CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri called for a collaboration of the United Nations and world jewelry industry, during a presentation at the U.N.’s Private Sector Focal Points Meeting held in Vienna.

Cavalieri urged the U.N. to create relationships with umbrella organizations such as CIBJO in order to engage the jewelry industry in its development. He stated that 90 percent of jewelry workers are employed by micro-, small-, and medium-size companies.

“We face a series of challenges that are specific to our business, not only because of the nature of the product that we deal with, but also because of our structure,” Cavalieri said in a statement. “With that in mind, we are keen to work closely with the United Nations in developing methods and programs that will lead to the fruition of the Millennium Development Goals.”

JCK