In July 2006, after a more than two and a half years of discussions, CIBJO was accepted as a member of ECOSOC, which is the United Nations Economic and Social Council. As such, CIBJO became the first and only member of the greater jewellery industry to be officially granted consultative status by the United Nations.

ECOSOC is one of the largest agencies operating under the United Nations umbrella, and is a coalition involving government, civil society and the business community. Since 2001 ECOSOC has been charged with assisting in the realisation of the eight Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs are meant to provide solutions to the most acute challenges to human society, such as halving the world poverty by the year 2015, achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality, combating HIV/AIDs, achieving gender equality, protecting the environment and more.

The Eighth Goal calls for the development of a global partnership to achieve sustainable development.

From the United Nation’s perspective, the cooperation with CIBJO reaffirmed the willingness of key jewellery industry players to join a coalition with governments, in tackling the common development challenges that matter to the future of the business community and civil society at large.

On October 29, 2007, CIBJO organised a day-long conference at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. It was at this event that CIBJO laid out an initial action plan for the development of a comprehensive CSR training programme for its members.

In November 2007, it was announced that CIBJO had reached an understanding with ECOSOC to develop a project that will promote the creation of viable and sustainable jewellery industries in developing countries. It would involve the establishment of a body called the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), whose mission would be will be to finance and administer an educational programme or series of programmes, formulated and prepared by CIBJO and the United Nations, to promote the principles of CSR throughout the greater jewellery industry worldwide.

In January 2008, upon the advice of the United Nations, CIBJO retained the Association Internationale des Formateurs enObjectifs du Millénaire pour le Dévelopment (AIFOMD) to create a team of CSR experts that would study the design and development of CSR/MDG-oriented training modules, which in turn would be made available to members of the jewellery sector.

On April 15, 2008, during the CIBJO Congress in Dubai, the CIBJO General Assembly formally approved a resolution calling for the creation of a foundation that will be responsible for financing and administering the worldwide CSR programme that CIBJO would organise for the jewellery industry together with the United Nations.

In December 2008, WFCEF was formally registered in Berne as a non-profit foundation under Swiss law. According to the deed that was presented, its mission is to “conceptualise, develop and finance training manuals, courses, studies and working papers, educational and didactic tools, and other educational means to promote, increase and improve knowledge of social and economic corporate responsibility in the international jewellery industry and trade, within the scope of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.” WJCEF’s services would be open to all companies and associations associated with the international jewellery business.

WJCEF’s first Executive Course in Corporate Social Responsibility was conducted in Belgium in June 2010. Under development was a grass-roots programme, the aim of which would be to deliver CSR education and training  at nominal cost to the grass roots of the international jewellery sector, through national jewellery associations.