Registration for the 2018 congress of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, is now open. Delegates and other participants may register for the congress via a dedicated congress website located at: https://www.cibjo.org/congress2018.

CIBJO’s 2018 annual congress will take place in Bogotá, Colombia, October 15-17, with pre-congress meetings beginning on October 13. Located high in the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 2,640 metres (8,660 feet) above sea level, it is one of the highest capital cities in the world and the centre of the South American emerald trade.

The congress is being hosted by Fedesmeraldas, the National Federation of Emeralds of Colombia, and CDTEC, Colombia’s leading gemmological institute.

The congress venue will be the Grand Hyatt Bogotá, situated in the heart of Ciudad Empresarial Sarmiento Angulo, in the city’s commercial district. The hotel, which is newly constructed, will open for business at the beginning of August. The reservation of hotel rooms at a special congress rate is not yet possible. A Grand Hyatt booking module will shortly be added to the dedicated website, which will enable participants to reserve hotel rooms at the special rate. Those who have already registered for the congress will be informed when the booking module is available.

Immediately prior to the event, from October 12 to 14, Fedesmeraldas will also host the second edition of the World Emerald Symposium.

The dedicated website includes the congress programme, important travel information, background information about Colombia and Bogotá, news and photo galleries. An online registration form for the congress is available, and, since the CIBJO Congress 2018 will be a carbon neutral event, participants are also requested to complete a carbon footprinting form.

Information and registration forms for tours and the accompanying persons programme will also be uploaded to the website at a later date. Furthermore, as the congress approaches, the website will serve as the primary platform for all news and information related to the event.

CIBJO Congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s Assembly of Delegates, and also are the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals and coral, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry, and its ongoing cooperation with the United Nations is reported upon.