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Introduction The Seldia Astra Award programme recognises achievements for organisations who: Help direct selling as a channel of distribution change for the better; Improve and promote its socio-economic and environmental benefits to and advantages for society and consumers; or, Enable teams and direct sellers with outstanding skills and training programmes.  In the case of direct selling member associations, it also recognises the actions undertaken to maximise services to DSA members, and to improve the DSA and direct selling’s visibility externally. Winners of the 2022 Seldia Astra Awards will be recognised by Seldia and peers during the prestigious Awards ceremony and gala dinner on 10th May 2022 in Brussels. The gala dinner will take place at the luxurious five-star Steigenberger Wiltcher’s on Avenue Louise. Attendance at the dinner is ticket-based for members and non-members. Entry process Entering the Seldia Astra Awards 2022 is easy and is open to any Seldia member company or DSA (Direct Selling Association). Here is a quick overview of the main steps: Fill in entry form & gather supporting material. The Entry Guidelines will help you. Submit entry form with supporting material. Register for the Seldia Astra Awards gala dinner on 10th May 2022 in Brussels. Share your win through social media to amplify your recognition. We recommend that you read the Entry Guidelines thoroughly to help you prepare and enter your entry. Key dates 2022 1 March – Entries open 25 March – Entries close 4 -15 April – Online judging 20 April – Board of Directors meeting 10 May – Awards Gala in Brussels Judging The judging of the Seldia Astra Awards is a transparent and collaborative process, enabling the sharing of best practice between countries and organisations. All entries will be judged by a hybrid jury. This means that one core jury will be comprised of the Seldia Board of Directors. The second jury member companies, DSAs and Services Providers by way of open vote via the online platform. The core jury will deliberate and vote via an online voting system. For the second jury: DSAs will vote on entries submitted by member companies. Member companies will vote on entries submitted by DSAs.  Organisations will not vote on entries from their own country/company. The online judging will take place 4 -15 April 2022. The Board meeting will take place on 20 April. Scoring Each entry will accrue scores based on the content the organisation has provided. An outline of what the judges are looking for can be found above under the section ‘categories’ in the Entry Guidelines. Points are allocated as follows: Fuller judging notes and scoring system are layed out in the Entry Guidelines. Seldia Astra Awards gala dinner tickets can be booked at the time of registering for the conference. For additional tickets, please contact us.

The European Direct Selling Conference gathers in Brussels, and hosts fundraising for education and entrepreneurship in Ukraine. On 10 and 11 May 2022, Seldia hosted the 8th European Direct Selling Conference in Brussels under the theme of “Infinite evolution”. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the fully hybrid event will bring together 155 delegates over two days in Brussels and online. “The past years have profoundly changed our sector. The Conference will be an opportunity to take stock and look to what is ahead for direct selling in Europe. And to meet in person, at long last” said Beatrice Nelson-Beer, President of Seldia. Laure Alexandre, Seldia’s Executive Director added “Such gatherings are a moment for us to reflect on our sector, but also to broaden our views. We will hear from 18 panellists, from 14 nationalities. 8 speakers are not from the direct selling sector.  Particular attention has been paid to gender balance, as 10 panellists are women”. In lieu of the traditional Seldia Astra Awards Gala dinner, Seldia will be hosting a Benefit Dinner in support of education and entrepreneurship in Ukraine. Seldia will be calling on private and corporate donations until 15 June 2022 to support: Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe) Ukraine Appeal, the largest non-profit in Europe dedicated to preparing young people for employment and entrepreneurship. “Rebuilding Hope” Fund for The Ukrainian Direct Selling Association  The donations will be shared equally between these and will be open until 15 June. Further details can be found and donations can be made to https://donate.jaeurope.org/seldia/ . Download  here  the full Seldia Press Release.

Seldia responses the Call for Evidence to the Digital Fairness-Fitness Check on EU Consumer Law. We welcome the Commission’s plans to extensively consult various stakeholders throughout its Fitness Check on the EU consumer law, and insists that the European Commission must carefully assess the different existing legislative and non-legislative frameworks available. These include the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), the Consumer Rights Directive, the Omnibus Directive, the recently updated guidelines on the EU Consumer law but also the Digital Services Act, the General Data Protection Regulation and the e-privacy Directive. You can download our Response to the Call for Evidence here.

