Samarco was present at the 2nd edition of the Ouro Preto Economic Development event (SDE 2024), which took place from September 18 to 21 at the UFOP Arts and Convention Center. During these four days, the event attracted around five thousand people and provided an opportunity to discuss and promote sustainable development and economic innovation in the region. Experts from different disciplines and academia, businesspeople and government representatives shared knowledge and experiences in areas such as entrepreneurship, sustainability, technology and public policies. The meeting encouraged debate on economic challenges and presented solutions to boost local growth.
“This is a very important intersectoral event because it enables discussions about the territory, generates business and attracts investment. And that is what we need: to integrate the public and private sectors and civil society, in addition to counting on the support of companies, such as Samarco, to seek economic diversification and strengthen the mining industry,” commented the executive director of the Economic and Social Development Agency of Inconfidentes and Alto Paraopeba (Adesiap), Denis Donato.
Ouro Preto resident Priscila Alves Ansaloni attended both editions of the event. “This year, we noticed improvements such as a greater number of exhibitors and a variety of content to support local entrepreneurs,” she said. She also emphasized: “I enjoyed learning more about Samarco. It is by getting to know it better that we begin to value it more,” she declared.
Socio-institutional Relations specialist Guilherme Louzada participated in the opening and reinforced the importance of the company participating in the seminar and the company’s actions to contribute to the sustainable development of the region. “We have been working on economic diversification initiatives in Ouro Preto and Mariana, such as the Economic Diversification Support Plan (PADE), helping to form a governance that established development axes and ways to promote the allocation of resources for projects and initiatives with this purpose. One of our goals is to reduce local dependence on mining, designing, from now on, a viable and sustainable future for the municipalities that currently live off of mining, based on the development of sectors of the economy that they have a vocation and potential for,” he highlighted.
Guilherme also recalled that the Força Local Program, an initiative that aims to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the territories where Samarco operates in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, also encourages local companies to become capable of meeting demands beyond mining. “Regarding economic diversification actions, support for the recognition of products with the Designation of Origin will soon begin, strengthening the region’s authentic and typical production arrangements. Following the example of other initiatives that value the place of production, such as Canastra Cheese, products are being identified for development in both Mariana and Ouro Preto,” he said. Samarco was one of the event’s sponsors and has been participating since the first edition.
During the event, leaders from Ouro Preto reaffirmed their intention to invest in the city’s economic diversification in order to work together with other cities with similar characteristics in the pursuit of sustainable regional development. One of the highlights of the program took place on the first day with the speech on "Sustainability and Economic Scenarios", given by former Globo TV presenter Giuliana Morrone, who encouraged the Ouro Preto community to reflect on their relationship with the environment.
Photos: Credit – Samarco Archive.
