Organised by CIDESCO Section Ireland, this year’s Congress partnered with Professional Beauty Ireland Exhibition, professional exhibition organizers, which included an international seminar program with prominent industry experts from around the world. The celebration included CIDESCO’s 70th spectacular gala dinner and awards ceremony.
Speaking at the close of the 64th congress, President Anna-Cari Gund said “Each year, the CIDESCO World Congress sets the bar higher. Engaging meetings with leading professionals and insights delivered by successful business leaders, make this a can’t-miss event for us all. CIDESCO transcends politics to bring all corners of the world together for the greater good of our profession. Each one of our members has education and standards at their heart with a willingness to share knowledge and experience to the benefits of others within the beauty and spa industry. It is an honor to be President of CIDESCO International and although we celebrate a growing membership and new partners, I also recognize that driving standards is a continual process so we will ensure CIDESCO leads on this important issue, whatever it might take.”
Sheila Curran, head of CIDESCO section Ireland said: “We worked hard to create a congress that was efficient, dynamic and modern and were extremely happy with the outcome. We were especially grateful for the support we received from the CIDESCO community who came from all corners of the globe for our event.”
Highlights of the CIDESCO World Congress included the appointment of a new CIDESCO board: Anna-Cari Gund from Sweden retains her position as President for a second four-year term along with Sandy Fuhr from South Africa, as board member for PR. New appointments include Biju Nair, Treasurer – India; Pamela Adkins, Education – Japan: Vicky Harper, Education – Switzerland; Karin Lupgens, Vice-President – Netherlands
A new CIDESCO Section Serbia was accepted into the fold, led by Dr Vera Zec, founder of Aquatonale Beauty Academy and an expert in the field of cosmetics along with cosmetologist Marta Kadas. Dr Vera Zec commented: “This is an important first step for Serbia to enter into the European Community and enables us to bring the level of student training up to global standards. Our plan is initially to focus on Serbia but then roll out CIDESCO standards to our neighboring countries.”
In the USA, CIDESCO appointed the Cosmetologists Chicago/American Association for Esthetics as the administrator for CIDESCO Section USA. Working closely with Lydia Sarfati, CIDESCO Chairperson of Section USA, the organization will shortly be announcing exciting new opportunities for spa professionals, salons and spas as well as manufacturers and distributors in support of esthetics excellence in the USA.
New membership rules were introduced for CIDESCO Beauty Salons and Spas with Section Heads made responsible for accreditations.
The 65th CIDESCO World Congress will take place between 15-19 September 2017 in Mumbai, India, organized by Section India.