Representatives from the Post Office senior management team returned to the island this week following last week's Small Posts and Islands Forum hosted by Royal Gibraltar Post (Gibraltar Post).
This year's Forum follows the successful inaugural event introduced in 2013 by Isle of Man Post Office which won the 2013 'Awards for Excellence' under the 'Freedom to Flourish' category.
Over 30 delegates attended this year's Forum representing small posts from around the globe, these included Aland, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Seychelles and Isle of Man. In addition, the not for profit event also included sponsors DHL Global Match (UK) ltd, Escher, Intelligent AR, Lyngsoe Systems, Neopost and WOPA.
On Monday evening during the informal welcome reception, Mike Kelly Chief Executive of Isle of Man Post Office opened the 2014 Forum by officially passing the baton from the Isle of Man to David Ledger, Chief Executive Officer of Gibraltar Post; he then gave a speech on the Isle of Man Post Office's highlights since last year's event. The Forum was then formally opened on the Tuesday morning by the Honourable Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo with a speech from Gibraltar's Minister for Postal Affairs.
This year's Forum was once again facilitated by Derek Osborn, an acknowledged postal expert who co-ordinated a programme packed with full day sessions which covered a wide range of postal industry topics, presented by a variety of different speakers. Lisa Duckworth Commercial Director of Isle of Man Post Office presented on how the Isle of Man Post Office is engaging with its government and participated in the panel sessions and discussions. Key discussion points that took place over the days included managing declining physical letter volumes, ecommerce opportunities and enhanced tracking systems, ways in which to grow philately and retail developments using digital and physical integration.
During the event delegates were invited to a tour of 'The Rock' and were taken around the Postal Administration's facilities. As the event drew to a close, plans for future Small Post & Islands Forums were discussed, with a number of Posts now vying to host the 2015 Forum.
Lisa Duckworth Commercial Director of Isle of Man Post Office said: "This year's Forum was perfectly hosted by Gibraltar Post, and it was a pleasure to pass the baton onto them from our inaugural 2013 Forum and watch the event continue to flourish. Despite the geographic and market diversity of the Postal Administrations attending, we are all facing similar challenges, so it is great to have the opportunity to come together in this way to exchange ideas and best practice, to network and identify opportunities for partnering together where possible. I would like to thank organisers Royal Gibraltar Post for inviting Isle of Man Post Office this year. We look forward to next year's edition and in the meantime wait eagerly to hear who the 2015 hosts will be."
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