Some 500 delegates from more than 110 countries will gather in Nairobi from 22 to 23 September for the UPU's 2010 Strategy Conference.
How can Posts remain relevant in the face of technological advances and changing consumer behaviours? Should Posts increasingly diversify their services to remain competitive? How can Posts use their extensive networks to bring people out of poverty by offering services that promote financial inclusion?
Conference delegates will look for answers to these questions and more as the worldwide postal sector redefines itself in the face of economic difficulty, the advancement of new technologies and ever-evolving business and customer demands.
The UPU Strategy Conference is the most important postal event of the year heading towards the next 2012 Universal Postal Congress in Doha, Qatar. It is the first time it is held on African soil.
Shaping a future strategy
Delegates will take stock on progress made in achieving the objectives of the UPU's current four-year roadmap and help shape a future strategy for adoption at Congress.
“From a business angle, the economic crisis has precipitated trends such as the decline of physical mail and the need to diversify postal products and services to better meet the need of customers,” says UPU Director General Edouard Dayan.“And from a social and development angle, postal services have never been more critical in helping governments bridge communication gaps, promote financial inclusion, reduce the impact of climate change, promote health and education, foster trade and other issues that plague our society. These issues are at the heart of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals."
For his part, Kenya’s minister for information and communication, Samuel Poghisio, says the UPU’s Strategy Conference presents an opportunity to reflect on the possibilities of the Post for boosting our country’s economy. "Postal operators, regulators and other stakeholders in developing countries need to take advantage of the current policy framework to use platforms based on information and communication technologies to catalyze growth and develop postal services on the African continent,” says the minister.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, of the International Monetary Fund, Achim Steiner, of the United Nations Environment Programme, Kunio Mikuriya, of the World Customs Organization, Jesús Miranda Hita, vice-minister of Spain’s ministry of transport and public works, the secretaries general of several regional postal organizations and the CEOs of Posts from around the world are among the high-level stakeholders who will participate in the Conference. (View programme)