Voice Mail

Road safety is crucial to postal organisations. With millions of postal workers using the roads daily, raising awareness of road traffic rules and ensuring the safety of equipment and infrastructure is vital for Posts if they are to operate smoothly and efficiently. However, the quality of broader road traffic infrastructure and policies is highly dependent on the level of socioeconomic developmen...

AfDB Climate and Environment Finance Manager Gareth Phillips discusses the state of climate finance in Africa and means of building the continent’s resilience to climate shocks, highlighting the widest gaps and the most promising solutions. COP27, the major global climate change forum convened annually by the United Nations, ended on 18 November 2022, leaving a mixed feeling of satisfaction and di...

The UPU Consultative Committee is open to the private sector. In this episode, we discuss why this has happened, and we speak with some of the new private sector members of the Consultative Committee: Alexander Thern-Svanberg (Secretary, UPU Consultative Committee) discusses the reasoning behind opening the UPU Consultative Committee to the private sector How the Consultative Committee is organise...

Tony Robinson, UKi CEO and founder of global postal event Parcel+Post Expo, discusses the role and importance of technology in the postal world: Launching publications in the postal, technology, and transport sectors Optical character recognition and letter sorting automation The genesis of Post Expo The transformation of posts from traditional businesses to a high-tech industry Innovation driving...

Dr Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics (UNCTAD) discusses logistics, supply chain, and the role of the post in enabling cross-border trade: UNCTAD's mandate and how it carries out its role Customs automation with ASYCUDA Why some countries are currently benefiting from digital transformation, while others aren't Role of the logistics sector in stimulating dig...

Pedro de Vasconcelos, Manager of the Financing Facility for Remittances at the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), discusses the importance of international remittances to the global economy, as well as opportunities for the postal network. We discuss: Impact of remittances and migrant investments on the socioeconomic development of nations The scale of these remittance contribu...

Rodney Taylor, Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, discusses digital transformation and the potential role of the post: The emotion of international mail Innovation in telecommunications and IT in Barbados Digital transformation's critical role in supporting peoples and governments Delivering government services digitally The CTU's role and mandate, from establishment by C...

Anja Klug, Head of the Office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein at the UNHCR - the UN refugee agency, discusses the UNHCR's role and the role of postal networks. We discuss:  What the UNHCR does, and how it differs from other humanitarian organisations Impact of the conflict in Ukraine on refugees UNHCR support for refugees UNHCR Ukraine partnering with Ukrainian postal operator Ukposhta Cooperati...

Pierangela Sierra, founder and CEO of online shopping and delivery platform Tipti, and an e-trade women's advocate, joins us to discuss e-commerce, growth and opportunities, and encouraging women entrepreneurs:  Using the mail to keep in touch What Tipti is, and how it was created Mobile and internet adoption in Ecuador The pandemic's impact on online grocery Future growth in e-commerce in Ecuador...

Dr Armani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, on the importance of the post in creating infrastructure. We cover: The importance of postal services in Africa, including access to financial services, government services, and e-commerce The ubiquity of the post office network Access to electricity and the internet, and the challenges of postal development COVID's boo...

Sophie Gligorievic, Head of Logistics Division at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), joins us to talk about humanitarian logistics and supply chain: Are there differences between the humanitarian supply chain and the commercial supply chain? Increased pressure on supply chain, including supply chain transparency and diversity ERP and supply chain Digital transformation and logist...

Outgoing UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz reflects on his time at the UPU and shares some pointers for the future of the postal sector: Corporatisation of Swiss Post Moving from Swiss Post's international bureau to the UPU Reflections on the UPU's strengths Opening up the UPU How the UPU can add value to the postal sector The UPU's role in arbitration Index for Postal Development The evol...

USPIS Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale discusses the unique role of the US Postal Inspection Service and the contribution it makes to the postal world: The US Postal Inspection Service's mandate How the USPIS fits in with other US law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI and DEA, as well as international agencies such as Europol How the USPIS's relationship with the US Postal Service makes i...

In this special edition of Voice Mail, we have three perspectives on digital transformation, data, and the postal world.   First, UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz joins us to discuss: UPU and digital transformation Global expectations in advance electronic data Partnerships with IATA and WCO for cross-border The growing importance of parcels to the global postal network Increasing collabo...

Stephan Sicars, Managing Director at the Directorate for Environment and Energy, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, joins us in this episode for an expert analysis of the circular economy, including: What does "circular economy" mean? How circular economy principles can help the environment. The costs and accessibility of the circular economy Best practices in circular economy The...

Isaac Gnamba-Yao, CEO of La Poste Côte d'Ivoire, joins us in this episode of Voice Mail to discuss: Preparations for the 27th Universal Postal Congress Major challenges facing La Poste Côte d'Ivoire and postal operators in the region Postal innovations at La Poste Côte d'Ivoire Appealing to the digital generation Role of the post in socio-economic development Building e-commerce The importance of...

Dr Cheryl Ganz, former curator of Philately at the Smithsonian and member of the USPS Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, joins us in this episode of Voice Mail to discuss: How a childhood interest in collecting led to Cheryl becoming a stamp collector The role of a postal museum Making postal museums not just for philatelists but also for the general public Museums as a window into global cultures...

Thomas Ellmann, VP Life Sciences and Healthcare at DHL, is our guest for the first episode of Voice Mail. We discuss how DHL is supporting distribution of the COVID vaccine around the world. What DHL's Customer Solutions and Innovations Group does Sourcing and distributing PPE (personal protective equipment) material, including masks and gloves, for governments and other customers Distributing vac...