Antwerp ITCCO to host high level seminar to strengthen the KPCS

The Antwerp ITCCO (International Training Center for Corporate Opportunities) will conduct a high-level seminar in Vicenza, Italy, on May 15, to discuss strengthening of the Kimberley Process through training and capacity development, and the establishment of systems designed to enable the monitoring, certification and labeling of ethical jewelry.

The seminar will be attended by where representatives of the United Nations, the European Community, national governments and the Kimberley Process, as well as leaders from the diamond and jewelry industries. The panel members will include Kimberley Chair, Ambassador Gillian A. Milovanovic, and Carlos Lopes, UN Assistant Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Development (UNITAR).

The event will be segmented into two sessions in which the first will focus on the creating properly structured training and capacity development programs. These programs should comprise of proper Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and aim to support the development-goals and objectives of the United Nations and the UN Global Compact. The second session concentrate on development of systems to monitor CSR in the distribution chain with the eventual goal of being able to certify and label jewelry that is manufactured and traded in an ethical manner. Participants will consider the options available for reviewing and tracking ethics and sustainability performance in the jewelry sector, including those based on existing international principles, guidelines and standards.

Eli Izhakoff, President of the World Diamond Council noted that the effectiveness of the KPCS lay also in the “way in which KPSC is understood and implemented at the grass roots level throughout the chain of distribution. Education is a critical component of the venture, and it is that which we will focus upon in Vicenza."

The seminar will be part of the World Jewelry Forum being hosted from May 13 to May 23.

Antwerp ITTCO was established in 2011 by UNITAR, in cooperation with the UN Global Compact, CIBJO, the Region of Flanders, the City of Antwerp, AWDC and the Belgium Diamond Trust Funds.