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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
15th July 2025
International Day of Women in Diplomacy: UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls visit to Geneva
1st May 2025
The UN Commission on the Status of Women: My first visit as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls
11th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Clerical child sex abuse: making progress but not there yet
The issue of sex abuse of children by priests has accompanied me throughout my mission here since I arrived in Rome in August 2011. As I was preparing to take up the role, it was clear to me that nothing had done more in recent years to damage the credibility of the Holy See, and […]
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10th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Golden Opportunities or Last Chance Saloon? The OECD & Development in 2015
This week a colleague said something that really resonated with me: “We are the first generation in history that could end extreme poverty, and the last generation that still has time to avert extreme climate change”. No pressure then. It’s certainly both an exciting and sobering prospect. We live in an era of such great […]
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10th February 2015 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 2-8 February 2015
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-2-8-february-2015 [View the story “Canadian science news: 2-8 February 2015” on Storify]
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10th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The possibilities from books
(on occasion of UK participation in the 2015 Minsk international book fair) I was attracted to my job by Russian culture, which I first came across in my late adolescent and early adult years. It started with music and literature – mostly 19th century. But then I read a lot about 20th century Russian and […]
9th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Farewell to Australia
This is my final blog from Australia. My 205th. I hope someone’s been reading them. It has been one of the greatest privileges and pleasures of my life to represent Britain in Australia as the Pom HC. There is no country to which we feel closer. It has been a fantastic time to be here. […]
9th February 2015 New Delhi, India
Looking forward … S&IN India 2015
Last month I wrote a blog about the exciting events the SIN India team have been involved in. The regional SIN IMEA conference in Mumbai was an excellent venue for all ‘SINners’ to get orientated with the various collaborations and projects SIN is kicking off with this year! Although its early days, the SIN events […]
8th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Farewell to Canberra
Well, finally, it’s time to say farewell to Canberra. Our home for the last four years. It’s not the first time we’ve lived in a planned, administrative capital, but Washington was different, and older. While we were here, Canberra celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013, with many events and exhibitions. It was a reminder of […]
7th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Jobs Challenge
In the charming Jordanian film Captain Abu Raed, a young boy from East Amman tells his friends that people like us don’t get good jobs. In the end, he becomes a commercial pilot with Royal Jordanian. The point is that getting a job shouldn’t depend on where you are from or what your connections are. […]
6th February 2015 Vancouver, Canada
Meet our Bloggers: Ashley Tomlins
Every week one of our bloggers will introduce themselves to the world and talk about how much fun it is working in Science Policy. Today the team’s only non-scientist, Ashley Tomlins, introduces himself and next week team leader Nicole Arbour says hello from Ottawa. Ashley Tomlins – Vancouver Hello. My name’s Ashley and I’m not a […]
6th February 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka
A Ringside Seat
Hugo Swire, our Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, visited Sri Lanka last week. It’s always good to get in early, and his was the first bilateral visit to the new Government of Sri Lanka. It was an exciting opportunity for my Government to congratulate President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremasinghe face to face, and […]