17 They carried the unconscious girl into the dim-lighted apartment of the curtained windows and laid her on the die-van. Wischkoband hastily summoned unfastened the girl's dress at the throat. "'It is a faint,' she announced in her own tongue. "'She will recover in a few minutes. I will get some water.' Ned Trent wiped the moisture from his forehead with his handkerchief. The danger he had undergone coolly, but this overcame his iron self-control. Galen Albert, like an anxious bear, weaved back and forth the length of the couch. In him the rumble of the storm was but just echoing into distance. "'Go into the next room,' he growled at the free trader, when finally he noticed the latter's presence. Ned Trent hesitated. "'Go,' I say, snarled the factor. You can do nothing here.' He followed the young man to the door, which he closed with his own hand, and then turned back to the couch on which his daughter lay. In the middle of the floor his foot clicked on some small object. Mechanically he picked it up. It proved to be a little silver match safe of the sort universally used in the far north. Evidently the free trader had flipped it from his pocket with his handkerchief. The factor was about to thrust it into his own pocket when his eye caught lettering roughly carved across one side. Still mechanically he examined it more closely. The lettering was that of a man's name. The man's name was Graham Stewart. Without thinking of what he did he dropped the object on the small table and returned anxiously to the girl's side, cursing the tardiness of the Indian woman. But in a moment Wishcobin returned. "'Will she recover?' asked the factor, distracted at the woman's deliberate examination. The latter smiled her indulgent, slow smile. "'But surely,' she assured him in her own tongue. It is no more than if she cut her finger. In a few breaths she will recover. Now I will go to the house of the cockburn for a morsel of the sweet wood which she must smell.' She looked her inquiry for permission. "'Sagamig, go!' assented Albert. Relieved in mind he dropped into a chair. His eye caught the little silver match safe. He picked it up and fell to staring at the rudely carved letters. He found that he was alone with his daughter and the thoughts aroused by the dozen letters of a man's name. All his life long he had been a hard man. His commands had been autocratic, his anger formidable, his punishments severe and sometimes cruel. The quality of mercy was with him tenuous and weak. He knew this, and if he did not exactly glory in it, he was at least indifferent to its effect on his reputation with others. But always he had been just. The victims of his displeasure might complain that his retributive measures were harsh, that his forgiveness could not be evoked by even the most extenuating of circumstances, but not that his anger had ever been baseless or the punishment undeserved. Thus he had held always his own self-respect and from his self-respect had preceded his iron and effective rule. So in the case of the young man with whom now his thoughts were occupied, twice he had warned him from the country without the punishment which the third attempt rendered imperative. The events succeeding his arrival at Conjurer's house warmed the factor's anger to the heat of almost preposterous retribution, perhaps, for after all a man's life is worth something even in the wilds. But it was actually retribution and not merely a ruthless proof of power. It might be justice as only the factor saw it, but it was still essentially justice in the broader sense that to each act had followed a definite consequence. Although another might have condemned his conduct as unnecessarily harsh, Helen Albert's conscience was satisfied and at rest. Nor had his resolution been permanently affected by either the girl's threat to make away with herself or by his momentary softening when she had fainted. The affair was thereby complicated, but that was all. In the sincerity of the threat he recognized his own iron nature and was perhaps a little pleased at its manifestation. He knew she intended to fulfill her promise not to survive her lover, but at the moment this did not reach his fears. It only aroused further his dogged opposition. The free trader's speech, as he left the room, however, had touched the one flaw in Galen Albert's confidence of righteousness.  Graham Steward. That man he had first met at Fort Ray over twenty years ago. It was but just after he had married Virginia's mother. At once his imagination, with the keen pictorial power of those who have dwelt long in the silent places, brought forward the other scene, that of his wooing. He had driven his dogs into Fort LaCloche after a hard day's run in seventy-five degrees of frost. Weary, hungry, half frozen, he had staggered into the fire-lit room. Against the blaze he had caught for a moment a young girl's profile, lost as she turned her face toward him in a startled question of his entrance. Men had cared for his dogs. The girl had brought him hot tea. In the corner of the fire they too had whispered one to the other, the already grizzled traveller of the silent land, the fresh, brave North Maiden. At midnight their parkas drawn close about their faces in the fearful cold they had met outside the enclosure of the post. An hour later they were away under the aurora for Capelle. Galen Albrecht's nostrils expanded as he heard the crack, crack, crack of the remorseless dog-whip whose sting drew him away from the vain pursuit. After the marriage at Capelle they had gone a weary journey to Ray, and there he had first seen Graham Stewart. Fort Ray is on the northwestward arm of the Great Slave Lake in the country of the dog-ribs, only four degrees under the Arctic circle. It is a dreary spot, for the barren grounds are near. Men see only the Great Lake, the Great Sky, the Great Gray Country. They become moody, fanciful. In the face of the silence they have little to say. At Fort Ray were old Jock Wilson, the chief trader, Father Bonah, the priest, Andrew Levoix, the Metis clerk, four dog-rib tipis, Galen Albrecht and his bride, and Graham Stewart. Jock Wilson was sixty-five. Father Bonah had no age.  Only Graham Stewart and Elodie, bride of Albrecht, were young. In the Great Gray Country their lives were like spots of color on a mist. Galen Albrecht finally became jealous. At first there was nothing to be done, but finally Levoix brought to the older man proof of the younger's guilt. The harsh traveler bowed his head and wept. But since he loved Elodie more than himself, which was perhaps the only redeeming feature of this sorry business, he said nothing, nor did more than to journey south to Edmonton, leaving the younger man alone in Fort Ray to the white silence. But his soul was stirred. In the course of nature and of time Galen Albrecht had a daughter, but lost a wife. It was no longer necessary for him to leave his wrong un-avenged. Then began a series of baffling hindrances which resulted finally in his stooping to means repugnant to his open sense of what was due himself. At the first he could not travel to his enemy because of the child and his care. When finally he had succeeded in placing the little girl where he would be satisfied to leave her, he himself was suddenly and peremptorily called east to take a post in Rupert's land. He could not disobey and remain in the company, and the company was more to him than life or revenge. The little girl he left in Sacre-Cœur of Quebec, he himself took up his residences in the Hudson Bay country. After a few years, becoming lonely for his own flesh and blood, he sent for his daughter. There, as factor, he gained a vast power, and this power he turned into the channels of his hatred. Graham Stewart felt always against him the hand of influence. His posts in the company's service became intolerable. At length, an indignation against continued injustice, oppression, and insult, he resigned, broken in fortune and in prospects. He became one of the earliest free traders on the Saskatchewan, devoting his energies to enraged opposition of the company which had wronged him. In the space of three short years he had met a violent and striking death. For the early days of the free trader were adventurous. Galen Albrecht's revenge had struck home. Then in after years the factor had again met with Andrew Levois. The man staggered into Conjurer's house late at night. He had started from Winnipeg to descend the Albany River, but had met with mishap and starvation. One by one his dogs had died. In some blind fashion he pushed on for days after his strength and sanity had left him. Muhikun had brought him in. His toes and fingers had frozen and dropped off. His face was a mask of black, frost-bitten flesh in which deep fishers opened to the raw. He had gone snow-blind. Scarcely was he recognizable as a human being. From such a man in extremity could come nothing but the truth, so Galen Albrecht believed him.  The factor left the room with the weight of a crime on his conscience, for Graham Stewart had been innocent of any wrong toward him or his bride. Such was the story Galen Albrecht saw in the little silver matchbox. That was the one flaw in his consciousness of righteousness, the one instance in a long career when his ruthless acts of punishment or reprisal had not rested on rigid justice, and by the irony of fate the one instance had touched him very near. Now here before him was his enemy's son. He wondered that he had not discovered the resemblance before, and he was about to visit on him the severest punishment in his power. Was not this an opportunity vouchsafed him to repair his ancient fault, to cleanse his conscience of the one sin of the kind it would acknowledge? But then over him swept the same blur of jealousy that had resulted in Graham Stewart's undoing. This youth wooed his daughter. He had won her affections away. Strangely enough Galen Albrecht confused the new and the old, again youth cleave to youth, leaving age apart. Age felt fiercely the desire to maintain its own. The factor crushed the silver matchbox between his great palms and looked up. His daughter lay before him, still, lifeless. Deliberately he rested his chin on his hands and contemplated her. The room, as always, was full of contrast. Shafts of light, dust-motored, bewildering, crossed from the embrasured windows, throwing highlights into prominence and shadows into impenetrable darkness. They rendered the gray-clad figure of the girl vague and ethereal, like a mist above a stream. They darkened the dull-hued couch on which she rested into a liquid, impelpable black. They hazed the draped background of the corner into a far-reaching distance, so that finally to Galen Albrecht, staring with hypnotic intensity, it came to seem that he looked upon a pure and disembodied spirit sleeping sweetly, cradled on in illimitable space. The ordinary and familiar surroundings all disappeared. His consciousness accepted nothing but the cameo profile of marble white, the nimbus of golden haze about the head, the mist-like suggestion of a body, and again the clear marble spot of the hands. All else was a background of modulated depths. So gradually the old man's spirit, wearied by the stress of the last hour, turned in on itself and began to create. The cameo profile, the mist-like body, the marble hands remained. But now Galen Albrecht saw other things as well. A dim, rare perfume was wafted from some unseen space. Indistinct flashes of light spotted the darknesses. Faint swells of music lifted the silence intermittently. These things were small and still, and under the external consciousness, like the voices one may hear beneath the roar of a tumbling rapid, but gradually they defined themselves. The perfume came to Galen Albrecht's nostrils on the wings of incensed smoke. The flashes of light steadied to the ovals of candle-flames. The faint swells of music blended into grand-breathed organ cords. He felt about him the dim awe of the church. He saw the tapers burning at head and foot, the clear, calm face of the dead, smiling faintly that, at last, it should be no more disturbed. So had he looked all one night and all one day in the long time ago. The factor stretched his arms out to the figure on the couch, but he called upon his wife, gone these twenty years. "'Ello, Di! Ello, Di!' he murmured softly. She had never known it, thank God, but he had wronged her, too. In all sorrow and sweet heavenly pity he had believed that her youth had turned to the youth of the other man. It had not been so. Did he not owe her, too, some reparation?' As though in answer to his appeal, or perhaps that merely the sound of a human voice had broken the last shreds of her swoon, the girl moved slightly. Galen Albrecht did not stir.  