GIA has selected a panel comprising some of the gem and jewelry industry’s most prominent leaders to serve on its Symposium Industry Advisory Board. More than 65 representatives from global industry organizations – including trade media editors and reporters, heads of international trade associations, and trade show organizers – accepted the Institute’s invitation to support the 4th International Gemological Symposium.

The event, which marks GIA’s 75th anniversary, is being held Aug. 27–29, 2006, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, Calif. The theme for the 2006 Symposium is “Navigating the Challenges Ahead.”

“Board members will serve as advisors and give guidance to the Institute in planning for this worldwide event,” said GIA Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Kathryn Kimmel, one of the event’s co-chairs.

Kimmel said world leaders from every facet of the gem and jewelry industry will gather at Symposium to exchange ideas, hear what the experts say, and learn about the latest developments impacting the science of gemology and the way business is done. “Symposium is where the industry plans its strategy for the next decade,” she added. GIA expects more than a thousand gemologists, jewelers, diamantaires, and other industry members from around the world to attend the three-day event.

Dilip Mehta, vice president of the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDA), said, “By becoming a member of GIA's Symposium Industry Advisory Board, I look forward to being part of a constructive and valuable initiative for the industry and to bringing my input as vice president of the NCDA.”

Alice Keller, editor-in-chief of Gems & Gemology and the 2006 Symposium’s other co-chair, said, “In the last five years alone, the industry has seen radical changes in gemology and the global trade – there’s a wealth of information to keep up with. We appreciate the support that the advisory board members are giving GIA for what is probably the industry’s most important event of the decade.”

Click here to see a list of the entire Symposium Industry Advisory Board. For more information about the event, e-mail GIA Symposium. To learn more about how to become a sponsor of the 2006 Symposium, contact Director of Institute Relations Jane Lynch, or call 800-421-7250, ext 4114; outside the U.S., call 760-603-4114.