core sector communique

CIBJO to expand membership and international role, sets up Strategic Task Force to plan and manage process VICENZA, ITALY: MAY 23, 2012 - Meeting at the CIBJO Congress in Vicenza, Italy, the organisation's Board of Directors has unanimously approved a proposal that a Strategic Task Force be established to grow industry membership in the organisation, broaden its financial base, and expand the range of international diplomatic activities conducted with the United Nations, as well as with other national and international representative organisations. The Strategic Task Force will be chaired by Eli Avidar, a member of the CIBJO President's Council and the CEO of the Israel Diamond Institute.  CIBJO President Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri said: "I am happy that Eli Avidar accepted my request to head this important task force. As a seasoned diplomat he will be able to bring to CIBJO his considerable experience and contacts in the international diplomatic arena." "I want to thank Dr. Cavalieri for the confidence he has shown in me," said Mr. Avidar. "Through his leadership, CIBJO will move to the next level, reaching out to new industry participants, and positioning itself so that both its members and stakeholders will understand that we stand together, united and committed." "Members of our industry are occasionally required to confront abrupt and sometimes major changes in regulations in their own countries. They are required to challenge the authorities, but they need not do so alone. They should be able to rely upon the broad support of the international jewellery community, under the banner of CIBJO," Avidar stated. Avidar cited CIBJO's unique relationship with the United Nations and associated agencies as providing a platform that should be leveraged to expand its global activism. "There is no other organisation in the jewellery, gemstone and diamond business with the same degree of access into the chambers of power and influence," he stated. Avidar called on CIBJO members to provide a list of potential members, both national associations and commercial bodies, who will then be approached by the Strategic Task Force to join CIBJO. "We need to look ahead, as an organisation that is larger, more diverse and reflective of this great industry. The future belongs to all of us, and so does the responsibility to grasp that future," he said. With members from more than 40 countries, CIBJO is an international body that represents the interests of national jewellery and gemstone organisations and commercial bodies operating within the jewellery chain of distribution. The 2012 CIBJO Congress took place between May 17 and 20, and was hosted by the Fiera di Vicenza, Italy's leading jewellery trade show company, in the framework the World Jewellery Forum.

CIBJO is the international jewellery confederation of national trade organizations. CIBJO's purpose is to encourage harmonization, promote international cooperation in the jewellery industry and to consider issues which concern the trade worldwide. CIBJO's chief mission is to protect consumer confidence in the industry.