The thirteenth triennial World Congress of direct selling, held in the beginning of the month in Singapore (for the second time, the first time was in 1987) was an outstanding success. With some 500 delegates from more than 50 countries, the highlights of the meeting were the plenary addresses of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Avon Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung, Natura President and CEO Alessandro Carlucci, Oriflame President and CEO Magnus Brannstrom and Nu Skin President and CEO Truman Hunt.

The key focus of the conclave was the further development, promotion and enforcement of ethical standards by the WFDSA, by national direct selling associations and by their member firms. Ms. Jung, taking the leadership reigns from Mr. Hunt as Chairman of both the Board of Directors and CEO Council of the Federation for the 2008-2011 term, committed herself and Avon to raising the bar in this area and challenged firms and associations alike to follow her lead and “walk the talk.” She also committed her term of office to be one focusing on the industry empowering women throughout the globe.

Press and government officials from Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam were in attendance. Robert af Jochnick, co-founder of Oriflame, received the WFDSA Lifetime Achievement Award. Outstanding Service Awards were presented to Michael Lunceford (Mary Kay), Raymond Verbeurgt and Richard Berry (UKDSA). The next global congress for the industry, World Congress XIV, will be hosted by the DSA of Turkey, in October 2011 in Istanbul.