For a moment she stared at him. Then comprehension came to her along with memory. She cried out and sat upright in one violent motion. "'He! He!' she cried. "'Is he gone?' Instantly Galen Albrecht had her in his arms. "'It is all right,' he soothed, drawing her close to his great breast. "'All right!  End of Chapter 17. For perhaps ten minutes Ned Trent lingered near the door of the council room until he had assured himself that Virginia was in no serious danger. Then he began to pace the room, examining minutely the various objects that ornamented it. He paused longest at the full-length portrait of Sir George Simpson, the company's great traveller, with his mild blue eyes, his kindly face, denying the potency of his official frown, his snowy hair and whiskers. The painted man and the real man looked at each other inquiringly. The latter shook his head. "'You travelled the wild country far,' said he thoughtfully. "'You knew many men of many lands. And wherever you went, they tell me you made friends. And yet, as you embodied this company to all these people, and so made for the fanatical loyalty that is destroying me, I suppose you and I are enemies!' He shrugged his shoulders whimsically and turned away. Thence he cast a fleeting glance out the window at the long reach of the moose and the blue bay gleaming in the distance. He tried the outside door. It was locked. Taken with a new idea, he proceeded at once to the third door of the apartment. It opened. He found himself in a small and much littered room containing a desk, two chairs, a vast quantity of papers, a stuffed bird or so, and a row of account books. Evidently the factor's private office. Ned Trent returned to the main room and listened intently for several minutes. After that he ran back to the office and began hastily to open and rummage, one after another the drawers of the desk. He discovered and concealed several bits of string, a desk knife, and a box of matches. Then he uttered a guarded exclamation of delight. He had found a small revolver and with it part of a box of cartridges. A chance! he exalted. A chance! The game would be desperate.  And after that he would have, with the cartridges remaining, to assure his subsistence. Still it was a chance. He closed the drawers and the door and resumed his seat in the armchair by the council table. For over an hour thereafter he awaited the next move in the game. He was already swinging up the pendulum arc. The case did not appear utterly hopeless. He resolved, through Mayangan, whom he defined as a friend of the girls, to smuggle a message to Virginia bidding her hope. Already his imagination had conducted him to Quebec when in August he would search her out and make her his own. Soon one of the Indian servants entered the room for the purpose of conducting him to a smaller apartment where he was left alone for some time longer. Food was brought him. He ate heartily, for he considered that wise. Then at last the summons for which he had been so long in readiness. Mayangan himself entered the room and motioned him to follow. Ned Trent had already prepared his message on the back of an envelope, writing it with the lead of a cartridge. He now pressed the bit of paper into the Indian's palm. For omimi, he explained. Mayangan bored him through with his bead-like eyes of the surface lights. He led the way. Ned Trent followed through the narrow, uncorpeted hall with the faded photograph of Westminster, down the crooked steep stairs with the creaking degrees, and finally into the council-room once more, with its heavy rafters, its two fireplaces, its long table, and its narrow windows. Bicca, wait! commanded Mayangan and left him. Ned Trent had supposed he was being conducted to the canoe which should bear him on the first stage of his long journey, but now he seemed condemned again to take up the wearing uncertainty of inaction. The interval was not long, however. Almost immediately the other door opened and the factor entered. His movements were abrupt and impatient, for with whatever grace such a man yields to his better instinct, the actual carrying out of their conditions is a severe trial. For one thing it is a species of emotional nakedness, invariably repugnant to the self-contained. Ned Trent, observing this and misinterpreting its cause, hugged the little revolver to his side with grim satisfaction. The interview was likely to be stormy. If worst came to worst he was at least assured of reprisal before his own end. The factor walked directly to the head of the table and his customary arm-chair in which he disposed himself. "'Sit down,' he commanded the younger man, indicating a chair at his elbow. The latter, warily obeyed. Galen Albert hesitated appreciably. Then, as one might make a plunge into cold water, quickly, in one motion, he laid on the table something over which he held his hand. "'You are wondering why I am interviewing you again,' said he. "'It is because I have become aware of certain things.' "'When you left me a few hours ago, you dropped this,' he moved his hand to one side. The silver mat safe lay on the table. "'Yes, it is mine,' agreed Ned Trent. "'On one side is carved a name.' "'Yes.' "'Who's?' "'The free trader hesitated.' "'My father's,' he said at last. "'I thought that must be so. You will understand when I tell you that at one time I knew him very well.' "'You knew my father?' cried Ned Trent excitedly. "'Yes, at Fort Ray and elsewhere. But I do not remember you.' "'I was brought up at Winnipeg,' the other explained. "'Once,' pursued Galen Albert, "'I did your father a wrong, unintentionally, but nevertheless a great wrong. For that reason and others I am going to give you your life.' "'What wrong?' demanded Ned Trent, with dawning excitement. "'I forced him from the company.' "'You!' "'Yes, I. Proof was brought me that he had won from me my young wife. It could not be doubted. I could not kill him. Afterward the man who deceived me confessed. He is now dead.'   "'You did that?' he cried hoarsely. "'You tell me of it yourself? Do you wish to know the real reason for my coming into this country? Why I have traded in defiance of the company throughout the whole far north? I have thought my father was persecuted by a body of men, and though I could not do much, still I have accomplished what I could to avenge him. Had I known that a single man had done this, and you are that man!' He came a step nearer. Galen Albert regarded him steadily. "'If I had known this before, I should never have rested until I had hunted you down, until I had killed you, even in the midst of your own people!' cried the free trader at last. Galen Albert drew his heavy revolver and laid it on the table. "'Do so now!' he said quietly. A pause fell on them, pregnant with possibility.  "'No,' he groaned. "'No, I cannot. She stands in the way.' "'So that, after all,' concluded the factor, in a gentler tone that he had yet employed, we too shall part peaceably. I have wronged you greatly, though without intention. Perhaps one balances the other. We will let it pass.' "'Yes,' agreed Ned Trent with an effort, we will let it pass.' They mused in silence, while the factor drummed on the table with the stubby fingers of his right hand. "'I am dispatching to-day,' he announced curtly at length, the Abidibi Brigade. Matters of importance brought by runner from Rupert's house forced me to do so a month earlier than I had expected. I shall send you out with that brigade.' "'Very well. You will find your packs and arms in the canoe, quite intact.' "'Thank you.' The factor examined the young man's face with some deliberation. "'You love my daughter, truly?' he asked quietly. "'Yes,' replied Ned Trent, also quietly. "'That is well, for she loves you.' "'And,' went on the old man, throwing his massive head back proudly, "'my people love well.  God be thanked, you are a man and brave and clean. "'Enough of that. I place the brigade under your command. "'You must be responsible for it, for I am sending no other white. The crew are Indians and Métis.' "'All right,' agreed Ned Trent, indifferently. "'My daughter, you will take to Sacre-de-Cœur at Québec.' "'Virginia!' cried the young man. "'I am sending her to Québec. I had not intended doing so until July, but the matters from Rupert's house make it imperative now.' "'Virginia goes with me?' "'Yes.' "'You consent?' "'You—' "'Young man,' said Galen Albright, not unkindly. "'I give my daughter in your charge. That is all. You must take her to Sacre-de-Cœur, and you must be patient. Next year I shall resign, for I am getting old, and then we shall see. That is all I can tell you now.' He rose abruptly. "'Come,' said he. They are waiting.' They threw wide the door and stepped out into the open. A breeze from the north brought a draft of air like cold water in its refreshment. The waters of the north sparkled and tossed in the silvery sun. Ned Trent threw his arms wide in the physical delight of a new freedom. But his companion was already descending the steps. He followed across the square grass plot to the two bronze guns. A noise of peoples came down the breeze. In a moment he saw them, the varied multitude of the post, gathered to speed the brigade on its distant journey. The little beach was crowded with the company's people and with Indians, talking eagerly, moving hither and yon in a shifting kaleidoscope of brilliant color. Beyond the shore floated the long canoe, with its curving ends and its emblazement of the five-pointed stars. Already its baggage was aboard, its crew in place, ten men in whose caps slanted long, graceful feathers, which proved them boatmen of a factor. The women sat amid ships. When Galen Albright reached the edge of the plateau, he