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2021 Chicago
Responsible Jewelry
Conference

What an amazing two days of listening, sharing, and cooperative problem-solving as world government representatives, civil society, and the jewelry industry assemble to create more equitable, transparent jewelry supply chains.


Listen Deeply. Act Collaboratively.


Conference Details

ALL VIRTUAL FOR 2021

COME BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.

2021 Conference Schedule

Below is the schedule from our virtual conference

DAY 1

Friday, November 12
  • 8:00 AM CST
    Conference Opening

    A session by Andrea Hill, CEO, Hill Management Group|Werx Brands; and Susan Wheeler, Founder | Responsible Jewelry Transformative

  • 8:30 am CST
    Keynote: Voices of the Amazon are Calling to Talk to You about your Gold

    A short video produced by friend of the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference, Chief Lucas Tukano Duarte.

  • 9:00 am CST
    A call to action on the Environmental disaster: THE CONGO RIVER BASIN TOXIC SPILL ALLEGEDLY FROM AN ALROSA DIAMOND MINE

    A session by Hans Merket, Researcher | International Peace Information Service (IPIS); Raphael Tshimanga, Hydrology and Water Resources Scientist | Congo River Basin; and Moderated by Susan Crow, Owner & Creative Director | Susan Crow Studio

  • 10:15 am CST
    How laws around sourcing and responsibility, and current cases in the US Supreme Court, affect jewelers

    A session with Wyatt Gjullin, Staff Attorney | EarthRights International; Jennifer Fendrick, Sr. Intl. Relations Officer, Office Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking | U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Intl. Labor Affairs; Juliane Kippenberg, Associate Director | Children's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch; and Moderated by Andrea Hill

  • 11:30 am CST
    How Jewelry Industry Funds Flow: the problem with Government Control of Gold in Venezuela, Military Control of Gemstones in Myanmar, Oligarchs’s Control of Mozambique Rubies, and Government Control in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields

    A session with Dr. Joseph Hanlon, Visiting Senior Fellow, Dept. of International Development | London Schools of Economics and Political Science and Visiting Senior Research Fellow Open University | Development Policy & Practice Group; Sara Yood, Deputy General Counsel | Jewelers Vigilance Committee; Louis Marechal, Sector Lead, Minerals & Extractives | OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct; Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa Director | Human Rights Watch; and Moderated by Annabel Davidson, Editor | Vanity Fair on Jewellery

  • 1:45 pm CST
    Sex trafficking and gender based violence in mines and mining communities

    A session with Dr. Jocelyn Kelly, Director | Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Grace Njapau Efrati, President | Association of Zambian Women in Mining; Gladys Balance, Gender Studies Lecturer and Researcher; and Moderated by Susan Wheeler

  • 3:00 pm CST
    Be aware of the vulnerabilities in our gold, diamond, and gemstone supply chains through the work of the US Department of Labor

    A session with Caleb Owen, Senior International Relations Specialist | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking

DAY 2

Saturday, November 13
  • 8:00 AM CST
    Introducing the Ethical Metalsmiths SO Fresh + So Clean 2021 winner and a video presentation on safe studio practices

    With Khajornsak Nakpan and Julia Giangrande, Presented by Andrea Hill

  • 8:30 AM CST
    The Marange Women's Alliance, an Initiative Supported by the Responsible Jewelry Transformative: Stepping Out and Stepping Up

    A session by Billy Matambo, Chairperson | Marange Women's Alliance (MWA), and Senior Officer | Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union; Abigail Sibanda, Gender Focal Person | Marange Women's Alliance (MWA); Susan Wheeler; and Moderated by Monica Stephenson, ANZA Gems

  • 9:45 AM CST
    CRAFT Code, An Artisanal Mining Assessment: Growing, Modifying, and Morphing

    A session with Patience Singo, Virtu Gem | Technical Advisor on CRAFT Code; Pauline Mundia, Manager | Farmer Communication Outreach Project; Charles Douglas-Hamilton, Consultant | World Bank Energy & Extractives Global Practice; Patricia Ndagano, Consultant | World Bank Energy & Extractives Global Practice; and Moderated by Monica Gichuhi, Extractives Industry Consultant | Virtu Gem and AGEC

  • 11:00 AM CST
    How to elevate a nation's gemstone trade through a single gemcut design

