An Address for Everyone!

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Posted by ChrisCorbin on 09 Dec 2009

Berne: 20 November 2009

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has a brochure titled: Addressing the world: an address for everyone. The brochure opens with the following:

In most industrialized countries, having a physical address is something that we take for granted. But in many developing countries, as well as in some emerging economies, the majority of people do not have an address. Yet addresses are an essential tool for economic and social development.

The brochure supports the UPU campaign launched on the 2 November 2009. The UPU press release titled: UPU puts addressing on UN agenda states:

UPU Director General Edouard Dayan urged United Nations organizations and agencies on Friday to join a UPU campaign to develop efficient addressing systems world-wide.

Attending the United Nations Chief Executives Board meeting in New York, Dayan told Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and colleagues that addresses are a critical tool for economic and social development and an essential part of a country’s national infrastructure.

Addresses are taken for granted in industrialized countries, but billions of people in developing countries don’t have them, preventing citizens from being full members of the community, Dayan said.   

“People without addresses cannot easily vote or enjoy a full legal identity, nor can they easily open a bank account or qualify for credit or loans,” he recalled.

The head of the UN agency for postal services reminded his colleagues that addresses are important for delivering health and emergency services, developing rural and urban policies, and providing access to basic public services such as electricity or water.

“How can you apply for a decent job without a personal address? How can businesses sell and customers buy online if there is no physical address for delivering the goods? How can people get a passport or an ID?” said Dayan.

The UPU wants to raise awareness of addressing systems and give an address to everyone in the world. Plans include the creation of a multi-agency working group and holding a global summit on addressing in 2011.

Many postal-sector stakeholders are enthusiastic about the initiative. The United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, UNESCO, the International Telecommunications Union and UN-Habitat have also indicated their desire to join the campaign.

The states:

Addressing the world - an address for everyone

The aim of this initiative is to provide everyone with an address, so as to enable communication among and between people, government administrations or businesses.

The campaign will focus on:

raising awareness on the importance of having good addressing systems;
creating synergies between UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations and any other interested parties, such as academia, non-profit organisations, development banks or businesses in order to develop a comprehensive response.

Activities of the campaign:

1. Launch of the campaign (by December 2009)

Raise awareness on the issue and get commitment from the international community
Create a first multi-agencies working group on addressing
Identify all activities led by the international community and establish a common plan

2. Research phase (2009-11)

Develop research on the economic and social value of addresses
Produce in-depth studies on the impact of the lack of addressing systems on various socio-economic and business indicators and on the development of postal exchanges

3. Resource mobilization phase (2010-2011)

Identify needs for national and regional projects: evaluate the resources needed in terms of know-how and funding
Identify potential donors and gain their support. Establish a model to fund regional and national projects through an UN Addressing Fund
Organize an international summit on addressing.

4. Implementation of national projects on a regional basis (from 2011), setting up of national teams