In her first speech to the Kimberley Process as President of the World Diamond Council, Feriel Zerouki has stressed that the diversity of opinion and background of the KP’s members – Participants and Observers alike – should be considered not a deficiency but rather a source of strength.
She take office following three years as WDC Vice President and almost two decades as a leading advocate for enhancing standards and driving progress within the diamond industry.
For those of us who have spent the past 20 years trying to alleviate the effects of bloody conflicts, as well as prevent them from happening, the outbreak of war in Europe, ghastly revealed to us in real time, brought home what others suffered for so many years in Africa, frequently beyond the view of cameras.
I am indeed an African. And, as a product of South Africa’s liberation struggle, I would not waste the access I had to opportunities that were never open to my parents, their parents or their parents’ parents.
February 21, 2023, marked 16 months since the official launch of the World Diamond Council’s revised System of Warranties (SoW), in 2021 on the 40th anniversary of the establishment by the United Nations of the International Day of Peace.
A milestone, years in the making, was registered on November 5, 2022, during the Kimberley Process Plenary meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, when the body greenlighted a recommendation made by a Technical Expert Team (TET) chaired by the World Diamond Council, proposing that Botswana become the site of the prospective KP Permanent Secretariat. It is projected to begin operations in January 2024.
The tenth article in the series is authored by Colleen Rooney, Chief Communications and ESG Officer of Signet Jewelers, the world’s largest specialty retailer of diamond jewelry.
We are a community, with common interests, ethics and principles, despite the long distances that may separate us, writes Chris Zoettl Jr. “My goal in serving the younger members of the diamond industry is to nurture this community, enabling each one of us to appreciate that we are part of something greater than ourselves.”
When one takes a responsible position in the leadership of an organization, one should usually be prepared for dynamic change. The past year exceeded any expectations, and in a negative way. The people of Ukraine were caught up in the fighting and violence and have tragically borne the brunt of the tragic war. The natural diamond supply chain was disrupted and the political and the economic fallout has been considerable.
What left its indelible mark on 2022 was the war in Ukraine, which had begun on February 24, when coincidentally the leadership of the WDC was gathered together in Dubai, where the Board of Directors had met just three days earlier.
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