A new CIBJO Commission called the CIBJO Association Executive Networking Commission (CAENCOM) was established during the recent CIBJO Congress held in Turkey, in order to develop strategies to connect the executives working in national jewelry associations within the CIBJO community.



The networking concept was presented by Ken Mulhall, President & CEO of the Canadian Jewelers Association.



Mulhall noted: "While we can already get a lot of work done through peer-to-peer networking online in the coming year, at the next CIBJO Congress we hope to run an Association Executive Panel, consisting of three or four association executives who will present and share one of their own association's successful programs with the audience. During such a session, the moderator will open the floor to identify current challenges for association executives, and through the spirit of sharing, solutions will be identified."



Mulhall stated that online networking tools will be used to keep the associations community connected throughout the year. He added that the new commission will distribute association group e-mail alerts and set up a discussion forum and a blog area on the CIBJO website.



CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri said: "Ken's initiative is not only very welcome but also comes timely. As a rule of thumb, jewelry associations often face similar dilemmas and challenges.Especially during these difficult economic times, our members will be well served by sharing ideas and possibly by pooling resources, thus enabling them to run similar programs while reducing the cost of their implementation. CIBJO is the perfect platform for such initiatives."