stopped and laid his hand on the young man's arm. As yet they were unperceived. Then a single man caught sight of them. He spoke to another. The two informed still others. In an instant the bright colors were dotted with upturned faces. Listen! said Galen Albright in his resonant chest tones of authority. This is my son, and he must be obeyed. I give to him the command of this brigade. See to it. Without troubling himself further as to the crowd below, Galen Albright turned to his companion. I will say good-bye, said he, formally. Good-bye, replied Ned Trent. All is at peace between us. The free trader looked long into the man's sad eyes. The hard, proud spirit bowed in nightly expiation of its one fault, for the first time in a long life of command looked out in petition. All is at peace, repeated Ned Trent. They clasped hands, and Virginia, perceiving them so, threw them a wonderful smile. End of Chapter 18, Recording by Roger Maline Chapter 19 of Conjurer's House, A Romance of the Free Forest This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Roger Maline Conjurer's House, A Romance of the Free Forest By Stuart Edward White Chapter 19 Instantly the spell of inaction broke. The crowd recommended its babble of jests, advices, and farewells. Ned Trent swung down the bank to the shore. The boatman fixed the canoe on the very edge of floating free. Two of them lifted the young man aboard to a place on the furs by Virginia Albert's side. At once the crowd pressed forward, filling up the empty spaces. Now Achille Picard bent his shoulders to lift into free water the stem of the canoe from its touch on the bank. It floated, caught gently by the back wash of the stronger offshore current. Good-bye, dear! called Mrs. Cockburn. Remember us! She pressed the doctor's arm closer to her side. The doctor waved his hand, not trusting his masculine self-control to speak. MacDonald, too, stood glum and dour, clasping his wrist behind his back. Richardson was openly affected. For in Virginia's person they saw sailing away from their bleak northern lives the figure of youth. And they knew that henceforth life must be even drearier. Some time you'll come back, sing him de recidas song! shouted Louis Placide to his late captive. I like hear him! But Gail and Albert said nothing, made no sign. Silently and steadily, run up by some invisible hand, the blood-red banner of the company fluttered to the masthead. Before it, alone, bolt huge against the sky, dominating the people in the symbolism of his position there as he did in the realities of everyday life, the factor stood, his hands behind his back. Virginia rose to her feet, and stretched her arms out to the solitary figure. Good-bye! Good-bye! she cried. A renewed tempest of cheers and shouts of adieu broke from those ashore. The paddles dipped once, twice, thrice, and paused. With one accord those on shore and those in the canoe raised their caps, and said, A moment's silence followed, during which the current of the mighty river bore the light-craft a few yards downstream. Then from the ten voyageurs arose a great shout, Abitibi! Abitibi! Their paddles struck in unison. The water swirled in white circular eddies. Instantly the canoe caught its momentum and began to slip along against the sluggish current. Achilles Picard raised a high tenor voice, fixing the air. Arroulant, ma boule, roulant! Arroulant, ma boule! And the voyageurs swung into the quaint ballad of the fairy ducks and the naughty prince with his magic gun. Derrière chez nous, il y a ton étang! Arroulant, ma boule! The girl sank back, dabbing uncertainly at her eyes. I shall never see them again, she explained wistfully. The canoe had now caught at speed. Conjurer's house was dropping a stern. The rhythm of the song quickened as the singers told of how the king's son had aimed at the black duck but killed the white. Ah, fi droit, tu es méchant! Arroulant, ma boule! Toutes les plumes sont vents au vent! Roulis, roulant, ma boule, roulant! Wé wik! Wé wik! commanded me engun sharply from the bow. The men quickened to their stroke and shot diagonally across the current of an eddy. N'est chez chien, said me engun. They fell back to the old stroke, rolling out their full-throated measure. Toutes les plumes sont vents au vent! Arroulant, ma boule! Trois dames sont vents les ramassants! Roulis, roulant, ma boule, roulant! The canoe was now in the smooth rush of the first stretch of swifter water. The men bent to their work with stiffened elbows. Achille Picard flashed his white teeth back at the passengers. Ah, mademoiselle, it is one long way! he panted. C'est une longue traverse! The term was evidently descriptive, but the two smiled significantly at each other. So you do take the longue traverse after all, marveled Virginia. Ned Trent clasped her hand. We take it together, he replied. Into the distance faded the post. The canoe rounded a bend. It was gone. Ahead of them lay their long journey, the end. End of Chapter 19, Recording by Roger Maline End of Conjurer's House, A Romance of the Free Forest by Stuart Edward White


Your Excellencies, Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. First, let me thank her Excellency, Dr. Citi Nubaya, for her government's strong leadership in hosting the Third Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit. Your government has done an outstanding job in bringing together the region to protect critical and to progress critical actions on forests. Thank you very much, Citi. And thank you to the Vice-Governor for his warm welcome to this beautiful city of Jogjakarta. It is a great honour for me to be here today. When I spoke at the last summit in 2016 in Brunei, it was my first international engagement as the Australian Minister for the Environment and Energy. As I said then, conserving the great rainforests of the Asia-Pacific is critical to meeting the climate goals we have committed to under the Paris Climate Change Agreement and for meeting each country's sustainable economic development goals. The facts on the importance of forests speaks for themselves. Tropical forests store 25% of the world's carbon and in our region we have some of the most significant tracks of rainforest in the world. Asia and the Pacific are covered by 740 million hectares of forests. This represents 26% of the region's land area and 18% of the global forest cover. But globally, deforestation accounts for an estimated 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, one of the largest sources of global emissions after electricity generation. And for our region, a conservative estimate of emissions from forest and land use change is approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. This is nearly twice Australia's annual total emissions from all sectors. While the importance of forests may be self-evident, finding sustainable and economic solutions to conserving rainforests and reversing these trends is more elusive and challenging. Focusing on solutions to these issues brings us to the theme of this year's summit, protecting forests and people, supporting economic growth. Under this theme, I will examine three critical issues. Firstly, recognising and celebrating progress. Secondly, the importance of partnerships and collaboration. And thirdly, the role of government policy in driving private sector investment and the operation of markets. We are making progress and it is worth reflecting how far we've all come on the journey together on reducing emissions from forests. Since our last summit in Brunei, I'm happy to see substantial progress on RE-DD+, both regionally and globally. Since we came together in 2016, we have seen a number of achievements. In October 2017, the Green Climate Fund, to which Australia is a major supporter, reached agreement on a pilot program that will provide up to $500 million of RE-DD+, results-based payments to forest countries. More countries in our region are implementing their RE-DD+, national strategies. Seven countries in the partnership, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, have now submitted their forest reference levels to the UNFCCC compared with only two when we were in Brunei. And at the beginning of this year, we had the first Southeast Asian country, Vietnam, have its proposal for reducing emissions from forests approved under the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. This project will reduce emissions by 26 million tonnes and these reductions or units will be eligible for purchase by the World Bank with any remaining units available for Vietnam to use at its own discretion. Laos, Indonesia and Fiji are on a similar track for consideration through this initiative later this year. And as any minister here today knows, making change is hard. These achievements show that progress while it takes time and is incremental is happening. We need to maintain this momentum and step up the pace of change if we are going to protect our forests and our people while securing economic growth. Collaboration and partnerships do drive change. And this takes me to the second issue I would like to discuss today. The importance of collaboration and partnerships in driving change. It is through meaningful collaboration that we can achieve our collective goals. We need to build on our individual country successes and share the lessons learned. Sharing knowledge and lessons learned is what the Australian government has done and will continue to do in sharing our forest monitoring expertise with countries and friends in our region. Australia will continue to play its part in an effective global response to climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, Australia is implementing an economy-wide target to reduce gas emissions by 26 to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030. And consistent with the theme of this summit, Australia has set its goals to not only meet our international commitment to reduce emissions but to do so while ensuring Australia's international competitiveness, jobs growth, energy security and affordability are also maintained. The Australian government's emissions reduction fund is a central policy to help Australia meet its emission reduction targets. The fund provides a broad range of opportunities to reduce emissions and store carbon across the economy. The majority of the abatement from the fund is being achieved via the land sector, including revegetation and avoided deforestation. Over 150 million tonnes or 80% of all emissions reductions are from the land sector from more than 300 projects across the country. Australia has been able to harness the potential of the land sector to reduce emissions. This is a result of our expertise in measuring emissions from the land sector and through the governance systems that we have in place. We have actively been sharing this expertise through the Asia Pacific Rainforest Partnership. Starting with our good friends in Indonesia, we have spent a decade now working with them to develop their national carbon accounting system as we continue to collaborate on a range of projects. This includes improving the way emissions from peatlands are included in the national carbon accounting system. Continuing to build the capacity of Indonesia, for