Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

27th November 2014 Jerusalem, Israel

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by Alastair McPhail

British Consul General to Jerusalem

There is a Future, in Jerusalem, for Palestinians

Last month one of my friends took me on a tour of the Old City with my son.  We jostled with the crowds shopping at Damascus Gate.  We ate kaek.  We smelt the pungent spices and coffee.  We felt humbled by the sight of Christian, Muslim and Jewish worshippers heading towards their holy sites. Jerusalem […]

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27th November 2014 New Delhi, India

Giving wings to talent: Opportunities for doctoral students in the UK to visit India

Historically, India has always been a major exporter of international students, but these days the country is also becoming an attractive destination for overseas study. As one of the five swiftly developing BRICS countries (along with Brazil, Russia and China) India has begun to emerge as an advanced centre for modern commerce, research and innovation. […]

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27th November 2014

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

British Literary Societies in Sydney

British literature is alive and flourishing in New South Wales. I hosted the annual reception for the Dylan Thomas Society at the Consul General’s Residence in Sydney on Friday. It is a special year for them as it is the Centenary of the Welsh poet’s birth. There are many events taking place in Wales and […]

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26th November 2014

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

Tunisia: Top of the Class?

Last week I visited Tunisia for a conference. The preparations for last weekend’s Presidential elections were in full swing.   As the taxi driver who drove me from the airport said: “We are proud to be Tunisians: top of the Arab Spring Class of 2011.” Sunday’s vote was indeed the first freely contested Presidential election in […]

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26th November 2014 London, UK

Piloting new digital training

The FCO has an ambitious change agenda to bring the organisation fully into the digital age. Our Digital Transformation Unit was set up in February 2014, bringing in the specialist digital skills and expertise that we need in our core digital team, but we also need to ensure the FCO’s diverse network of staff increase […]

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26th November 2014 New Delhi, India

New collaboration in affordable healthcare supported by SIN

We’re always delighted to hear when researchers we’ve worked with have been able to get a new collaboration going. Recently, researchers at the Indian Institute for Science and the University of Oxford inaugurated an exciting new project together on affordable prosthetics. This project was particularly close to our hearts as it had been initiated by […]

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25th November 2014

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Speaking can break silence, but actions can transform reality

To commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women I would like to share some information about the project ‘Never Again’. We are developing this project together with the National Union of Guatemalan Women (UNAMG) and Artistas Trabajando with the aim of preventing sexual violence in conflict. Today, we have a guest […]

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25th November 2014 Tunis, Tunisia

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by Hamish Cowell

Ambassador to Tunisia

Tunisia: protect survivors of sexual violence – by Naomi McAuliffe, Campaign Manager for Amnesty UK

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women we asked Naomi McAuliffe from Amnesty International UK to write a guest blog for us. We are delighted that she has agreed to do so. Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and comes at a crucial time […]

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25th November 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia

#orangeourworld: Changing attitudes to change the statistics!

Hopefully you will see a lot of orange today as the United Nations has chosen the colour to symbolize a brighter future without violence against women. 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence start today to raise awareness about the fight to […]

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25th November 2014 Mogadishu, Somalia

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by Neil Wigan

British Ambassador to Somalia

International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women – 25 November 2014

Today we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and start 16 days of activism to end gender violence. Living and working in Somalia, I see firsthand how desperately important this issue is. Many women in Somalia lead hard lives. Girls and women suffer disproportionately from conflict and poverty. One in […]

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