Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

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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11th August 2014

by Peter Tibber

Ambassador to Colombia

Sampling another side of life in Sudan

Over Eid, a small group of staff from the Embassy took the chance to escape Khartoum and sample life outside of the capital. Here’s their story – I hope you enjoy it: Eager to make the most of an extra few days off, we were determined to get beyond Khartoum and explore Sudan. With minimal […]

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11th August 2014 London, UK

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by Phil Buckley

Digital Transformation Manager

Transforming the Chevening Scholarship application system

Hello there, I’m Phil Buckley, a Digital Transformation Manager at the Foreign Office. On 1 August we released a new application form for the Chevening scholarship programme and I wanted to tell you a little more about it. Why we had to change the system I mentioned in my post introducing Service Transformation at the […]

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11th August 2014

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by Jonathan Allen

Former Ambassador to Bulgaria

We Need to Celebrate Ability and not Fear Disability

On 8 August, 11 young Bulgarians strode to the centre of Old Trafford cricket ground, during the lunch break of the game between England and India. In front of 25,000 people, they showed off their talents at this most English of games. I am sure it was an experience that none of them will ever […]

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8th August 2014

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

Working to secure our borders through regional co-operation

Protecting our borders is one of the most important and difficult tasks we face. This is not something special to Turks and Caicos. Some of the other Caribbean Overseas Territories are challenged by Cuban and other migrants trying to reach their shores, while across Europe, including the UK, countries employ hundreds to safeguard their land […]

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