CIBJO, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the City of Antwerp have announced at the 2011 CIBJO Congress in Porto, Portugal, that a UNITAR-affiliated Centre of Excellence for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Jewellery and diamond industry will be formally declared in Antwerp on May 23, 2011.



"Centers of Excellence" aim to advance the UN's social and economic development goals. To date, most of the Centers of Excellence linked to the UN have been national or regional, but the Antwerp facility is planned to address the needs of the business sector worldwide.



The City of Antwerp is making available a building in the Antwerp old city, which will serve the CSR educational program.



The Centre of Excellence is an initiative of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, and the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF).



Also involved in the project are HRD Antwerp, Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and the Fonds voor de Diamantnijverheid (Diamond Industry Fund), a body that unites the Antwerp employer and employee organizations active in the diamond industry.



"This is truly an important development, which has involved discussions at very high levels of government, and will put the jewelry and diamond industry in an unprecedented position," said Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO president, in making the announcement.