    A session with Dr. Adriano Mol, Professor & Specialist in Gem and Jewelry Design; Jessica Hudson, Owner and Designer | VIPĀKA Jewelry and Founder | The Nomad Jeweler; Lameck Thole, Head, Skills Training & Production | GPLTC; Carol Muchira, Country Coordinator for Virtu Gem in Kenya; Chikomeni Manda, Virtu Gem | Gemstone Miner, Dealer, ASM Advocate and Trainer; and Moderated by Robert Weldon, Director | RTL Gemological Library & Information Center, GIA

  • 1:00 PM CST
    Jewelry Designer Panel: Jewelry designers and retailers committed to clean supply chains and partnerships for change

    A session with Andrea Jose, Creative Director | Peruvian Fine Jewellery, and Founder | Casa Collab; Rachel Sweeney, Cox & Power Jewellery; Kyle Abram, Brand Catalyst | Reflective Jewelry; and Moderated by Kerry Bannigan, Executive Director | Fashion Impact Fund

  • 2:15 PM CST
    Deep sea mining, tailing ponds and mercury in the Amazon: ramifications of mining gold, diamonds, and gems on our worlds water

    A session with Bronwen Currie, Independent Marine Biologist; Marcelo Oliveira, Senior Programme Officer | WWF - Brasil; Daniel Franks, Program Lead, Development Minerals, Deputy Director (Research) | University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute; and Moderated by Andrea Hill

  • 3:30 PM CST
    Diamond Certification with SCS Global

    A session with Brandee Dallow, Vice President of Sustainability | SCS Global Services

2021 Conference Speakers

Working Speaker List

Andrea Hill

CEO Hill Management Group | Werx Brands

Susan Wheeler

Founder | Responsible Jewelry Transformative

Kyle Abram

Brand Catalyst | Reflective Jewelry

Gladys Balance

Gender Studies Lecturer and Researcher | Midlands State Univeristy

Kerry Bannigan

Executive Director | Fashion Impact Fund

Susan Crow

Owner & Creative Director | Susan Crow Studio

Brandee Dallow

Vice President of Sustainability | SCS Global Services

Annabel Davidson

Editor, Vanity Fair on Jewellery

Jennifer Fendrick

Sr. Intl. Relations Officer | Office Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking | U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Intl. Labor Affairs

Daniel Franks

Program Lead | Development Minerals | Deputy Director (Research), University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute

Julia Giangrande

Ethical Metalsmith Student

Monica Gichuhi

Extractives Industry Consultant | Virtu Gem, AGEC

Wyatt Gjullin

Staff Attorney | EarthRights International

Dr. Joseph Hanlon

Visiting Senior Fellow | Department of International Development, London Schools of Economics and Political Science; Visiting Senior Research Fellow | Development Policy & Practice Group

Jessica Hudson

Owner and Designer | VIPĀKA Jewelry; Founder | The Nomad Jeweler

Andrea Jose

Creative Director | Peruvian Fine Jewellery

Dr. Jocelyn Kelly

Director | Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Juliane Kippenberg

Associate Director | Children's Rights Division | Human Rights Watch

Louis Maréchal

Sector Lead, Minerals & Extractives | OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct

Billian Matambo

Chairperson | Marange Women's Alliance (MWA); Senior Officer | Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union

Dewa Mavhinga

Southern Africa Director | Human Rights Watch

Hans Merket

Researcher | International Peace Information Service (IPIS)

Dr. Adriano Mol

Professor & Specialist in Gem and Jewelry Design

Caroline Muchira A.J.P. G.G. (GIA)

Gemologist and Gem Cutter | Director at Mkuki Gems & Jewelry Ltd. | Country Coordinator for Virtu Gem in Kenya

Khajornsak Nakpan, PhD

Ethical Metalsmith Student

Grace Njapau Efrati

President |Association of Zambian Women in Mining (AZWIM)

Marcelo Oliveira

Senior Programme Officer | WWF - Brasil

Caleb Owen

Senior International Relations Specialist | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking

Abigail Sibanda

Gender Focal Person | Marange Women's Alliance (MWA)

Patience Singo

Virtu Gem | Technical Advisor on CRAFT Code

Rachel Sweeney

Cox & Power Jewellery

Raphael Tshimanga

Hydrology and Water Resources Scientist | Congo River Basin

Sara Yood

Deputy General Counsel | Jewelers Vigilance Committee

Bronwen Currie

Independent Marine Biologist

Pauline Mundia

Manager | Farmer Communication Outreach Project

Lameck Thole

Head, Skills Training & Production | GPLTC

Robert Weldon

Director of the RTL Gemological Library & Information Center | GIA