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