According to the WFDSA annual global statistics report, 6.565 Million Europeans were active in Direct Selling in 2021. 81% of them were women. Direct Selling retail sales (excl VAT) in the EU grew by 3%, and by 5.7% for the rest of Europe (Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK), averaging at 3.2% for the whole region. The impact of community lockdowns and global supply chain disruptions affected markets and product categories unevenly during 2020 and 2021. While the wellness product category remained stable compared to 2020, the cosmetics category contracted to the benefit of household goods and durables, and home improvement. Visit the  WFDSA website  for the full results.

Seldia prepared a position on Parliament amendments on Proposal for Directive on Improving Working Conditions in Platform Work. Our recommendations: Oppose any amendments to the definition of digital labour platforms and platform workers resulting in the extension of the scope of the entire directive. Focus on the true nature of the working relationship between platforms and their on-demand workers. Support amendments which underline that, providing benefits to self-employed people such as training measures should not serve as an indication of an employment relationship. You can download our Position Paper here.

Seldia responses the Public Stakeholder Consultation to the Digital Fairness-Fitness Check on EU Consumer Law. Seldia welcomes the opportunity given by the European Commission to contribute to the public consultation on the review of the EU consumer law with regard to digital fairness. Our companies strongly support an online environment that is governed by the principles of fairness and trust between businesses and consumers. A number of EU legislative instruments already regulate a number of issues identified in the public consultation. We therefore invite the European Commission to carefully assess whether problems faced by consumers online have emerged due to the ineffective enforcement of currently applicable rules rather than the lack of rules. You can download our Response to the Public Stakeholder Consultation here.

Seldia joins forces with other organisations for the proposed extension of the withdrawal button to all distance contracts. Key points: Foster a principle-based approach to improve consumers’ awareness of the right of withdrawal. Avoid one-size-fits-all, prescriptive measures for the implementation of the right of withdrawal. Leave businesses sufficient leeway to develop their own withdrawal and return policy fitting to their business model and the consumers they serve. You can download the full Joint Statement here.

Are you a direct selling company looking to stay ahead of the curve on EU regulatory developments? Want to make your voice heard in Brussels? Looking for a peer group to exchange ideas and find solutions? We have summarised the membership requirements for corporate members in a one-pager document . For any other questions, do not hesitate to contact us at  seldia@seldia.eu .

Direct selling is in constant evolution and growing channel the European retail economy. And so much has changed in the past years! To understand the direct selling of today, Seldia The European Direct Selling Association and Direct Selling Europe are partnering with the independent market research agency Ipsos to conduct a survey of direct sellers in twelve European countries.  The questions will cover why they got involved in direct selling, and the tools and skills they use, and feedback on what their experience is. Results will be presented at the end of June. Stay Tuned.

Seldia members met in Brussels on 30 and 31 May to participate in the association’s Committee Meetings, project working groups, and General Assembly. During the General Assembly held on 30 May in Brussels, Frederic Billon, General Delegate of the Fédération de la Vente Directe (FVD), was elected as Vice President of Seldia. In the evening, members gathered for the Seldia Astra Awards Ceremony. Winners of the 2020-21 Astra Awards were handed their distinctions in person as Covid prevented it at the time. The 2022 Ceremony was postponed due to the war in Ukraine, and a fundraising dinner in parternship with JA EUrope held instead. The winners of the 2023 Seldia Astra Awards are: Astra Award DSA Category: Services to Members > Polish DSA – PSSB. Astra Award Category: Making a Positive Difference > Avon. Astra Award Category: Continuing Education & Upskilling > Mary Kay. In addition to celebrating the winners, the evening also marked a significant milestone in the history of the association as Jacques Cosnefroy, former General Delegate of FVD, and Philippe Jacquelinet, CEO of Captain Tortue Group were introduced to the Seldia Hall of Fame for their long standing and outstanding contributions to our Association.