This May, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) launched a podcast called Voice Mail, and each episode tells a significant postal story from around the world.
Host Ian Kerr, who’s also the founder and host of the Postal Hub Podcast, speaks to the” people who deliver the mail, the decision makers that influence the sector and those who work so hard behind the scenes to help things move from A to B,” according to the UPU website, bit.ly/3heMuGp, where the podcast is hosted.
“Through personal reflection, anecdotes and insights, we will look at how the post forms an essential part of the United Nations (UN) and its efforts to support sustainable development.”
The first episode explores the story behind the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine, with Kerr interviewing Thomas Ellmann, the vice-president of life sciences and health care at Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL Group.
The second episode features American Philatelic Society Vice-President Cheryl Ganz, the Smithsonian curator of philately emerita. In it, Ganz and Kerr discuss why stamps have remained relevant from the Penny Black in 1841 through the crypto stamps of today.
Canada entered the UPU on Jan. 7, 1878, nearly four years after what’s now a specialized UN agency was established by the Treaty of Bern. The only UPU Congress held in Canada took place in Ottawa in 1957.