Learning from the UPU

One of the most interesting international bodies, which predated the United Nations and models international cooperation, is the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU was formed in 1874 and essentially regulates the international postal system. The system is based on the universalist principle that people around the world, no matter which country they come from, should be able to communicate with anyone else – anywhere else in the world. And not only that, but people should be able to do this by buying a stamp in their own country for international postage, and their letter will be delivered to any postal address anywhere – regardless of the actual cost of delivery in the country of destination. And all countries are responsible for setting their own postage rates.

Obviously the cost of delivery of a stamp sent, say, to an address in London will be different from the cost of delivering a letter in Alaska or Siberia. So the international postage rate set in South Africa takes no account of the cost of delivery elsewhere in the world. And some countries may have more incoming international mail than outgoing – meaning that they could potentially suffer a financial loss by being part of the system. In the early days of the UPU it was assumed that the international postal system would balance itself in this regard.

In fact, postage use is closely related to economic development, and generally developing countries have more incoming mail than outgoing, and have tended to experience the financial burden. So since 1969, this aspect has been regulated through the terminal dues arrangement, whereby countries are compensated for imbalances in postage volumes.

Another aspect of the universalist aspect of the UPU is that it has never excluded any country for political or other reasons. South Africa, for example, was excluded from the UN, but never from the UPU. This meant that the International Defence and Aid Fund was able to use the postal system to send remittances into South Africa to provide financial support for prisoners’ families during the apartheid era – simply by connecting people through postal addresses.

Of course, the UPU deals with post, but also with parcels, postal orders, registered mail, customs clearance arrangements, international reply coupons, telegrams and much more – all of which require international cooperation and agreement amongst all the 191 members.

The UPU, then, effectively establishes what it calls a ‘universal postal territory’, which facilitates easy commercial, business and social exchanges between people and organisations around the world. (The internet also tries to do this, but excludes much of the world). As such the UPU is a fine and long-standing example of international cooperation based on reciprocity and mutual interest that we can learn from, as we move with hope into a new era.

What a day for a day dream!

Well it has been quite a day. 5th November is my mother's birthday (happy birthday Mum!) and we also celebrated Guy Fawkes Day when I was growing up in England - an odd celebration in which the English celebrate the man who tried to blow up the House of Parliament.

And this morning we wake up to the news that Obama has won the US Presidential Election! Apart from the significance of electing a black President, it appears that a new spirit and consciousness has awoken in the American people. It was amazing to watch on our TV screens the images of Americans in tears hanging on every word in his victory speech. And how different his words from the cynical, mocking, arrogant and sarcastic language of George Bush as he led the US into the war on terror during the past 7 years.

So for now let us celebrate for America and her people!

I hope Obama's words of humility will soon be translated into policies and strategies that take the US away from an aggressive and militaristic foreign policy. For now, US warships and gunboats patrol the seas, and her young men carry guns in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. US embassies are targets, and much of the world lives in fear. A lot needs to happen.

And maybe we can find some learning in all this about leaders and politics. How fickle it all is. Bush was very popular - just a short time ago. Some people who voted for Bush now voted for Obama. Many people who voted for Obama would really have preferred Hilary Clinton. Some Hilary supporters voted for Palin. Obama got the breaks this time around. He had four times as much money to spend as McCain. Let us hope we are lucky and that something substantial and real can be created this time. If not, then I fear the world will descend to new lows of cynicism.

I attended another lecture this evening. My Professor (I like to think of her as "my" Professor!) - Adele Thomas - delivered her inaugural address at the University of Johannesburg. Her lecture was entitled "What questions would Socrates ask? Universities and their internal governance". Adele gives a devastating critique of the internal governance of Universities in South Africa and elsewhere from an ethical perspective, and highlights the need for imaginative leadership in stimulating the development of what she calls 'institutional moral responsibility'.

This moral responsibility, she argues, is "founded in institutional integrity" - meaning an understanding of the institution's morals, values and commitments that is based on a rigorous and continuing process of internal dialogue and introspection about what the role of the university should be.

The address was by its nature admittedly discomforting to an academic audience. The question arises whether university institutions can rise to the challenge of critical self-reflection, which might mean descending from ivory towers!