WHY INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY MATTERS
‘
‘When learning about the foundational principles of your industry becomes a waste of time, you’ve crossed a threshold. You’ve signaled that history has no value, context doesn’t matter, and the struggles and solutions of the past hold no lessons for the future.’
A former president of the London Diamond Bourse, at whose head he served from 2018 through 2024, Alan Cohen is a member of the World Diamond Council’s Board of Directors and also of its Kimberley Process Task Force.
South African-born, he left the country as a young diamantaire, settling in London and becoming part of United Kingdom’s diamond sector. When the Russian diamond industry opened to the international trade in 1990, he relocated to Moscow, where he lived and worked for 16 years.
After returning to London he became active in the public life of the industry, first at the London Diamond Bourse, and later at the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the World Diamond Council.
DECEMBER 4, 2025
I have recently returned from a week in Dubai, where I was a member of the World Diamond Council team at the 2025 Kimberley Process Plenary meeting. It was an enlightening experience, and for that I would like to thank the Executive of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses for the privilege of representing WFDB in the WDC.
If you have been following this space, you’ll be aware that we were not fully satisfied with the meeting’s outcome, and more specifically its failure to bring about an expansion of the KP’s conflict diamond definition. As a delegate at the event I cannot go into the details of what transpired, but for those that are interested I refer you to the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) website.
This lack of progress fed into a predominant feeling among most under the age of 40 that the KP is a waste of time. Those over 40 can vaguely remember the horrors of the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Angola.
What most do seem agree about is that it was the 2006 film “Blood Diamonds” that primarily changed our business. They do not appreciate that the movie was released more than three years after the launch of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), and it was the latter that revolutionized the trade in rough diamonds, as it was mandated to do.
The under-appreciation of the KP’s role, and more specifically the pervasive lack of historic perspective is a matter of concern, and it that which has inspired me to write about a topic that was discussed at the KP Plenary meeting in Dubai, which is the conservation of “institutional memory.” As members of trade associations, how do we learn from our shared past?
Understanding institutional memory
Institutional memory refers to the collective knowledge, experiences, practices, and cultural understanding that an organization accumulates over time. It’s essentially everything the body “knows” beyond what is formally documented — including the reasoning behind decisions, lessons learnt from past successes and failures, informal processes, relationship networks, and the nuanced understanding of how things actually get done.
Institutional memory is profoundly important because it enables organizations to avoid repeating mistakes, build on past successes, maintain consistency in operations, and make informed decisions based on historical context. Organizations with strong institutional memory can adapt more intelligently to change because they understand what has and hasn’t worked before.
The dismissive attitudes I have encountered when discussing the Kimberley Process’s historic significance aren’t just disappointing; they’re dangerous. This isn’t an abstract corporate history we’re talking about. This is an industry that emerged from the shadow of bloody civil wars, and the near collapse of public trust in our trade.
The generational gap in particular tells a sobering story. When your industry’s defining ethical framework becomes something an entire generation considers a waste of time to understand, you’re looking at institutional amnesia.
During the the KP Plenary meeting in Dubai in November 2025, the author (third from left) stands with Kimberley Process Chair Ahmed Bin Sulayem (center). They are flanked by WDC team members (from left) Elodie Daguzan, WDC Executive Director; Benjamin Marriott; Feriel Zerouki, WDC President; James Doran; and Ronnie VanderLinden, WDC Vice President.
What gets lost when we lose historic perspective
The London Diamond Bourse, for which I was honored to serve as president, provides a microcosm of this memory loss. There was a time – not so long ago – when virtually all bourse members were dealers holding stock and selling into the trade, or brokers facilitating those transactions. Today, by my observation, fewer than half the members fit that traditional role, with most operating as “private jewelers” serving end-consumers directly.
This isn’t merely an evolution of our business model. It represents a fundamental shift in our knowledge base. The practical, hands-on expertise of diamond trading – the ability to assess parcels, understand grading nuances, navigate supplier relationships, and manage the complexities of certification – is being diluted. With it goes the lived experience that informed the industry’s response to the conflict diamond crisis.
The erosion of institutional memory isn’t just about forgetting dates or procedures. It’s about losing the “why” behind the “what.”
Consider what vanishes when we forget our history:
Context disappears. People inherit processes without understanding their purpose. They see the Kimberley Process as red tape rather than as a hard-won shield against the industry’s darkest chapter. They maintain systems they cannot explain or defend.
Lessons evaporate. Every industry crisis teaches painful lessons. The conflict diamond era taught us about supply chain integrity, the importance of traceability, and the fragility of public trust. When that knowledge leaves, the next generation becomes vulnerable to repeating those mistakes in new forms.
Credibility erodes. When industry practitioners cannot articulate why their own certification systems exist, how can they maintain credibility with consumers, or ethical watchdogs? Ignorance of purpose breeds cynicism about compliance.
The capacity for intelligent adaptation weakens. The diamond trade continues to evolve. Synthetic diamonds, new mining technologies, changing consumer values – all require thoughtful responses. But you cannot adapt intelligently when you don’t understand what worked before, what failed, and why. You cannot improve a system you don’t truly comprehend.
The author together with WDC President Feriel Zerouki, during an evening event at the KP Plenary meeting in Dubai in November 2025.
