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Industry think tank group created in Italy
A number of well-known players in the industry have formed an international think tank designed to provide the broadest view of the challenges the industry faces, as well as strategies for dealing with them.
Vicenza, Italy--A number of well-known players in the industry have formed an international think tank designed to provide the broadest view of the challenges the industry faces, as well as strategies for dealing with them.
Called the World Diamond and Jewellery Forum, the group is comprised of Eli Izhakoff of the World Diamond Council, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and CIBJO as chairman; CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri as president; and Fiera di Vicenza Managing Director Corrado Facco as managing director.
Creators of the forum, WDJF, will introduce its operating structure and schedule in the coming months, the new organization said, and plans to conduct its first public forum for the industry in conjunction with the first Vicenzaoro Dubai show, slated for April 23 to 26, 2015.
Cavalieri said they “intend WDJF to be fully inclusive,” as the group will engage with leaders and opinion-makers from the diamond and jewelry industries, government, the international community and specifically the United Nations, academia, other business sectors and civil society to “influence and help shape global, regional and domestic agendas in the jewelry, diamond, colored gemstone, pearl, precious metals and related sectors.”
Izhakoff said the absence of any all-industry analysis and planning mechanism has resulted in situations where the sector has been forced to react quickly to potentially dangerous threats, including the conflict diamond crisis in 1999 and 2000, and the global financial crisis in 2008.
“WDJF will fill a void in the greater diamond and jewelry industry,” he said. “WDJF is intended to provide that analysis and planning capability.”
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