The 5th Dubai City of Gold Conference will hold a panel discussion on the need for a unified jewellery marketing effort to increase global demand for jewellery, on April 22 at the Park Hyatt, Dubai.

�The global gems and jewellery industry has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2 per cent since the year 2000, this is expected to see a slight slowdown in the coming years. A unified jewellery marketing effort by the industry can help to overcome this,� said Tawhid Abdullah, the managing director of Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DGJG), a trade body.

A GJEPC-KPMG report released in December 2006 had reached a similar conclusion.

The panel session will feature: GJEPC chairman Sanjay Kothari, DTC worldwide marketing director David Lamb, WGC managing director-marketing & jewellery Philip Olden, Jewellery Industry Research Institute president Kenneth Gassman, DTC Gulf region director Anan Fakhreddin and CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri.

�All industry segments like gold, diamond, pearls and gemstones need to work in synergy to promote jewellery as a �single category� instead of distinct metals and stones,� said Abdullah, who will also chair the discussion. �An eminent group of panellists will debate ways to mobilise industry resources for an integrated marketing effort,� he added.

The two-day conference is being held in association with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).