The erosion of memory across the generational divide
There’s a troubling pattern in how different age groups relate to the Kimberley Process. The older generation has allowed the sharp edges of its knowledge to blur, while the younger generation never acquired it in the first place. This is how institutional memory dies – not dramatically, but through the gradual erosion across generational handovers.
When learning about the foundational principles of your industry becomes “a waste of time,” you’ve crossed a threshold. You’ve signaled that history has no value, context doesn’t matter, and the struggles and solutions of the past hold no lessons for the future.
This attitude transforms institutional memory from a strategic asset into an optional luxury. It suggests that there’s efficiency in forgetting, and that progress means disconnection from the past. But an organization without memory is an organization condemned to repeat its failures, unable to build meaningfully on its successes.
In the diamond trade, where ethical credibility is not merely reputational but existential, this amnesia is particularly perilous. Our industry cannot afford to forget why the Kimberley Process exists. We cannot allow ourselves to nurture a generation of practitioners who see conflict diamond certification as bureaucratic theater, rather than as a bulwark against humanitarian catastrophe.
Preserving what matters
The question then becomes: how do we preserve institutional memory in an industry undergoing rapid change?
We must start by acknowledging that this is not automatic. Institutional memory doesn’t preserve itself. It requires intentional effort, resources and cultural commitment. Trade organizations and bourses need to recognize this as a strategic priority, not an administrative afterthought.
Documentation matters, but it isn’t sufficient. Yes, we need comprehensive records of decisions, processes and rationales. But institutional memory lives primarily in people – in their experiences, their relationships, their nuanced understanding of how things work and why they matter.
This means creating structured opportunities for knowledge transfer. It includes mentorship programs that connect experienced members of industry with newer ones. It requires platforms that foster discussion and community.
We have to cultivate a culture that values historical understanding. When someone asks about the origins of the Kimberley Process, the response should be curiosity and engagement, not dismissiveness.
Light in the fog
It is in this respect that the WDC deserves particular recognition for the exemplary work it does in maintaining comprehensive records of all Kimberley Process proceedings, decisions and developments. In an industry where institutional memory is fading, WDC provides a powerful antidote to collective amnesia, systematically documenting the evolution of conflict diamond regulation and certification.
Through its record keeping, analysis of data and consistent storytelling, made publicly available through its website and other media outlets, WDC demonstrates a profound understanding of why the Kimberley Process exists, what it has achieved, and where it must evolve. It recognizes that documentation without comprehension is merely archival. Genuine institutional memory requires an active engagement with history, critical analysis of outcomes, and the ability to apply past lessons to present challenges.
The WDC’s commitment to preserving and sharing this knowledge exemplifies what all trade organizations should aspire to – not simply maintaining files, but cultivating understanding; not just recording decisions, but explaining the reasoning behind them; not merely tracking compliance, but championing the ethical principles that necessitate such compliance.
WDC’s work ensures that when questions arise about the KP’s purpose, implementation or effectiveness, there exists a comprehensive, accessible record that provides answers. This is institutional memory in practice – deliberate, systematic and genuinely valuable.
The author during a session at the KP Plenary in Dubai in November 2025.
Paving the path forward for the coming generations
The diamond trade stands at a crossroads. We can continue down the path of institutional amnesia, where each generation reinvents the wheel, where hard-won lessons vanish, where the purpose behind our ethical frameworks becomes opaque even to practitioners. Or we can choose to actively preserve and transmit the knowledge that makes us who we are.
This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s not about clinging to outdated practices or resisting necessary change. It’s about ensuring that, when we evolve – and we must evolve, we do so with full knowledge of where we’ve been, what we’ve learnt, and why certain principles matter.
The Kimberley Process, for all its imperfections, represents one of the most significant ethical transformations in modern commodity trading. It emerged from genuine horror and humanitarian crisis. It revolutionized how we think about supply chain integrity and corporate responsibility.
It’s a story that’s worth preserving. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s ours, because it shaped us, and because forgetting it would make us less capable of navigating whatever challenges lie ahead.
The question we must each ask ourselves is simple: when the next generation asks us why things are the way they are, will we have answers? Or will we have become one more link in the chain of forgetting, passing on processes without purpose, and systems without soul?
Institutional memory matters because organizations without memory are organizations without wisdom. In an industry built on trust, credibility and ethical commitment, wisdom isn’t optional – it’s essential.
A personal note of gratitude
My recent week in Dubai, working with the World Diamond Council at the Kimberley Process Plenary, reinforced my respect for the dedication of our representatives. In meetings where historical context often seemed undervalued, the WDC team consistently provided that perspective. When discussions risked losing sight of foundational principles, they redirected attention to what matters.
The WDC’s efforts make possible the very critique this article presents. Without its meticulous record-keeping and institutional knowledge, we would lack the evidence to recognize how much has been forgotten elsewhere. We set the standard for the responsible stewardship of institutional memory.
To the World Diamond Council, thank you for understanding that records aren’t bureaucracy – they’re legacy. Thank you for recognizing that leadership means not just guiding the present, but preserving the past and protecting the future.
And thank you for doing the unglamorous, essential work of maintaining institutional memory when others dismiss it as a waste of time. This article exists, in part, to explain why.