8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
17th October 2024
OSLOBOĐENJE BEOGRADA
11th October 2024
Busting the gender myths – women and organised crime
21st January 2014 Mumbai, India
Habitat Research at CARBSE
Energy efficiency and energy resource management for residential and commercial buildings will assume heightened significance, as the urban population of India grows. Realising the need for sustainable habitats in future cities, the Center for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy (CARBSE) at the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is […]
21st January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
London Paralympics heroes in Australia
Last night I had dinner with a group of British wheelchair athletes, in Australia for a series of races this week at Canberra stadium, culminating in the “GIO Oz Day 10k” around Sydney’s historic Rocks district on Australia Day. They were a hugely impressive bunch and it was fun talking to them about their experiences […]
20th January 2014 Paris, France
Offering a reassuring friendly voice at the end of the line
I was extremely pleased and very proud to receive a New Year’s Honour for my contribution to consular services in France, a career which spans over more than 25 years! I didn’t know anything about the nomination until a few weeks before the official publication so it also came as a huge surprise.
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20th January 2014 Paris, France
#BritsinFrance: Tell us your story
A very Happy New Year to everyone, and I wish you the best of good fortune in 2014. This is going to be a year of commemorations: we shall have the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Channel tunnel by President Mitterrand and Her Majesty the Queen ; the 70th anniversary of D-Day, with […]
17th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
2014 at the OECD
Given the challenges for the global economy and a desperate need to create jobs and shared prosperity, the pressure on the OECD to deliver Better Policies for Better Lives will be as intense as ever in 2014. A key framework for our efforts this year is the ‘New Approaches to Economic Challenges’ project, about which I’ve […]
17th January 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
An Idea Worth Shouting About
One of the great frustrations of diplomacy is that results are hard to quantify. If, for example, a new government is at last formed in Lebanon, we will be hard pressed to say to what extent our encouragement, the hours on the road, in planes and in meetings, contributed. So when a project with direct, […]
17th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Readers’ questions: fate or free will – and the welfare of nations
What has more importance: the power of circumstance or the fortitude of a person? Which is more important for national welfare and humanity in general? Svetlana via Budzma website. Dear Svetlana: Happy New Year to you and all other readers. Thank you for these challenging questions – I’ve have simplified them for readers. I’m not […]
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17th January 2014 Brasilia, Brazil
Lasting legacies for Rio 2016 – Guestblog by Emily Yates
In December 2013, I was fortunate enough to be invited to Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia by the British Consulate in Rio and the British Embassy in Brasilia. As an accessible travel writer and a wheelchair user myself, I was particularly interested in exploring accessibility in Rio, the city that is to host the Olympic […]
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17th January 2014 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Visit Tajikistan – “That’s great. Where is Tajikistan?”
The following is a post by Professor Philip Riddle who is a tourism adviser and former head of VisitScotland. That’s the most common response I got when I told friends and relatives I was coming here as a tourism advisor with UK charity VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas). A good first lesson if your job is […]
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17th January 2014 Mumbai, India
Go Goa for research
Understandably, the sound of Goa conjures up images of sandy beaches, lush greenery, and the wide blue ocean. While you can have leisurely fun in Goa, you can also have fun with research there, as I found out! Earlier this month, I visited the Department of Chemistry at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science […]