Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

13th August 2014

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Dr Who mania hits Sydney

I no longer cower behind the sofa at the opening bars of the Dr Who theme tune, but it still summons up something of the frisson I remember from Saturday nights in my childhood. Interestingly, I just learned that the melody was composed by an Australian, Ron Grainer, for the first series back in 1963. […]

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12th August 2014

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Chamusca a la Británica……

Para conmemorar el Día Internacional de la Juventud, he invitado a Paúl Menchú, Secretario General de ACJ-YMCA Guatemala, a que comparta la maravillosa experiencia que tuvimos en marzo de este año, en la cual compartimos con 300 jóvenes de diferentes centros educativos de Retalhuleu. ACJ-YMCA es una asociación que se fundó en 1964 y desde […]

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12th August 2014

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

British Chamusca….

To commemorate the International Youth Day I have invited Paúl Manchú, ACJ-YMCA General Secretary, to share with us the wonderful experience we had last March with 300 young people from different schools in Retalhuleu. ACJ-YMCA is an NGO founded in 1964, since then has worked with children and teenagers to help them to achieve their […]

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12th August 2014 Yerevan, Armenia

by UK in Armenia

NATO in a nutshell: interview with Defence Attache Lt-Col Nick Wilkes

Ahead of the NATO Summit, to be hosted by the UK this year on September 4-5 in the beautiful, mountainous country of Wales, we are highlighting some of the human stories behind NATO and the UK armed forces.  Our first ‘NATO in a nutshell’ interviewee is Lt-Col Nick Wilkes, the UK’s Defence Attache for the […]

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12th August 2014 Brasilia, Brazil

by Chris Brealey

BRICS Week Part 4 – Do not forget the long term

“Today BRICs is a force to reckon with and is perhaps the future” – Tarun Singhal, Chevening Alumni and Director of Enterprise, Business and Strategic Alliances at Steri, India. With events in Gaza and the shooting down of flight MH17, the BRICS Summit might seem a long time ago now.  However, our posts from Chevening […]

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12th August 2014 Montreal, Canada

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by Mario Rivero-Huguet

Montreal yn croesawu Prif Weinidog Cymru

If you understood this blog’s title, it’s because you have some Welsh language skills! (Translation: Montreal welcomes First Minister of Wales). The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, paid a 48-hour visit to Montreal on 22-24 July to take up an invitation to speak at the 23rd World Congress of Political Science. SIN, UKTI and […]

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12th August 2014

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

New British Council head in Australia

Sydney’s arts and cultural community gathered at our Consul General’s Residence last week to say farewell to outgoing British Council Director Nick Marchand. The British Council do a fantastic job as the UK’s organization for international cultural relations. They support the third pillar of our relationship with Australia – people to people links – alongside […]

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