example, including hosting 30 Indonesian officials at the University of Melbourne to undertake a master's accredited training program last year. And through the Australian Government's leadership role in the Global Forest Observations Initiative, we are continuing to support all countries across Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands to get the best possible guidance on technical forest monitoring and access to the satellite data and to the analytic tools. This has included support for officials from Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to undertake red compass training in Australia to facilitate the development of a country-driven needs assessment on forest monitoring. And building on our excellent scientific research on land management, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, proudly represented by CEO Professor Andrew Campbell at the summit today is supporting improved community fire management and peatland restoration in Indonesia. This support is generating new knowledge to underpin peatland restoration and develop sustainable livelihoods in restored peatlands. At the inaugural summit in Sydney in 2014, the Australian Government announced funding of $6 million to support the responsible Asia forestry and trade program across Laos, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia. We are pleased to have partnered with the Nature Conservancy to support significant outcomes to improve community forest practices across these countries. Examples of the success of this work are close to here. In the Klaten District and the Kibuman District, we are making a difference. Local communities are gaining and retaining certification of their timber as being legally and sustainably logged. But it goes beyond that. With the sustainable forest management practices of selective logging helping to protect ecosystems and the biodiversity of the production forest areas. These improved forest management practices have allowed these local communities to source alternative income streams through the sustainable harvesting of granulated coconut sugar. And building on these successes, we are now starting new partnerships to further share Australia's experiences and expertise. Australia and Papua New Guinea ministers have recently committed to work together more closely on climate change, especially in relation to forests and access to climate change finance. Blue carbon is also an important area of the environment with significant greenhouse gas emissions if they are not managed properly. Six of the world's top 10 mangrove holding countries are in the Asia Pacific. Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Myanmar and the Philippines. Indonesia has the largest extent, 23% of mangroves in the world. They cover around one quarter of the country's total land area and Australia holds about 10% of the global share of these ecosystems. There are over 40 mangrove species found within the Asia Pacific making it a significant hotspot for mangrove diversity. Blue carbon has the potential to contribute substantially to the carbon stocks and the sustainable livelihoods of many countries in this room. Australia established the International Partnership for Blue Carbon in 2015 to raise the importance of this issue and to find new collaborations for practical action. The partnership, if you are not already a member, is open to all countries, research and non-government organisations at this summer. Australia is working with countries on blue carbon projects to enable them to preserve, to restore, to develop and to measure their blue carbon stocks. A critical component of Australia's blue carbon work in the region is raising awareness and sharing knowledge. To assist this, I can today announce that we will be funding the development by the Coral Triangle Centre of a learning module on blue carbon. The first workshop will be held in Indonesia in the middle of this year. Australian government officials are also hard at work on the final design stages of the $6 million blue carbon initiative. This promises to be a very exciting initiative and we are eager to work with our partners, governments, the private sector and communities to identify a small selection of pilot sites in the Pacific to help protect and restore these important ecosystems. This work will ensure that carbon in these ecosystems is maintained and enhanced and that fisheries are improved and that does help community livelihoods. In this way we hope to identify finance mechanisms to support this work on a long-term basis and for these approaches to be reputable elsewhere. Critical to supporting this work will be the parallel investment in data and science particularly measurement, reporting and its verification. Something Australia has worked successfully on with our partner in Indonesia for many years now. This brings me to my third and last issue, the importance of government policy in opening up private sector and market opportunities. Big institutional investors such as superannuation and pension funds are increasingly looking to invest in sustainable development activities because they see a shift is taking place. We are on the verge of realising significant opportunities but as a region we need to better be prepared to create the right conditions for well functioning markets to develop and better facilitate large-scale private sector investment in activities that can serve forests. While there are some promising initiatives under development for greater private sector investments in forests and these are happening under the Green Climate Fund and through the World Bank there is a need for more action. Private sector investment in forests is not flowing at the scale needed for conserving forests and reducing emissions. For example, while investment to support green bonds is growing rapidly less than 1% is flowing to forestry and agricultural activities. To leverage private sector investment countries across the region need to develop enabling environments that meet the requirements of the private sector. For example, to build business confidence for investment accurate greenhouse gas accounting systems and transparent reporting needs to be undertaken. And this needs to be matched by policies and regulations that create clear rights for local communities as well as facilitating the potential return to the private sector on their initial investments. One potential opportunity for the region is the operation of sustainable developments markets and the potential transfer of mitigation outcomes between countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. As part of a review of our domestic climate change policy last year the Australian government agreed in principle to the use of high quality international units. There is strong support for the use of international units by Australian businesses to meet potential greenhouse gas liabilities into the future. A final decision on when and how international units can be used will be made by 2020. But a fundamental requirement will be the need for any international units to be genuine and represent additional emissions reductions with no double counting of these emissions. Transparency in the creation transfer and the use of these units will also be vital to creating the right investment climate. If the necessary investments in systems and policies are made these opportunities driven by the Paris Agreement represent a significant new source of financing for many countries in the Asia Pacific region. An opportunity that promises to help conserve our forests benefit local communities and drive economic growth. Ladies and gentlemen in conclusion with the collected and concerted efforts in our own countries and through our international partnerships we are making progress. The hard work we have done together is starting to bear fruit. One of the measures of the success of any summit is the extent to which the conversations continue outside the formal sessions and endure beyond these proceedings today. I urge you all to make the most out of your time at this summit to discuss your work and ideas and to make the necessary connections and new partnerships. I am proud that Australia has been able to work closely with our good friend and neighbour Indonesia to support the third Asia Pacific rainforest summit and I'm sure you will all agree that this year's summit will be a great success. Thank you very much.


Hello to everybody. Welcome to our next innovation talk. I think I have to ask Olivier, but I'm quite sure that this is number six in our series. So we had a lot of interesting topics over the last months and it was really interesting to see how you all ask questions and I hope that we get a lot of questions again today. The last talk we had was about creativity. One of the first ones we had was about artificial intelligence. Another one was about data and the usage of data. So we had very different topics and today we are bringing them all together and we are bringing them all together within one mile or let me say the last mile. The last mile you have to go until you are at the post box. So what we are talking today now is about the last mile in your marketing and of course the post box where this is all going. I just heard that our postal carrier was coming and about 10 minutes ago I got something in my post box. So after this talk I have to go outside and to look what he brought me which might be interesting. Before we really start I would like Olivier to send a short welcome from the UPU because the UPU Direct Marketing Advisory Board are the ones who are making all of this possible. So giving over to Olivier. Thank you, thank you Martin and welcome to you all from everywhere. