Consultative Committee

Postal stakeholders that are not public postal operators or regulators can add their voice to the UPU's deliberations through the Consultative Committee (CC). The Committee represents the interests of the wider postal sector and provides a framework for effective dialogue

AICE 21 - 24  June 2021

Registration form link - here

The full Program - here

Trilogy webinars

The Consultative Committee is holding a series of three one-hour webinars dedicated to the disrupted market environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic: accelerated digitalization of communications and commerce, leading to changes in e commerce logistics; changing consumer behaviors; and what citizens should expect from the universal service obligation in their respective countries.

Watch webinar 1:  In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 1, you will be hearing a presentation by the Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe based on a recent survey. The survey was carried out in the context of the second lockdown at the end of 2020, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the e-commerce sector in Europe. The survey highlights the current situation in different European countries. A discussion then follows on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on e-commerce globally from an air cargo perspective, as well as the impact on the worldwide postal network as retailers navigate operational and supply chain disruptions, while new reverse logistics challenges emerge, and traditional pain points intensify from a consumer perspective.

Speakers:

Luca Cassetti, Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe

Glyn Hughes, Director General of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA)

Noor Adan, Coordinator of Supply Chain Management, Postal Operations Directorate, UPU International Bureau

Eddy Richauvet, CEO of ShopRunBack.com

Moderator: Walter Trezek, Chair, Consultative Committtee

Watch webinar 2: In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 2, you will be hearing a presentation by the Chief of the ICT Policy Section at UNCTAD based on a recent UNCTAD report titled “COVID-19 and e‑commerce: a global review”. The aim of this UNCTAD report was to jointly assess how the impact of the pandemic was playing out in various regions of the world, what barriers countries and business were facing when trying to leverage digital solutions, what policy responses had been taken, and – not least important – what could be done better to reap synergies and enhance global support to those countries that are the least equipped to manage digital transformation for dealing with the pandemic and beyond. The presentation is followed by a discussion focusing on the consumer perspective, questioning the safety of shopping online and of relying on the Internet more for news, health-related information and digital entertainment. World class expert analysis is given on the risks for consumers in all this. 

 Speakers:

Torbjörn Fredriksson, Chief of ICT Policy Section, UNCTAD, Geneva

Liz Coll, World Class Expert on consumer tech policy, data protection and online consumer protection

Ujjwal Kumar, Policy Analyst, CUTS International

Moderator: Walter Trezek, Chair, Consultative Committee 

Watch Webinar 3: In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 3, you will be hearing a presentation by the Executive Director of the International Mailers Advisory Group partly based on a report of individual research by the USPS Office of Inspector General on the universal service obligation (USO). The presentation sheds light on how the USPS and other Posts that have modified their USO in the last five years have responded to the financial challenge of volume erosion. While there are important differences between the USPS and the Posts in other countries, a discussion then follows on trends in other countries and provides some insight into the potential future of the postal service’s USO.

Speakers

Kate Muth, Executive Director, International Mailers Advisory Group (USO resources)

Dimitris Theodorakis, Acting Head of UNI Post & Logistics – UNI Global Union 

Lindsay Welsh, International Relations and Policy Director at New Zealand Post

Emma Maraschin, Head of Section, PTS Unit for postal issues (Swedish regulator)

Moderator: Walter Trezek, Chair, Consultative Committee

The committee plays a key role in developing a more global vision of the issues affecting the sector. This role enhances the UPU's value to the industry and its effectiveness.

The committee consists of non-governmental organizations representing customers, delivery-service providers, workers unions, suppliers of goods and services to the postal sector and individual and company organizations that have an interest in supporting the UPU's mission and objectives.

Organizations must be registered in a member country. Individual companies may not currently join the committee. In addition, eight member countries are represented on the committee. They are named by the Council of Administration (CA) and the Postal Operations Council (POC).

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to report that the Chair of the Council of Administration has accepted the application of the Global Envelope Alliance (www.envelope.org) to become a member of the UPU CC.

For more information, please contact the CC Secretariat by e-mail at alexander.thern-svanberg@upu.int 

The committee meets twice annually, usually at the UPU headquarters in Berne, at the same time as the CA and the POC meet. Between meetings, the body's own management committee assumes responsibility for work progress.

To attend the next CC meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for autumn 2021, please contact the CC Secretariat at alexander.thern-svanberg@upu.int.