DOROTHÉE GIZENGA AND CHOW TAI FOOK TO BE HONORED BY DIAMOND EMPOWERMENT FUND AT “DIAMONDS DO GOOD” AWARDS IN LAS VEGAS
For Commitment to Sustainable Practices and Community Development
New York, NY; March 21, 2016 – The Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F) will honor two industry luminaries this spring. D.E.F. will present its “Diamonds Do Good” Awards for Sustainable Practices to Dorothée Gizenga of the Diamond Development Initiative, and for Community Development to Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook at its “Diamonds Do Good” Awards gala on June 2. The event will be held at the Four Seasons Ballroom in Las Vegas.
D.E.F’s “Diamonds Do Good” Sustainable Practices Award recognizes commitment to ethical and sustainable practices in the diamond industry. Dorothée Gizenga’s work with the Diamond Development Initiative epitomizes this ideal. As part of DDI’s creation and development and its first executive director, Gizenga has committed herself to DDI’s mission to transform artisanal mining into a source of sustainable development. Now a Canadian citizen, Gizenga was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and went on to earn degrees in chemistry and economics before taking the helm of DDI in 2008.
D.E.F’s “Diamonds Do Good” Community Development Award is given for the development of impactful community programs to empower individuals and future generations. Chow Tai Fook supports community development as an integral part of its corporate social responsibility and is committed to help promote positive changes for communities in China. Its continuous support to UNICEF, whose programs in China focus largely on healthcare for children and mothers in rural villages in China, is an example of this commitment.
Gizenga and Chow Tai Fook join Nathan R. Light in receiving Diamonds Do Good Awards at the gala. Light will receive D.E.F’s Diamonds Do Good Lifetime Achievement Award.
Premier Presenting Sponsors of the Gala include Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, De Beers Group of Companies and Signet Jewelers Limited. Patron Sponsor includes JCK.
For more information and to purchase tickets/sponsorships, please visit diamondsdogoodawards.org
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About the Diamond Empowerment Fund:
The Diamond Empowerment Fund is a global non-profit based in New York City and co-founded by Russell Simmons and leaders in the diamond industry in 2007 to empower diamond communities around the world. Its beneficiaries include: the African Leadership Academy, a university preparatory school in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded on the belief that ethical leadership is the key to sustainable development on the continent and drawing students from all 54 countries in Africa, the Botswana Top Achievers program that provides the top high school students countrywide the opportunity to study at a university of their choice worldwide. Graduates then return to Botswana to contribute to its economic, social and political development; Veerayatan, a model for encouraging development of responsible citizens who are educated, have strong integrity and a motivation to give back to their community. D.E.F supports students attending its colleges of Pharmacy, Business Administration and Engineering. D.E.F also supports the Diamond Development Initiative’s mobile school program in the Democratic Republic of Congo and high school scholars in Tanzania through the Flaviana Matata Foundation.