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. It's great to see such diverse countries. It's fantastic thanks to the technologies now. We can talk together in such a simple way and that's fantastic. As Martin said it's a number six of our innovation series organized by the UPU Direct Marketing Advisory Board. We are very proud of that innovation series. We are very happy of the success that all those different webinars had. And again today with the number of participants were over 150 resistance participants. Welcome to you all. This series was organized by the Direct Marketing Advisory Board of the Universal Postal Union. That's a group of postal operators and a private sector direct marketers that are interested in discussing direct marketing. Its future is business the way we do business in this direct marketing space. And very interested also to talk about innovations and what the future is for us. And so you're more than welcome to join our discussions to join our group. It's an open group. Contact us if you're interested to work with us in the direct marketing topics. And this last innovation talk today is the last one. I said the last because it's the last of the season before the summer break. It's not the last forever. Of course we're going to continue given the success we have. But that's the last before the summer break. And what better topic to close a series or a chapter. What a better topic than the last mile. We will have the chance to hear two great speakers today. And we're going to have a bit of a deep dive into the marketing value of innovation in the last mile delivery. As I said we have two great speakers. Josie Hansen and Jack Simmons. Josie I know him for years and I'm sure that with him we will surely travel outside the box again. And that's I'm really looking forward to it. And with Jack I think we're going to open the box. So we're going to go outside the box with Josie and we're going to open the box with Jack. So with this I close my opening remarks. I wish you a very good webinar. Enjoy it. And have a happy summer. Stay safe. And back to you Martin. Thanks Olivier for not only saying hello to everybody but as well for making this series possible. And I'm quite happy that you said that we will do this carry this on. So we should think about a nice cliffhanger at the end of today so that you all stay over the summer. Very interested what we will have to what we are doing afterwards. Like a good series you have to have a good cliffhanger I think. So but anyway let's start now. And I'm very happy to have with me already here Josie Anson. And he is he has a very interesting title. So he is well he is CEO. So he's chief executive officer from Eupido. But by the way he is a postal economist. I really like that title. To be honest it was the first time I ever heard of this title. But I think it's interesting to think about postal and economy and to put this together to make out of that a postal economist. He is a data guy. He is loving artificial intelligence. He is there for the last mile. He worked for the UPU in the past but he worked for the World Bank and the World Trade Organization as well. So it looks like he has a lot of knowledge. And today he is talking to us about the last mile. We are nearing the post box. We are not there yet but we are nearing the post box. So I would say over to you Josie and have a lot of fun. We are really interested in what you can talk to us today. If you click on the two icons again you can share the screen and then we can start with your presentation. And please unmute yourself. Good afternoon everybody from Switzerland. Before showing my presentation I would like to thank Olivier, Abbey, Martin for having me on board together with the speakers this afternoon. So I'm glad to show how we can leverage the last mile delivery data for better direct marketing. I'm going to share now my screen so that you can also see the slides. That's it. So last mile to innovation. Let's start with a point. Normally we end things with a point. We end sentences with a point but here we start with a point. And why starting with this point today? Because this is one of the main challenges marketers have to overcome. They are still very much working with single points. And it's a pity because working with single points, you can imagine those single points are points of sales, visits to the website that is trying to sell something to someone. But this point is observed, is analyzed with actions around the point. It can be before the checkout, just after the checkout, at the time of paying. But it's all about observing around the point, the point of sale. The problem looking at the point of sale only or around the point of sale only is that you can get a number of things wrong. And a few days ago, 21st and 22nd of June, it was again Amazon Prime Day. And what we've noticed around this shopping festival is that there was a tremendous, a big Prime Day predictive failure. So many marketers, so many market research companies in the US and all over the world have got it wrong in terms of the growth of expected sales during this event. We at UPDU, we developed a product with Last Mile Expert that we call Big Predict and it was a great success. We didn't fail in terms of predicting the substantial slowdown in Prime Day's sales this year. You can see here the result of the different models. You have e-marketers that was predicting 80% growth, more than even 18% growth event over event term for this Amazon Prime Day. The reality was around 6% and we were predicting 5.5% in the US. So very, very close to reality. Why I want to highlight these for you marketers and doing this talk today is because probably what differentiating us from other prediction providers here is that we just don't focus on the point of sale only. And by not just focusing on the point of sale only, you can overcome the limits of data capture around this sales point. Because basically what is invisible for marketers today is the huge number of miles that are not carefully analyzed by them or they don't get the right analytics or right predictions around what is happening between the point of sale on the one hand and home or the point of delivery on the other hand. So you have these invisible miles today for marketers and it's a great pity I believe because along this path from the point of sale to home you can track the parcel, you can track any parcel. And if you don't take advantage, if you don't leverage this information then you are losing potential signals, potential predictors to improve your modeling of what's going to happen next in terms of sales and in terms of parcel being delivered. But most importantly here the key is not necessarily about tracking the parcel event after event in the tracking process. What can really make the difference here is not just having the sequence of track events from posting to final delivery and to gain greater engagement with consumers to avoid these traditional engagement failures with consumers along the path between the warehouse and the final delivery home or out of home or as we will see during next presentation in a very innovative home box solution. What is critical to really improve marketing data to improve predictions, predictive results, predictive performance. What is absolutely critical is to track the experience around this movement of the parcel and not just the parcel itself physically. And what I mean by tracking the experience is that around this tracking process events, you can observe numerous behaviors of consumers of online shoppers. Just to give you an example, you can observe how they are tracking their parcel from origin to destination. What is the intensity of tracking at the different points? How many times are they are tracking their parcel in the middle of the process relative to the end of the process, the last 50 feet of the last mile for instance. So by tracking the tracking behavior itself, you gain key predictive insights on the evolution of consumers behavior that can help you improve substantially your predictive performance. So what is the challenge now for postal and delivery companies, postal and parcel companies today is to make all these observations and potential predictions fully visible for marketers. It's not just to make the parcel tracking visible for the online shopper from physical perspective, it's to make at each point of this tracking the behavior of the consumer visible for marketers. And like this, you can achieve a much better understanding and much more higher performance of prediction related to consumer behavior themselves. And you can dramatically improve the experience because finally what is important in this story here that the best marketing today is this combination of logistics process on the last mile and the good which is being sold. So it's an experience overall that matters for the consumers is the good that's being ordered in the service which is provided in terms of delivery experience of these goods itself. So thanks to this observation of the behavior of the tracking behavior for each and every consumer, you can add many, many, many more points to the initial single point that you saw in the first slide of my presentation. You can understand much better many issues around the when, when, what, that will actually be the best predictors of what the consumers are going to buy next in the next hours, in the next weeks, in the next months. And this is why one of the reasons why probably a predictive performance over Amazon Prime Day was better than the one of a number of other providers. Because basically you can really leverage all these analyses for instance from this double perspective distance to home of the good moving to the tracking system and time to next purchase. So you can play on critical predictive dimensions that will allow you to feed and build and design a much better direct marketing campaign for instance. So instead of being only focused on what is happening on the initial point of sale point. You can also think more about the future and even design what we call sustainable delivery experiences. And by doing so integrate the concern today's concern of many consumers that are giving much higher value to the green impact of their online purchases. So you can not only better design the experience on the sending side but also on the returning side of goods when shoppers need to return something that bought online for instance. And what is very important to understand that the more you are able to match this tracking experience behavior with your marketing campaign and the higher the benefits of an experience driven tracking. It's an exponential development of the value of tracking them dynamically the consumer tracking behavior itself and not just the parcel. I repeat the key is to shift from these focus on tracking the parcel physically only to develop systems that are tracking really in a very smart way. Of course with all the strengths of artificial intelligence machine learning technologies to provide the key insights to market tips. Now of course the problems for parcel and delivery companies to do so is a big change in terms of culture and in terms of mindset. Because of course these requires investments in systems in smart systems in AI systems that allows for these tracking the behavior the tracking behavior of the consumer itself. And it's not enough now just to buy new sorting machines to cope with post pandemic growth in parcel volumes and online shopping. It's also very important for parcel and delivery companies to be able to feed marketers with this information and predictions. And to do so they must think if they want to do this internally or if they want to to to use an external solution. I don't think many postal and parcel companies know what is building their own parcel sorting machine. Here is the state you have a treasure of information of predictive information around the observation of how your customers are tracking parcel. Now if you want to really leverage this you need to acquire to buy the systems that can provide these insights for market. But you have a tradition of relationship with marketers through direct mail that should ease in a way the establishment of this relationship and the possibility to leverage your opportunity. And in this way we will make everybody happy. First of all consumers that will have a truly experience driven delivery and marketers postal and delivery companies who could substantially increase their profit margin in terms of delivery of parcels. You know that the profitability of delivery companies and postal companies is now a big challenge in order for them to thrive in the future and to invest in a new system. So probably the room