Blood Diamonds and Global Terrorism Discussed in Gannett Lecture, Jan. 20

Blood diamonds—diamonds mined in conflict situations without regulation or regard for human life—have been linked to global terrorism, and will be the topic of the next Caroline Werner Gannett Lecture at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Author Greg Campbell will present, “The Peril of Ignoring Small, Regional Conflicts: Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Al Qaeda,” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, in Webb Auditorium in the James E. Booth Building on the RIT campus.

Campbell is editor in chief of Fort Collins Weekly and author of Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones.

“Blood diamonds are directly related to the kinds of issues we're concerned with when considering globalization and human rights,” says Paul Grebinger, Gannett lecturer and coordinator of Senior Seminar at RIT. “Profits from the unregulated diamond trade fund global terrorism.”

Following the talk will be a discussion led by Tim Martin, chairman of the Kimberley Process for 2004 and director of the Peacebuilding and Human Security Division of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, and Mary Hess, member of the Gemological Institute of America and adjunct instructor of history in RIT's College of Liberal Arts.

For more information call 585-475-2057 or visit www.rit.edu/gannettseries, where the lecture will be available online.