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Former Head of GIA India Promoted to Oversee Global Operations Sriram “Ram” Natarajan is now GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory operations and is based out of the lab’s headquarters in Carlsbad.
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DEF Partners with Mandela Institute for Scholarship
It will be the first in a series of Diamond Empowerment Fund scholarships.
New York—The Diamond Empowerment Fund h¬as partnered with the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) to establish the first in a series of Diamond Empowerment Fund scholarships.
MINDS develops Pan-African leaders who have experience on the continent and can facilitate economic integration and social cohesion.
The Diamond Empowerment Fund Scholarship will be earmarked for a student from a diamond-producing country whose chosen post-graduate study is in a field that helps improve the quality of life for Africans.
Additional DEF scholarships will be identified in the coming months, each representing the global impact of the diamond industry.
The Diamond Empowerment Fund was inspired by Nelson Mandela, who encouraged its co-founders to tell the world how Africa’s diamonds were helping build healthy and educated communities on the continent.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Mandela Institute for Development Studies and to continue the legacy of giving back to the very communities where diamonds are found,” said DEF President Anna Martin, who is also senior vice president of GIA.
This year marks what would have been Mandela’s 100th birthday. His impact will be acknowledged and celebrated at the Mandela Peace Summit on the eve of the opening of the UN General Assembly this month.
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