for gaining some additional profit margin in terms of just the physical delivery of the parcel is not enough today. It must be combined with something else. But they have this something else. They have trillions of different behaviors to observe in terms of the tracking use of their system that are today absolutely not leveraged. So this is why I encourage postal and delivery companies to think about these new possibilities and I'm glad to answer any question today or by email if they are interested in leveraging this new use case for their better development today. Thank you so much. Thank you for saying that was really really interesting to be honest you just blew my mind a little bit. I'm in customer relationship management and marketing for 25 years and I'm into data and artificial intelligence for 15 years now. But I never I really I really honestly never thought that something that I click on when I do a track and trace is worthy of valuable data for the other side. So I was always thinking this is a service for me and just the cost for the postal operator or whoever is doing that. But you just told me that it's not true that this is not only a service for me but at the same time. Well maybe it's a service to me but at the same time this is a very very important data for the other side and I never I never would have imagined something like that. It's really interesting to think about that. If we gave the example of Amazon and you told us that you were more more precise able to predict their their the result of their day. So how did you do that? How was well which data were this? So how many people clicked on to trace their page or their parcel or what is what kind of data did you use to to do a calculation a prediction like that. Well there are two techniques the first technique where we don't have direct access to the tracking system of a parcel delivery company is to capture all parcel related data all over the Internet. And all the parcel related parcel related data that can be related itself to the exercise of track. And we were running this kind of exercise all over the world and all over the world we get really amazing results. Of course this approach can be even more powerful if parcel and parcel companies try to match our external predictive modeling with their internal tracking data. And what would be even more amazing is that if a number of parcel and parcel companies pull all this data together in a safe manner. To eliminate all possible bias and by pulling together all these tracking data in a safe way respecting of course the right of the buyers respecting all rules in terms of data privacy. By pulling all this data together then the granularity of the prediction could be amazing at product levels or by product category or by location. So it's just the beginning of a journey. Basically we've been doing all this to help postal delivery companies to build a more efficient last mile from an operational perspective. But we've discovered this on our way to a greater operational efficiency. We discovered these key patterns that could be leveraged in a powerful way should the parcel and marketers work together on this data. It's again and again very interesting to see how you can use data where you would never imagine of using that data. If you're speaking about the data Walter is asking who is the owner of the data the post the merchant the address the electronic interface. So is it normally the postal operator who is owning this data. Well the question is reverse the question and say why postal and parcel companies have been giving so much tracking data around to many external systems and startups as well. So all the data today I would say that almost all parcel and postal companies in one way or another with API system they are giving access to their data. But parcel by parcel not in a consolidated manner. So you have a number of startups we've already developed a number of intelligent systems around this connection with with data. So I wonder whether the data is still owned by postal and parcel companies because other are taking advantage of it. It's a very good question by Walter of course. And the point is that it's not necessarily about who owns the data and again now the data circulates everywhere is about who is able to build the stronger value proposition around this data. And where there is a long journey for parcel and postal companies to understand it is not just about buying buying new parcel machines is buying is about for them it's about leveraging this incredible power of the data that the data in that. That's a really interesting thought. Probably it's not it isn't a GDPR a privacy problem if you have this data because it's normally person related or or can you use it on an anonymized level. I mean we can work at an anonymized level for a number of for a number of predictions anonymization doesn't create any GDPR issue. Now for extremely granular predictions you need the agreement of the user of course. Yes of course. And at the end if the user gets a much greater experience he might even willing to share more. But then he would have to consent which might be a problem. In Europe at least. Yes yeah. Do you have the feeling that the postal operators the parcel companies that they are ready for this data driven marketing on the last mile. It's not a matter of technology technology is available no problem. It's a matter of mindset that they're ready to shift their mindset to not just being agreeing to the to deliver direct mail for marketers. But to be in the upstream part of the production of intelligence not just to be in the downstream part of the process to bring this direct mail to everybody's letterbox. But to be really integrated with market with marketers at the upstream part. And it's a matter of mindset. It's a cultural shift. This is where I invite them to think about this cultural shift because it can increase substantially their profitability as companies. I totally agree. Do you have the feeling that this this mind shift is taking place. Not sufficiently. Not sufficiently. Yeah. There's an interesting question around that from Tamer Ahmad. He is asking what about the not so rich countries. The poor areas. How is it about inclusion. The digitalization is a lot about inclusion and giving possibilities to people who had never had that possibilities before. Would you think that this helps at that point at that topic as well to have more data available that could help in this inclusion part. If you if you want better inclusion you need to work with better data. This is what I've demonstrated when I was working at the UPU with the United Nations Global Purse Initiative. We were the first to demonstrate the power of postal big data to improve inclusive development policies. So one hundred fifty percent convinced that if developing emerging countries approach these data in the way I'm describing, they will be able to design much better inclusive policies. And I think actually what I'm observing is that in emerging developing countries, postal and parcel companies are more open to this kind of leapfrog with data than advanced postal companies and parcel companies in more advanced economies. I think this is a very interesting thought as well. Tamer has another question. He is asking about the standards of data exchange in this data. He said there were some changes in EDI, M41, M33 and so on.  So is there already a standard for doing this? Well, there are a number of UPU standards for tracking systems regarding international parcel in small packets. So they could be leveraged for wider standardization. Probably Walter can also better answer this question than I. In one way or another, what startups or private companies are doing, those who are working with this kind of data, is that we standardize these data ourselves so that there is a better understanding of what is behind the tracking event. We often have to sort of redefine the standard to make more relevant use. Out of that, yeah. Final question. If you're looking not for the postal operator, but for the marketeers, for the big brands, for the companies who are using all this, especially of course the big mail operators who are using the mail, do you think that they should rebuild their relationships with the postal and parcel companies to get the most out of that? Yeah, they should push. They should be the ones that push both parts of the company to really redefine this relationship. They shouldn't see just the postal company is a downstream delivery channel for the direct mail. I know that they are already looking for standard address verification, this kind of thing and other things, but they should really intensify the relationship from the upstream perspective, from this data perspective, because it will be a clear win-win for all parts, really. I'm surprised why they haven't started so yet, but maybe this is a great opportunity to start. I totally agree, and I think probably if you want my perspective, I think they have never thought they can use this data. They are still struggling to use their own data, and they just haven't thought that this is an interesting part of the data, and probably most of the postal operators have never sold this data or advertised that you can use that data in that way. So I think there is a lot of work to be done. Jose, this was fantastic. I think that was really innovative as well. So thanks a lot to you. Please stay with us, because we will have a final discussion after the next presentation. So thanks a lot for doing that presentation, and we will have a little bit of discussion later on. Coming from that, thanks. Coming from the last mile, we are now going directly to the post box. So I would like to ask Ramesh and Jack to open their microphones, to open their cameras. Ramesh is already there. Jack, I see Jack. Very good. Thanks a lot. So thanks for coming to us. And now we are coming from the last mile to the last meter, I would say, directly in the front of your front door. Ramesh, who is with us, he is at the Home Valid Advisory Board, as well as at the UPU Direct Marketing Advisory Board. And he was formerly with Pitney Bose. He was with the DMA in the US. He was with Yellow Pages with AT&T and a lot of other brands. So Ramesh, I'm very happy that you are with us. And for Jack, the same way, Jack, it's great to have you here. You were working at some startups, but at the same time you were working in CRM as well, as you have some political background, which I found really interesting to be honest. So it's great to have the two of you here and we are looking for the final meters. And I think Ramesh, you're starting and then you're giving over to Jack, right, that? Yes. So the floor is yours, the virtual floor to be honest, but that one is yours. Thank you, Martin. Thanks for those kind words. And thank you to all my fellow UPU colleagues around the world and the DMAB members for attending today. And a special thank you to Olivier Boussard and especially Abby Boussard, who works behind the scenes to make us all look good. My job here is to introduce you to Home Valley and especially let Jack do the talking. As you know, for over the last, I would say almost 15 years that I've been affiliated