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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Ukraine

10th June 2011

An excellent Ukraine-British Combo

It’s a good feeling to speak first and have not one but two people speaking after you say something which dovetails perfectly with your opening remarks.  This happens on my first day back in Kyiv after a stay in the UK, when I host an event at the residence to mark the planned opening of the British International School’s new campus in central Kyiv.  The garden is filled with education professionals, parents and business types with some people belonging, Venn-diagram-style, to all three groups.

I begin by speaking in praise of British education, delivered both in the UK and through institutions overseas, and note the famous work-ethic of Ukrainian students.  The acting head of department for education and science of the Kyiv City Administration, Victoria Chelombitko, then speaks passionately about the importance which Ukrainians attach to education.  The Chair of the board of directors of the British International School, Jonathan Edwards, then sets out the philosophical underpinnings of education at the BIS.  The three interventions fit together perfectly, illuminating another key theme: that the cross-fertilisation of ideas which brings together teachers and pupils from different backgrounds tends to be a win-win for everyone.  That’s one reason why 370,000 international students are studying in UK universities and colleges at any one time.

Ukrainians attach immense importance to education and training, which is why they feature so often in this blog (see eg: “Skills for Millions”; “How Education can drive Charity”; “Choose the Best: British Education”; “Why School No.92 is brilliant”; and “World Class British Universities in Kyiv”).  So it’s good to see British know-how (provided in this case by ABE Group (United Kingdom)) and the Ukrainian will to learn combining to produce an exciting new educational project in the heart of Kyiv.

P.S. One of the other speakers at this event delivered a wonderful Winston Churchill quote about the importance of teachers which I’ve been unable to find on the internet (the only one I can track down is “My education was interrupted only by my schooling”, which is terrific but doesn’t quite fit).  Can anyone help?

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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british campus Education general international kyiv new reception school Ukraine

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