World Post Day on October 9th each year honors the work of those who work in the postal industry. Another goal of the day includes raising awareness about the vital role the postal sector plays in the daily lives of businesses and individuals around the world.
From early on in history, people found a way to get messages to one another. Messengers often did this on horseback. In the 1600s and 1700s, many countries established national postage systems. As postage systems expanded, it allowed the exchange of mail between countries. By the late 1800s, international mail became complex and inefficient. In 1863, with the help of U.S. Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair, the first guidelines for international postal services were established. It wasn’t until October 9th, 1874 that delegates present at a conference in Bern, Switzerland signed the Treaty of Bern. The treaty formally created the General Postal Union. In 1878, the General Postal Union changed to the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
Seventy years later in 1948, the UPU became an agency of the United Nations. At the UPU congress in 1969 in Tokyo, Japan, they declared October 9th as World Postal Day. The date commemorated the anniversary of the UPU. Today, over 150 countries all over the world participate in World Post Day celebrations.
The theme of 2021 World Post Day is "Innovative to recover".
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