Diplomat
6th June 2011
I spent early Friday at the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual School of Budapest. They, together with 9 other schools, were participating in a “Connecting Classrooms” Festival event at the end of this academic year. Connecting Classrooms is a British Council global project which aims to build lasting partnerships between schools in the UK and others around the […]
4th June 2011
On 31 May the British Embassy’s conference hall was (not for the first time) turned into a cinema. I co-hosted the evening screening of the film “Call of Life: Facing Mass Extinction” with the Hungarian State Secretary for the Environment, Zoltan Illes. This was far from the first time we worked together. The history of […]
3rd June 2011
Earlier this week we held a very well-attended, high profile press conference at the Embassy at which the Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap (MTVA) – the official Hungarian media sports TV/radio organisation spoke about the London 2012 Olympics and all the international sporting events leading up to the Games in which Hungary is involved. Agnes Cserhati […]
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19th May 2011
”Well, he would [say that] wouldn’t he?” Last week I took part in the 10th Hungarian Business Leaders Forum Financial Summit and found myself on a panel of Ambassadors arguing about the transformational power of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The UK is one of the biggest foreign investors in Hungary, so I might be expected […]
19th May 2011
Today I hosted a press conference at the British Residence to launch Hungary’s home-grown platform of corporate CEOs who are committed to supporting ambition in Hungarian and European climate change policy. This is an exciting new initiative. Establishing such a group was discussed during the official visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales […]
18th May 2011
This year’s Excellence in Journalism Foundation awards ceremony is underway at the British Embassy in Budapest as I write. I felt rather honoured to be asked to act as Patron for these awards and to open tonight’s event. The Foundation honours quality journalism and champions press freedom, which are both issues that concern us – […]
17th May 2011
Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Why is it necessary to have such a day? Well, because same-sex relations remain criminalised in more than 70 countries. Discrimination against LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity continues to occur even in countries where laws exist to […]
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4th May 2011
Today is the annual celebration of World Press Freedom Day. On this day participants commemorate the fundamental principles of media freedom; highlight long-standing and emerging threats to that freedom; and pay tribute to journalists and activists who have risked their safety to advance public access to news and information. The main theme this year is […]
1st May 2011
Passers-by were rather surprised today to find a traditional British street party happening outside the British Embassy in Budapest – complete with bunting, balloons (red, white and blue, naturally) and British, Indian and other foods. It’s not something you often see in Hungary…. And it was of course to mark the marriage of Their Royal […]
19th April 2011
Yesterday afternoon I participated as Patron in the 2011 BBC Entertainment and English Speaking Union (ESU) Public Speaking Awards in Hungary. Along with the Ministry of National Resources and Magyar Telekom, the event was also supported by the British Council, Oxford University Press and the Robert Burns International Foundation. It’s the first time the BBC […]