorts of style and fashion and providing a home to pop up shops.

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Queen Silvia gave a speech encouraging everyone to either reuse or recycle as much of their clothing as possible and opened an exhibition.

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royal couple were reunited for a working lunch at the Charite University Hospital where they were told about innovations there in e-health and digitisation.

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The afternoon saw Carl Gustaf and Silvia head to an integration initiative called Give Something Back to Berlin which was set up by a Swedish journalist, Anna Maria Olsson.  It aims to bring together migrants from across society to strengthen bonds and help local communities fuse.

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They met people taking part in the initiative at Sharehouse Refugio which was set up last year to provide somewhere for refugees to live and work together. It's run by Berlin City Mission and during their visit, the King and Queen of Sweden met people using it and the initiative as well as those who have helped establish and run it.

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#SweDE2016 will come to an end on October 8th 2016 when King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visit Wittenberg and Leipzig.  This four day visit is the second State trip they have made to Germany during their reign.