Universal Postal Union turns 140

09.10.2014 - The Universal Postal Union is celebrating its 140th anniversary today, 9 October, also known as World Post Day.

On 8 October, at the Office of the United Nations in Geneva, some 250 people attended a ceremony marking World Post Day and the UPU's 140th anniversary

Founded by 22 countries in 1874 in Berne, Switzerland, the intergovernmental organization now has 192 member countries and has been a specialized agency of the United Nations since 1948.

Posts worldwide employ more than 5 million people and process and deliver 350 billion letters and 6 billion parcels, in addition to providing many financial, logistics and electronic services.

The communication landscape may have changed over the years, but the UPU has kept pace with a changing world, harnessing new information and communication technologies to develop more efficient and accessible universal postal services that facilitate communication.

Postal services have played an incredible role in shaping globalization, recognizes UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein. The UPU’s very creation paved the way to the very first multilateral framework that standardized and simplified postal communication across borders, promoting trade and communication.

“As borders disappear, migratory movements swell, and global trade flourishes, the UPU is more relevant than ever,” he says. “Physical, financial and electronic postal services remain an essential part of a country's social and economic fabric.”

They foster people's inclusion in all facets of society, and fuel trade and growth at all levels, he adds.

A true social network

One of the UPU's lasting accomplishments includes the single postal territory. Today, the world's intertwined postal networks make up the largest distribution network on the planet, enabling billions of people and businesses to communicate and exchange documents and goods.

“Now that's a social network,” says Hussein.

As a global forum for postal cooperation and discussion, the UPU has enabled customers and businesses to benefit from many innovative services.

“This pioneering spirit continues, as Posts face the digital world head on and show an extraordinary capacity to innovate in areas of secure e-identification, e-commerce, trade facilitation and more,” stressed Hussein.

Since getting its own top-level sponsored domain and secure space on the Internet, ".post", the UPU is working to extend the universal service in the digital sphere and enabling trusted cross-border communication leading to growth in e-commerce and parcel volumes.

The UPU is one of the oldest international organizations in the world.

09.10.2014 - The Universal Postal Union is celebrating its 140th anniversary today, 9 October, also known as World Post Day.

On 8 October, at the Office of the United Nations in Geneva, some 250 people attended a ceremony marking World Post Day and the UPU's 140th anniversary

Founded by 22 countries in 1874 in Berne, Switzerland, the intergovernmental organization now has 192 member countries and has been a specialized agency of the United Nations since 1948.

Posts worldwide employ more than 5 million people and process and deliver 350 billion letters and 6 billion parcels, in addition to providing many financial, logistics and electronic services.

The communication landscape may have changed over the years, but the UPU has kept pace with a changing world, harnessing new information and communication technologies to develop more efficient and accessible universal postal services that facilitate communication.

Postal services have played an incredible role in shaping globalization, recognizes UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein. The UPU’s very creation paved the way to the very first multilateral framework that standardized and simplified postal communication across borders, promoting trade and communication.

“As borders disappear, migratory movements swell, and global trade flourishes, the UPU is more relevant than ever,” he says. “Physical, financial and electronic postal services remain an essential part of a country's social and economic fabric.”

They foster people's inclusion in all facets of society, and fuel trade and growth at all levels, he adds.

A true social network

One of the UPU's lasting accomplishments includes the single postal territory. Today, the world's intertwined postal networks make up the largest distribution network on the planet, enabling billions of people and businesses to communicate and exchange documents and goods.

“Now that's a social network,” says Hussein.

As a global forum for postal cooperation and discussion, the UPU has enabled customers and businesses to benefit from many innovative services.

“This pioneering spirit continues, as Posts face the digital world head on and show an extraordinary capacity to innovate in areas of secure e-identification, e-commerce, trade facilitation and more,” stressed Hussein.

Since getting its own top-level sponsored domain and secure space on the Internet, ".post", the UPU is working to extend the universal service in the digital sphere and enabling trusted cross-border communication leading to growth in e-commerce and parcel volumes.

The UPU is one of the oldest international organizations in the world