THE GREAT DEBATE 2011 AT IJL
A TRULY NTERNATIONAL EVENT

As IJL (International Jewellery London) celebrated an increase in visitor numbers for its 2011 trade show (nearly 10,000 visitors, providing a 2% increase), Sam Willoughby, Event co-director, noted that The Great Debate was not only very well attended by key buyers and retailers alike but was a truly international event.



L-R: Stephen Webster, Victoria Waugh, Gaetano Cavalieri, Catherine Sproule,
Michael Allchin

The Great Debate 2011, hosted as every year by The Birmingham Assay Office and IJL saw international speakers address an enthusiastic audience. Guest speakers Gaetano Cavalieri , President of CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) and Catherine Sproule, Chief Operating Officer of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) brought a global dimension to the Debate and Stephen Webster's film chronicling his visit to the artisanal mines of Peru and the improvements which their involvement with Fairtrade Fairmined are introducing gave the audience a first hand insight into some of the issues to be addressed.

Michael Allchin, Chief Executive of The Birmingham Assay Office, who chaired the Debate said "this year's debate was intended to demonstrate some of the genuine progress that has been made in the past five years. CIBJO's new Centre of Excellence in Antwerp, the growing number of companies certificated to RJC and the launch of Fairtrade Fairmined Gold are all extremely positive moves forward.

We were very pleased to have such influential speakers who are committed to making a difference and we really appreciated them sharing their experiences. We all recognise there is still a very long way to go and it was encouraging that the questions put to the panel were intelligent, positive and progressive. Our objective in staging The Great Debate has always been to provoke thought and prompt action and we feel that we have once again achieved that goal."