3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
21st March 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
The Syrian Conflict Comes to Geneva
The Syrian conflict is the source of the most immediate threats now facing the United Kingdom and Europe. Dealing with it has become the most important agenda in Geneva. Our citizens have travelled to the conflict and came back radicalised and ready to commit acts of terrorism. Regional rivals have been drawn into the conflict […]
17th March 2016 Hanoi, Vietnam
GREAT British Food and Drinks Festival in Vietnam
Although I sometimes watch cookery contests like Master Chef on TV, I never imagined I would take part in one. But life is full of surprises. And on Monday, instead of chairing the usual start-the-week meeting at the Embassy, I was at Hanoi’s famous Metropole Hotel rolling up my sleeves, putting on an apron, and […]
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16th March 2016 London, UK
Celebrating Northern Ireland
This week, we and other British Embassies around the world are celebrating Northern Ireland! Northern Ireland is a successful part of the UK, thriving economically and culturally. Check out the hashtag #NIFacts for lots of interesting details. Amongst my own favourite facts: Northern Irish capital Belfast is the #1 destination globally for financial technology investments; […]
16th March 2016 Beirut, Lebanon
Five years of War in Syria: how international support for Lebanon is changing
It has been five years since the Syria conflict began. Five years of barrel bombs, mass executions and disappearances. Five years of people being forced from their homes because they fear for their lives. And for many of those who fled to Lebanon, what they expected to be a temporary move has become a painful […]
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16th March 2016 Asuncion, Paraguay
Paraguay Hackathon discovers young talent
I recently attended my first Hakathon in Asuncion. It was an enjoyable and fascinating experience. The event was organised by the Embassy in association with a local NGO, the Centro de Estudios Ambientales y Sociales (CEAMSO). The competition brought together some 40 young people divided into 14 teams. They were tasked with finding innovative solutions […]
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15th March 2016 London, UK
Lights, Video, Action: engaging audiences with visual content
Use of video is increasing across the network of British Embassies and High Commissions around the world – and with good reason. Video can be an effective way of communicating difficult, technical messages. It is more engaging than just publishing a text update. It gives you the chance to use more than 140 characters in […]
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15th March 2016
The Screwtape Letters
On 14-16 March we are celebrating Northern Ireland. One of Northern Ireland’s best-known, and best-loved writers is Clive Staples Lewis, who was born in Belfast in 1898. His most famous works are the Narnia series, following the adventures of the Pevensie children (based on a group of children who were evacuated to stay with him […]
15th March 2016 Athens, Greece
400 years since the death of Shakespeare
It was one of those arguments you get yourself into as an undergraduate. “Imagine you wake up one morning and almost all literary culture has been destroyed; if one play alone remained, what would you want it to be?” Although I was studying classics, my answer was clear: “I would be praying for the survival […]
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15th March 2016 Istanbul, Turkey
ليتحقق السلام في سورية، لا بد من إنهاء الاعتقالات التعسفية
في سورية، يستمر طغيان العنف المستشري والممنهج بعيدا عن الأنظار، في مراكز اعتقال بعيدة عن الخطوط الأمامية للحرب. وفي وقت سابق هذا الشهر، أصدرت لجنة التحقيق الدولية بشأن سورية تقريرا حول الموت أثناء الاعتقال. وجاء ذلك بعد تقارير مروعة بنفس القدر صادرة عن منظمة العفو الدولية ومنظمة هيومان رايتس ووتش حول الاختفاءات القسرية والموت في […]
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15th March 2016 Canberra, Australia
A long weekend with family
Last weekend was an unusual one for me, as I went to church twice. The events I attended were different, but equally uplifting. On Saturday I went to the Chapel of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture here in Canberra, to take part in an ecumenical service for the feast of St Patrick. This […]