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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
28th November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In St.Andrew’s footsteps
St Andrew may not be my name saint, but he is my adopted one. I’ve been following him around all my life, born in Scotland and serving in three of the other countries that have St Andrew as their patron saint – Ukraine, Romania and Russia. Indeed he was in the background before I was […]
28th November 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, SPEED DATING AND JAWBONE
I recently got a Jawbone ‘Up’, a device that monitors your daily activity, sleep patterns and exercise, and helps you better control your health. As a father of two boys, I don’t need anyone to tell me I don’t get enough sleep. But, like many, I’m outsourcing the collection of my data to a plastic […]
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28th November 2014 London, UK
Reviewing the digital work of our embassies – part 2
This blog post looks at what we learnt from our recent review of how our embassies around the world are using digital. In our 2014 digital review we asked posts (embassies, high commissions, consulates etc) to assess how they were using digital tools and techniques in four areas: communications; strategic planning and leadership; policy making; […]
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28th November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
St Andrew’s Day always has a special place in my heart.
Guest blog by Greg Quinn, Deputy Head of Mission St Andrew’s Day always has a special place in my heart. Not only do I have many friends from Scotland but there are various other connections. These include the fact that my mother is of Scottish ancestry (and I’m therefore the proud wearer of a kilt), […]
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28th November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Investing in the future: British Embassy Fellowship Programme
People in Bosnia and Herzegovina like to complain about politics. It’s almost a national sport, on a par with football, basketball or handball. Some of these criticisms are justified; some aren’t. But what is not always sufficiently recognised is that it’s not just up to the politicians to resolve the country’s problems. It’s the same […]
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28th November 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Là Naomh Aindrea!
Guest blog by Douglas Arnott, Chairman of the Robert Burns International Foundation in Hungary. Before you reach for a handy online dictionary, this is what Scots around the world celebrate each year on 30 November, St. Andrew’s Day! Named not surprisingly after the patron saint of Scotland, you may nevertheless be surprised to learn that […]
28th November 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Saluting St Andrew’s Day in Australia
We’re flying the Scottish Saltire at the High Commission today for St Andrew’s Day, as we do with the flags of the other nations that comprise the rich tapestry of the United Kingdom on their national days. Around Australia my colleagues are attending various events hosted by local Scottish societies at this time. Last week […]
27th November 2014 Calgary, Canada
UK & Canada Continue to Move Ahead Together on Carbon Capture & Storage
Canada shares the UK’s view on the importance of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in reducing GHG emissions, and has invested heavily. As coal and oil & gas continue to be strongly used here, as well as in much of the world, CCS is a key technology in the mix of approaches to mitigate global […]
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27th November 2014 London, UK
Reviewing the digital work of our embassies
We recently conducted a review of how our embassies are using digital. This blog explains why and how we run that review. The next blog looks at the findings. With a network of more than 200 posts (embassies, high commissions, consulates etc) across the globe, all using digital in one way or another, it can […]
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27th November 2014 Islamabad, Pakistan
The shame of violence against women
The 16 Days of Activism to Stop Violence Against Women, began from 25 November. According to a 2011 poll of experts by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Pakistan is the third most dangerous country for women in the world. More than 1,000 women and girls are murdered in honour killings every year. 90 percent of Pakistani […]