3rd December 2024
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?
5th June 2015
Why learning English is easy and fun
I have the privilege and honour to work as a British diplomat. That means I spend a lot of time learning foreign languages. Before each of my last five postings (in Vienna, Moscow, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul) I spent between four weeks and nine months on intensive language preparations. If you want to understand a […]
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5th June 2015
Like a bird
A rewarding part of being a diplomat is celebrating bilateral co-operation. It’s a joy to see a common interest bringing together people from two countries. Some of the best examples are from non-state organisations. Last week, I visited one of Belarus’ jewels, the Belavezhskaya Pushcha, some of the most ancient woodland left in Europe. The […]
5th June 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
TECH, TALENT, A BROKEN TREADMILL (AND MAJOR TOM)
Last month, we launched the UK Lebanon Tech Hub. You can see a clip of a drone delivering my speech – for the first and last time, I can suggest that Enrique Iglesias take note. I normally try to write speeches while running. Jogging with bodyguards makes me look like the poor man’s slow Madonna, […]
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5th June 2015
Helping Christians in Iraq
One of the benefits of being accredited to the Holy See is the possibility of listening and speaking to people from across the global Catholic Church who visit Rome to do business at the Vatican. This is useful for the UK, because I can often glean information not available elsewhere in our foreign policy network, […]
4th June 2015
Great Britons supporting the disabled in Romania
Two events on successive days last week demonstrated again to me the important role which Great Britons working with Romanian counterparts in the civil society sector are playing in supporting groups and communities in need of help, in these cases young people coping with disabilities. On Friday I made my second visit to Galati, on […]
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4th June 2015 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 25-31 May 2015
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-25-31-may-2015 [View the story ” Canadian science news: 25-31 May 2015″ on Storify]
4th June 2015 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 18-24 May 2015
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-18-24-may-2015 [View the story ” Canadian science news: 18-24 May 2015″ on Storify]
4th June 2015 Havana, Cuba
‘El Cubano de la Uni’
This is the third in a series of blogs by Cubans who received Chevening scholarships and have studied or are studying in the UK. This week, Carlos Rangel Irola writes about his experiences, studying an MSc in Finance and Banking at the University of Essex in Colchester. Thanks to Carlos for this great blog! Don’t expect this story to […]
4th June 2015 Geneva, Switzerland
Mobilising the United Nations to Save Modern Medicine
With our televisions screens filled by images of seemingly endless civil wars, spiralling sectarian horror, and rising humanitarian misery, many have concluded that the international system is failing, even broken. Yet on 25 May an event took place that tells a different story. One that gives hope to all those who believe that the United […]
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4th June 2015 New Delhi, India
Tale of an enticing beehive – UK in Milan
The UK is one of 145 nations participating in the World Exposition 2015 which is taking place in Milan from 1 May till 31 October. The UK Pavilion takes the shape of a bee-hive and represents the crucial role played by pollination in providing the food that we eat. Visitors to the hive experience the […]
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