Be it a simple letter or an important document, we all are aware of the contribution of the postal services. They have been going on since ancient times and though we are now more tech-savvy and prefer sending our message across with one click, postal services are equally important in helping us deliver our packages.
Be it about sending gifts through post or sending our packages internationally, the postal systems have been very helpful and have made our life easier.
World Post Day is celebrated every year on October 9, to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) across the world. The UPA was established in 1874 in Switzerland. Postal systems have been in operation for many centuries.
From personal letters and important documents to e-commerce and online shopping packages, postal services deal with everything.
Due to digitalisation, people have shifted to the digital medium to parcel their belongings, but postal services still hold an important position in society.
World Post Day was first celebrated in 1969 at the UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan. It was submitted by an Indian delegate named, Shri Anand Mohan Narula and since then, World Post Day has been celebrated all over the world in order to spotlight the importance of postal services.
Every year, the UPU’s 192-member countries celebrate World Post Day to mark the importance of universal mail and the UPU’s contributions to society and the global economy. Countries hold special stamp exhibitions and launch new postal initiatives.
Since its birth, this day is celebrated internationally with people acknowledging the postal services. The invention of postal services dates back to the 1500s when people used to write letters that were delivered on foot or on horsebacks by messengers.
In the 1600s, postal systems started establishing in various countries and were used by many. Gradually, the exchange of letters started happening globally and it was in the late 1800s that a global postal system evolved. Though it was slow and rigorous, it was with the establishment of the UPU in 1874 that it became efficient. The UPU was made an agency of the UN in 1948.
The theme of this year’s World Postal Day is “Innovate to Recover”. This theme is apt as it highlights the plight of today’s problem where the postal system is beyond recovery. With everything going digital, the postal service is not gaining traction. Thus, the UPU requests to help in recovering it and innovate better ideas for its survival. Be it a simple letter or an important document, we all are aware of the contribution of the postal services.
This day is all the more important to honour the tireless service that the postal departments provided us with during the pandemic in 2020. While everyone was working from home, this industry did not have a choice.
We should remember this and celebrate this day with great pride. World Post Day is celebrated every year with full enthusiasm in more than 150 countries. Every country celebrates it in a different manner. Some take it as an opportunity to introduce new postal products and services and some honour their employees in response to their excellent service.
A few countries also conduct exhibitions where new stamps are issued or display World Postal Day posters in post offices and museums to promote the importance of postal services.
Some post offices also grant special souvenirs such as badges and T-shirts for their employees and common men. In other countries, World Postal Day is also a working holiday.
UN Secretary General’s message - 2021
In a message issued to mark World Post Day, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated: “On World Post Day, we recognise the invaluable contributions of postal workers to our societies and economies. The vast postal network – involving millions of workers moving billions of pieces of mail through hundreds of thousands of post offices – is woven into our societies, connecting communities the world over.
As we continue to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, the resilience and commitment of these essential workers are an inspiration. We owe them our gratitude.
The theme for this year’s World Post Day – “Innovate to Recover” – highlights how the postal sector is adapting to new realities and redefining itself, taking on new roles founded on digitalisation, e-commerce and financial services.
“Innovate to Recover” invites everyone in the international postal sector to embrace creative change and leverage technology as we together look to build forward better from the pandemic.
I congratulate the Universal Postal Union and the international postal sector for your tireless efforts in delivering mail, providing essential services, enabling trade, and promoting literacy. The United Nations looks forward to advancing our partnership in the service of sustainable development and a better world for all.”
“Innovate to Recover”
UPU Director General Masahiko Metoki in a message said: “We all owe a debt of gratitude to a small band of individuals whose creativity and innovation is helping the world to escape the clutches of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the start of this crisis, there were concerns that a vaccine to combat the virus would take many years to develop. Instead, the unprecedented collaboration of individuals, companies and organisations produced vaccines within a year. Along with nurses and doctors, who risked their lives daily, the scientists and researchers who developed the COVID-19 vaccine are global heroes.
Their triumph in achieving this medical breakthrough has led to fresh hope of preventing infections, and thus containing the spread of the virus: It will lead hopefully to a better future.
The story of how this innovation promoted life-changing solutions is one that global business in general, and the international postal sector in particular, can emulate.
COVID-19 not only halted much of the international postal sector for significant periods, but it also undermined business strategies and plans. Against this background, the sector was forced to become creative and develop new ideas and methods to serve customers.
New social and economic postal services have sprung up, creative ways of delivering mail have emerged, and e-commerce has prospered in many parts of the world. In many countries and territories, posts are also involved in the last-mile delivery of the vaccine using complex cold storage methods, offering platforms for booking vaccinations, and even providing space for vaccination centres. These activities are undeniable proof of just how inseparable the post is from the society and customers it serves.
This agile approach to service and business also offers hope for the future of the postal sector. All too often, we have allowed pessimism to cloud our vision for the postal future, and yet time and again, posts have proven their capacity to rise to any occasion and continue to offer services with remarkable levels of resilience.
When COVID-19 affected all the countries of the world, including the established supply chain infrastructure, the post still found a way to continue offering services to communities.
It is this innovativeness of posts, and their resilience in serving communities, that we are celebrating on the occasion of World Post Day.
The theme of this year’s World Post Day is “Innovate to Recover”!
Together, let us learn the lessons arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and understand that innovation is not an accessory; it is the driving force behind recovery, and what makes this sector crucial to billions of people.”
With a network comprising more than 650,000 offices and 5.3 million staff globally, and a public service mandate from many governments, the post is unparalleled in its ability to deliver services to anyone, anywhere. The first known postal document, found in Egypt, dates from 255 BC. But even before that time postal services existed on nearly every continent in the form of messengers serving kings and emperors.
The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in Great Britain, on May 1, 1840, but was not valid for use until May 6. (UN News)
Post Boxes for Colombo and outstation letters
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