with the UPU, one of my main proposals has been that postal operators take unique advantage of their unique operational advantages to kind of win in the marketplace. One of those unique advantages is the last mile. And one of the ideas I've been pushing is what I would call a rethinking or reimagining of the consumer mailbox to take advantage of the shift of volume from letter mail to parcels, packages and other e-commerce driven goods. You've also heard me say that in this exponential growth of e-commerce, one category that has been growing the fastest has been groceries, food, perishables, other kind of goods that require features like temperature control, network and physical security. And of course the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated all this. You know, I'd like to take credit for these ideas and actually mean credit to Jack and John and the guys who created Home Valley. But I have to mention that over 100 years ago, the U.S. Postal Service from 1914 to 1920 had a program called Farm to Table where the Postal Service actually had a rate category under Parcel Post for delivering food and groceries from farmers to consumers. And they actually even used to teach the farmers how to do direct marketing, how to get customers, sending them mail, etc. So anyway, today you're going to hear about something that's the absolute solution to these challenges and opportunities and that's why I joined the Board of Home Valley. John Sims, who's Jack's father and the CEO and the main inventor patented this concept over 15 years ago. But he waited for the right time to bring it to market and I believe that he's now going to turn his vision into something that's going to revolutionize multiple industries. Jack obviously as the CEO has been responsible for making all of this real and he leads all the product development, management and execution of the business in the field with our partners. And I think he's going to talk about some of that. I also want to mention that an old friend of mine, Henk Nieman Sferdrit, who helped me create the smart locker business at Bell and Howell, is also now part of the Home Valley leadership team as the chief of global partnerships. And so with that, I'm going to hand it over to Jack. Jack, all yours. Thank you, Ramesh. And thank you for all your sage advice on our advisory board over the past couple of years. It's been incredibly helpful. I'm going to touch on several things today and I do have a presentation I'll get to my slides in just a minute. There's a lot about food. As Ramesh said, one of the big opportunities in last mile delivery belongs to several different market verticals that are particularly challenged in last mile logistics. And they're primarily food, highly perishable obviously. It's liquor, alcohol, wine and prescriptions. And these are particular challenges for different reasons, not the least of which is security, but cold chain compliance, particularly outside of the U.S., where in the EU, for example, it's five years ahead of food safety requirements or about five years ahead of where they are in the U.S. is very serious and often requires food delivery companies like grocers or e-commerce companies to adhere to a pretty strict set of requirements. And those various delivery challenges, whether it be signature requirements, package security, perishability of product are a challenge to customer loyalty and it's, you know, Jose mentioned actually a key word that we kind of focus on a lot at home ballet, which is experience. It's that consumer experience. Those challenges translate to a negative experience which affect loyalty, repeat purchasing behavior, but they don't have to. That's actually, that can be, solving those challenges can be an opportunity to win that loyalty, to win that customer and in fact lock in that customer to repeat purchasing behavior. Digital solutions can actually automate a lot of that purchasing behavior too, but one of the other interesting things that it provides to direct marketers is an opportunity to piggyback on those purchasing behaviors for new promotional opportunities in their direct marketing operations. So let me share my screen here and I'll explain to you a little bit about what home ballet is about and we'll unpack that idea a little bit more. Let me see here. Okay, hopefully everybody can see this. So home ballet, the concept of home ballet is to have a smart internet connected lockable climate controlled IoT delivery device at the home. This is my family, this is my front porch and this is a whole bunch of groceries inside our smart box and we believe that that superior delivery experience can provide that customer lock in, provide that customer loyalty and maintain cold chain compliance all along the way. The consumer has an app where they can track, monitor the parcel throughout its delivery custody, manage the temperature within their box and view videos of deliveries happening in real time and after they occur. This is essentially what we're providing. We integrate with retailers and couriers and we provide consumers a smart box where these deliveries can go. One thing that this enables in the grocery market particularly could be considered grocery as a service. So as you can imagine, well, I'll take me for an example. I'm what a grocery brand would call a bad customer. I go to five different grocery stores based on a couple particular items that I want. Maybe I want that seasoned pork loin from this one grocer or I go this other place for the fresh vegetable produce because it's higher quality there. But there's a large percentage of my groceries that I buy anywhere that I am because I'm not particularly loyal to the milk brand or the egg brand or the cheese brand or they just frankly carry the same consumer packaged goods brands at the various grocery stores. So I'll just buy those opportunistically where I am. But as consumers are shifting towards pickup and delivery for their own convenience and freedom and demonstrating a willingness to pay for that experience, there's some challenges associated with that shopping experience not the least of which is product discovery. And I'll get to that in a minute. These are some of the benefits of Home Valet. Right here, this is that last meter. This is where all of those challenges live. Delivery windows are a real problem, food spoilage, theft. And so we're trying to shift the concept of delivery windows from delivery between to deliver by. It allows a lot of efficiencies to be brought to these last mile, last meter, as Martin said, operations so that people can aggregate deliveries, create intelligent routing through a geographic area. This is particularly interesting for postal service operators who have a more universal service to a region than other logistics providers do. So this is particularly applicable there. When this is in place and consumers have accepted this, Jose talked a lot about data and what can be gleaned from that data. One of the challenges for, I use the term CPG, it's consumer package goods, things like crackers and cookies and cheese and things like that. One of the things that they're challenged by is as the shift from in-store shopping to digital shopping persists, they are losing the ability to promote new or existing brands to consumers because that product discovery opportunity is not there anymore in the store. So they're trying to discover ways to put products in front of people in a way that is not that expensive and can be highly targeted. As you can imagine, when I'm walking through the grocery store with my kids, they see the little cloche full of cheese cubes and toothpicks and they're definitely trying that cheese and they tell me I need to buy that cheese. That's a great opportunity for a product brand. And those product brands are trying to figure out how do we get that cheese to this consumer now that they're not in the store? Well, that data that we're learning from these consumers can actually inform a very targeted promotion campaign, marketing campaign that allows logistics companies and grocers to push product to the door without the previous concerns about spoilage, food safety, things like that. So obviously you don't want to blanket a whole neighborhood with cheese, but if you know that that person buys a particular brand of cheese or you know that they have children in their home, you can target that house with a promotional product and give them that product discovery opportunity that had been lost. It also is a very strong driver of loyalty. So as I said, those commodities that I'm buying from these various grocery stores, I don't care about the brand. If I enter into we call an auto replenishment program, that gives a grocery brand and CPG brands an opportunity to get that repeat purchasing behavior automated for them. You're not reliant on those periodic opportunistic purchasing behaviors anymore. You get a more predictable pattern and thus a higher value customer. Another thing you can imagine is age-restricted items as alcohol and pharmaceutical companies are exploring more seriously digital sales opportunities and delivery. They need a receptacle that allows that delivery to happen in an economical way, a low-cost way, and so what we provide is that auditable system that allows them to get product delivered and in front of customers without fear of those various challenges. So some of the other benefits, we've talked about most of these things. Returns is another very interesting thing, particularly for postal service operators. Returns are one of the most expensive parts of the e-commerce delivery chain. It's added cost, you don't want to charge customers for that typically. When you can provide an essentially pickup point for products to be delivered back to the distribution center and you give your fleet of vehicles an opportunity to refill their trucks on the way back instead of sending trucks empty, that brings a lot of economies to product returns and postal service operators are there anyway. So they're the perfect partners for these various brands to facilitate returns. So that's kind of what we're about. I think that it's a very interesting world that we're entering in with novel new delivery mailbox solutions coming onto the market. I think that it's going to give direct marketers a whole new opportunity for innovative promotions and marketing opportunities. And solutions like HomeBallet, other automated locker solutions and things like that are providing that endpoint that make it interesting. So that's it for me. Any questions? Thanks a lot Jack. This was really interesting as well and I'm already seeing Ramesh coming to us as well. Let us put this one on. There were quite already some questions. But let me start first with very practical questions.  