8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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17th October 2024
OSLOBOĐENJE BEOGRADA
11th October 2024
Busting the gender myths – women and organised crime
16th April 2014 Sana’a, Yemen
Friends of Yemen: Demonstrating Continued Support for Yemen and its People
The next Friends of Yemen meeting will take place on 29 April in London. The meeting will be opened by the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and will be co-chaired by the Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr al Qirbi, the British Minister for the Middle East, Hugh Robertson and the International Development Minister, Alan Duncan, and […]
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16th April 2014 London, UK
Using digital to make great foreign policy: challenges and opportunities
Like most government departments, the FCO has been making policy for centuries. But just as the content of foreign policy has changed, so has the way we approach it, and the tools we can use. Last week, the FCO’s Policy Unit ran a Policy Excellence Fair, with teams ranging from ministerial offices to Economics Unit […]
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16th April 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria in the 80s: Sad and Suppressed
by David Holt This week’s #100UKBG stories are of spouses Denise and David Holt, who had separate encounters with Bulgaria – Denise in “the dark days of the 60s” and David – in “the sad 80s”. First we will present David’s story; Denise’s one will follow later in the week. David Holt was a diplomat with the FCO, serving in […]
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16th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Youth is Wasted on the Young
The bloom of youth seems to offer everything: good health, endless reserves of energy and an unquestionable thirst for knowledge. Yet young people today face enormous challenges. Over 75 million young people are unemployed worldwide. The fact is that the world has become a much more competitive place. Studying for a good education, finding a […]
15th April 2014 Bucharest, Romania
What makes Great Britain GREAT – views from the kids
In today’s guest blog, my colleague in the communications section, Catalina Neagu, talks about the embassy’s involvement in the ‘Scoala altfel’ program. Last week, we hosted the students from School 79, grade VI A, as part of the ‘Scoala altfel’ program. They had a chance to talk about what it means to be a diplomat, […]
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15th April 2014 Dublin, Ireland
The UK and Ireland: diplomatic relations… – guest post by Sarah Tiffin, Deputy Head of Mission
Tomorrow my husband Pádraig and I will hold a reception in our home to mark the occasion of the State Visit last week to the United Kingdom of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. Our situation is an unusual one. I am Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy here in Warsaw, and […]
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14th April 2014 Havana, Cuba
Will the next Wayne Rooney be Cuban?
Thanks to Rhys Patrick, Second Secretary in the British Embassy, Havana for this week’s blog. Last month I visited Camaguey and Ciego de Avila, two provinces in central Cuba famous for their farming and stunning archipelagos. When British pirate Henry Morgan visited Camaguey in 1668 he sacked the city and locked the town leaders in the Cathedral […]
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14th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The quality of education
Education, education, education. Those were the priorities that a former British Prime Minister famously described his government would pursue, if they were re-elected. I enjoyed discussing education last week as a guest introductory speaker at an international forum on the quality of higher education. From my experiences of talking to officials from others countries, I’ve […]
14th April 2014 Pretoria, South Africa
100 days to go to the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
Guest Blogger Deputy High Commissioner Martin Reynolds: Today is the last major milestone to the opening of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on 23 July 2014. Its only 100 days to go before Scotland opens its arms to the Commonwealth with the start of one of the most impressive sporting festivals in the world. By that […]
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14th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
10 things I like about Romania
On leaving Romania, here are a few of my favourite things… 1. Shajjad and Katie Rizvi and the Temerari at Little People. You guys rock! 2. Monasteries, especially Putna, Voronets, Horezu, Bistrita and Schitul Darvari in Bucharest 3. The fabulously talented kids of School No 136 in Ferentari 4. And ‘Fiecare copil in grădiniță’ in […]