Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

27th January 2015

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Remembering the Holocaust

In November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly declared 27 January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The date recognises the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau slave labour and extermination camps in 1945.  As well as being an occasion to remember the millions who suffered and died under Nazi policies, Holocaust Memorial Day gives us a chance […]

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27th January 2015

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by Carolyn Browne

Former ambassador to Kazakhstan

The Birds Don’t Sing

Guest blog by Sara Pickering, Deputy Head of Mission I read this sentence in my guidebook before visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1992 and found it hard to believe. But once there, you can almost touch the memories and echoes of the evil that happened.  It was, indeed, silent. I have been reading recently about two British heroes […]

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27th January 2015

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Farewell to Adelaide

Adelaide is the largest city in Australia that we don’t have a British Consulate in. It’s a significant population centre and an important economic hub, with some prominent national politicians. It has also produced my last two opposite numbers as Australian High Commissioner in London – former Premier Mike Rann, and former Foreign Minister Alexander […]

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26th January 2015 Washington DC, USA

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by Lindsay Chura

Senior Policy Advisor in Science and Innovation

Falklands Symposium: Q&A with Dr Kate Sherren (Canada)

Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, the first ever Pan–American Science Delegation to the Falkland Islands is participating in a week-long mission to showcase the beauty of the UK South Atlantic Overseas Territories and immense opportunities for scientific research and collaboration in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Scientists from the US, Canada, Chile, […]

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26th January 2015 Washington DC, USA

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by Lindsay Chura

Senior Policy Advisor in Science and Innovation

Falklands Symposium: Q&A with Dr Virginia Edgcomb (USA)

Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, the first ever Pan–American Science Delegation to the Falkland Islands is participating in a week-long mission to showcase the beauty of the UK South Atlantic Overseas Territories and immense opportunities for scientific research and collaboration in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Scientists from the US, Canada, Chile, […]

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26th January 2015 Toronto, Canada

Meet our Bloggers: John Preece

Every week one of our bloggers will introduce themselves to the world and talk about how much fun it is working in Science Policy. We start with John Preece in Toronto and next week the team’s only non-scientist, Ashley Tomlins in Vancouver, will introduce himself. John Preece – Toronto I’m a chemist by training, completing […]

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25th January 2015

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

The Immortal Memory

There aren’t enough Scots in Ethiopia. Strange, because they seem to get everywhere else. Even when we organised a Burns Evening in Addis Ababa last year with the help of Diageo, there weren’t that many Scots there. This 25th January, we will have to mark the 255th Anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth in 1759 virtually, […]

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