At least in Europe most of the people are living more crowded and they have flats and there are probably six or eight or even ten or more flats in a house. So do you have a solution for them as well because they wouldn't have probably the place to store six or eight or ten of your boxes in their house? Our product go-to-market strategy is with the device that you see. But I readily admit that there are such a variety of different residential configurations, multi-tenant buildings. There are going to have to be and really already are devices that address those various markets. The reason that we're focused on this particular type of solution in the U.S. is because 70% of the household inventory, housing stock in America is single-family home. There are some decent, somewhat adequate solutions for multi-tenant, you know, Amazon has been in the locker business for quite a while now. UPS is in the locker business. There's companies like Smiota that are creating smart lockers and they're very applicable in urban high-density environments. They are less applicable in the suburbs. And in the suburbs are actually where a lot of grocery delivery is adopted because the distance between the house and the grocery store is greater. And people typically have families and live busy lives and have to go to football practice and things like that. So that's a marketplace that we're very focused on right now, but it will be a product evolution to fit those other niches. Okay, makes sense. Another question coming more from the, let's say, strategic perspective. We see a big shift at least in thinking, maybe not yet there, but at least in thinking of all the direct to consumer markets. So D2C is a big topic I see in Europe, the big brands starting to look into whether they can do D2C. If I look at this, if I would be proctor or a company like that, I would think about, okay, do I really need the retail anymore? Can't I do direct to consumer? They have boxes like that. So is this something in your thinking as well? Yes, absolutely. But that's going to take some development on those brands infrastructure as well. They are highly reliant on grocery partners to distribute their products. And so I think while they are exploring D2C opportunities, it's going to be at least initially through their grocery brand partners that those things are done. And I think that they'll drive loyalty to their brand as a primary consideration first before exploring direct to consumer opportunities. As you can imagine, distribution is the big challenge there. And brands like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, they have very large distribution hubs, but they're largely intended for truckloads to go to grocers. So they need to evolve their own distribution strategy in order to be successful in a large scale DTC strategy. Walter is asking, how do you manage risk? Do you know what gets into the docker? Do you send some messaging around? That's by the way something Olivier is asking as well. I think Olivier is already thinking about buying one of your boxes. He is asking whether he gets a message when something is delivered. So how is this data exchange? I think these are all around the data exchange, these questions. How is the data exchange working? So we have an API platform that allows us to get order information directly from the retailer. And our app provides information to the consumer when events happen. So when you place an order on a grocer's website, they can communicate that order and its commodity temperature and security requirements to our platform. And we can take that data and make sure that the unit is prepared to receive that order when it gets there. And so that means pre-cooling the unit in whatever multi-zone configuration it needs to be. If you have a grocery order with ice cream and frozen waffles and lettuce and carrots and canned goods, you need three different temperatures to receive that order. And so as you can see in the picture, that's the configuration that we support. We actually start cooling our unit well in advance to make sure that it's at cold chain compliant temperatures for that retailer. Now standards are, I mean they are just that, right? They're relatively standard across groceries. So we have in our platform temperature set that are considered cold chain compliant. And if for some reason the unit is not in that state, we can not only communicate that to the consumer and say maybe you left the lid open.  That's a good place for them. Yeah. And so they need to know that stuff. So not only can we communicate that through push notifications, we can communicate that to the retailer too and say this isn't ready or it was ready, but something happened, somebody unplugged it or somebody opened it and left it open. And so you need to communicate to the consumer any concerns about food safety. That makes sense. In addition to that, I see that, you know, Olivier asked does it connect to your app when something is delivered? Yes. We found that in our consumer testing, a lot of people found it more convenient just to leave it unlocked if it's empty and we can still cool it and get it ready and everything like that. And we have a little video camera inside the lid that starts recording when the lid is open. And we send a push notification upon every access event that says check out the latest video from your home ballet box. In fact, just yesterday I got a grocery delivery to my house and I could see the person taking the bags and sorting them and putting them in the right place and that gives me the confidence and peace of mind that things were delivered successfully. In Germany, you would have to put a sticker on it.  Yeah, I know, Martin, I want to add one thing to what Jack just said. That is, because of this camera, you can actually scan the packages as they are coming in and out. So if you put like a postal bar code or an IMB code on a label, whether it's a piece of ice cream, a package of ice cream or even a bag of groceries, you can actually scan products getting in and out of the box. That's an additional data point, given what Jose was saying, incredible opportunity for postal operators to use their IT infrastructure to create entirely new data streams. By the way, Jose, it would be great if you could come on again because there's one more question for you. But I see here one strategic one for Jack again. It's about the cold chain delivery and how postal operators, are they the right ones to work with that one? So is this a big business chance for postal operators to go into that business? How do you see that? I think that as distribution centers become smaller and closer to the home, it gives postal service operators a greater opportunity to enter that marketplace. The real challenge with food delivery today is that because of cold chain compliance requirements and because of the lack of a solution at home, there's a very heavy reliance on immediacy of that delivery. So it's mostly point-to-point, gig economy-based solutions that are very expensive for one and not environmentally friendly because they add a lot of vehicles to the road. So there's a lot of problems with that existing dynamic in the marketplace. I think postal service operators are positioned to do this as long as they can provide for the food safety from the store to the door. And luckily, I don't think that that's a very expensive proposition because it doesn't require any active cooling on their part unless they want to aggregate and batch large numbers of orders. But absolutely, I mean, cold chain delivery is a huge opportunity for postal service operators, particularly as DCs get closer to the home. Great. Cosy, there's one question that was asked after I switched over to Jack and Ramesh. So I want to rephrase that one. There was somebody asking about an example of how to interpret these tracking data. So it was a little bit like my question about Amazon. So how did you do this? So do you have an example of which kind of data is giving us which insights from the last mile? So can I see, okay, because it was on time, I'm more loyal or what are the relationships of data you find? Exactly. This is an excellent example. We can measure precisely the impact of quality of service delivery on the probability of repurchasing the good or having a new relationship with this brand. But what postal and parcel companies must understand is that they lack a Facebook or a YouTube without knowing it. That is, I mean, marketers are collaborating with Facebook, YouTube in order to capture psychological signals, personal signals, social behavior signals. And we can capture the same sort of signals by observing how people are tracking their own stuff. Yeah, very interesting. So maybe the both parcel companies don't look sexy for marketers because it's not a nice YouTube, nice Facebook, but actually they have such hidden treasure that it's still surprising me how they didn't come up with the possibility to really take advantage of these way more substantially than today. And I'm not just talking about in the US, yes, you're the same for UPS, FedEx, for all regional carriers, for whoever is moving parcels, as much more in terms of data possibilities than the physical parcel tracking itself. I think, Jose, these are great final words. A lot of possibilities out there, working with data, working with the last mile, working with the new kind of post box, which is totally amazing, to be honest. And I really would like to discuss with the three of you for another hour, but even if you don't see it, we are already two minutes over time. And as a German, I have to have a high standard in not being over time. So thanks a lot to you, Jose, for the first presentation. Thanks a lot, Ramesh, for the introduction of Jack, and thanks a lot, Jack, for the last presentation. For me, this was, again, a very, very interesting innovation talk we had. And I think you made great points about the last mile and the last meters. So thanks a lot to you, and thanks a lot, Olivier, if you want to come on as well, so that we can see you for making all this possible. Thanks to Olivier. And I would say, well, it's summer break, in a way. So the cliffhanger is, yes, we will do another series. And yes, it will be even more interesting than the last series. And yes, we will have great presenters, but we won't tell you now what they are. So that is kind of the cliffhanger, but it will be very, very interesting. So thanks a lot from my side, and over to you, Olivier, for the last words. Thank you. Thank you very much, Martin. Thank you, Jack, Ramesh, and Jose, for this wonderful discussion. And I think everybody enjoyed the insight and the vision and the forward-looking type of approach that we wanted to promote through those webinars. And ready, we manage again. Thanks to you guys. We were outside the box. We were in the box. Thank you very much. And I wish everybody a great summer. As Martin said, we will be back. And we will keep you informed on the new series of discussions that we would organize within the direct marketing and advisory board. I think it's very important that we have those webinars, that we have those discussions, that we have those talks together, because the future is there and we need to discuss it now. So thank you very much again, guys. Jack, Jose, for taking the time to be with us and for this wonderful discussion. Thank you, Martin, for the great work that you're doing in helping us bring that together. And thank you, Abby, who is hiding somewhere behind the cameras there. Thank you, Abby, for your support in organizing all those webinars. Wonderful work. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.