The GREAT British fortnight

What do you think of when you hear the word Britain? For some it’s London – Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Queen – for others it’s football (Manchester City/United) or music (Beatles, Queen, Adele) or food (fish and chips, scones and jam) and drink (whisky and gin, and of course our national drink – tea!). For others it’s democracy, rule of law, media freedom, Brexit, commitment to global trade, human rights, diversity and tolerance and world-class education. We are in fact all of those things (and more) and over the first two weeks of March, we will be celebrating them here in Guatemala in our GREAT British fortnight (#15DiasDelReinoUnido).

Over the course of two weeks we are hosting a range of events which bring to life what the UK stands for, what our priorities are and how we can work together here in Guatemala to achieve them.

As part of our commitment to women’s empowerment and as part of our activities to mark International Women’s Day, I shall be accompanied throughout one working day with the winner of our “Ambassador for the Day” competition. We are also organising an event with a former British naval officer to talk about the changing role of women in the armed forces.

As part of our Beyond Plastics campaign and our commitment to the environment, we will be taking part in a beach clean in Puerto San Jose on 9 March, to draw attention to the damage to our environment from plastic. Over the course of the last year the British Foreign Office in London has reduced its single-use plastic consumption by a staggering 97% and the aim is that every British Embassy worldwide will be plastic free by 2020. We are proud to have already met that goal here in Guatemala.

Another of our priorities is the fight against corruption and we shall be bringing a British expert to talk about the UK’s anti-bribery law and transparency in the infrastructure sector, for an event in Guatemala City. Construction and infrastructure are also on the agenda for the beginning of the month when we host a conference on “Guatemala and the future of its cities: infrastructure and sustainability.” Nine leading British infrastructure companies, including those who have delivered the Millennium Bridge and Google Offices in London, the Louvre Museum Park in Abu Dhabi, the new airport in Beijing, will be sharing their experiences and discussing how to deliver sustainable infrastructure for the future.

The following week there will be a seminar on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief symposium and industry showcase, held jointly with the Ministry of Defence, to share British and Guatemalan experience and bring together organisations and experts on this crucial topic.

The final week will see a traditional British pub quizand our annual celebration of the Queen’s Birthday Party. At the latter we have chance to thank all those who have worked with us over the last year and get to celebrate the birthday of the world’s longest serving monarch and the one whose image arguably has the greatest global recognition of being British.

Information about these events will be published on our social media channels. Follow us for the latest updates!

And what do you think of when you hear the word Britain?