24th December 2013
Christmas is coming. I’m looking forward to it as I’ve been busy recently, and need a break. What is so special about Christmas in Britain? As it is the time when many of us Christians remember the birth of Jesus, Christmas is above all for our children. This is the time when we celebrate them, […]
16th December 2013
We talk a lot about brands these days. There is a lot of value in a strong brand. The worth of a brand is in how its distinguishes, or stands out, from other brands. As a British ambassador, I’m very much part of the “British brand”. My role entails a variety of activities, from supporting […]
3rd December 2013
There is limited, reliable data on it. It takes many forms, and isn’t necessarily physical. And it’s closer to us than we think. It’s also easy to talk about, but very difficult to deal with. I’m referring to gender violence, or as we tend to know it in Britain: domestic violence. This is the violence […]
26th November 2013
My business is all about risk. This may surprise readers – and I often get puzzled expressions when I say it. My job is to understand, assess and communicate the political risks of other countries and try to manage them so that they don’t damage my country’s interests. Risk is about the uncertainty of outcomes […]
18th November 2013
I’m often asked about co-operation between Britain and Belarus – what is happening, any good examples, and so on. Some of the best co-operation is in the voluntary sector. I recently opened a seminar on autism. The seminar was organised by a British charity, Voluntas, to pass to Belarusian medical experts and Belarusian parents of […]
1st November 2013
I’ve had my mind expanded recently. I heard how adult education had lifted someone out of depression. I discovered organisations in Britain that I never knew existed. And I’ve been reflecting on whether Britain is particularly focussed on adult education. It may not be the right question. “Adult education” seems a British term. There is […]
25th October 2013
I hadn’t realised, but I’d passed the site many times before. It’s hidden on the side of a slope at a road junction. The memorial is in a pit where 5,000 Jewish prisoners were shot on 2nd March 1942. This week was the 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the Minsk Ghetto, and the pit […]
18th October 2013
They could have gone better. Despite taking exams for many years, I still managed to get irritated with myself. I forgot a word that I had learnt only a week or so before. I had let the stress of doing my Russian language exam get to me. I should have known better. Just before my […]
20th September 2013
Like every good organisation, we (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) constantly seek to improve. As part of that effort, we continually compare ourselves to the foreign ministries of other countries. We tend to focus on the Ministère des Affaires étrangères of France, or the “Quai d’Orsay”, after the street where the ministry is based. As […]
6th September 2013
What are your thoughts on the concept of intelligentsia? – Alena Belausava Alena: thank you for your question. I liked it because it sparked my curiosity. I wondered if we have a similar term. So I had a brief splash around in the shallows of the internet to research the idea. I’ve come up with […]
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