Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

9th December 2025

Skopje, North Macedonia

Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community

by Tanja Ivanova

Chevening Scholar and President of NGO Reactor

2nd December 2025

Skopje, North Macedonia

In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead

by Martina Ackovska

Chevening Cybersecurity Fellow

14th October 2025

Geneva, Switzerland

Lost and Found (but mostly lost)

by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

31st October 2013

by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

Christians and Jews: A Roman Initiative

The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, Zion Evrony, recently took the initiative to invite diplomatic colleagues and officials of the Holy See to the Great Synagogue of Rome. The synagogue is one of the largest in Europe, built in 1870 between the Tiber and the old Jewish ghetto. The Chief Rabbi of Rome, Dr […]

31st October 2013 Ottawa, Canada

by Mark Agnew

Trade and Economic Advisor

Ghosts, goblins and CETA

Although Halloween is a night for goblins and ghosts, it is a good example of how Canada-EU Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA) could offer a few more treats for revellers in the future…

31st October 2013 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

by David Campbell

Queen’s Baton Relay in Brunei

Running the first leg of the relay with the Baton

Early Tuesday morning. A bright and beautiful day. I am about to run the first couple of legs of a special relay linking 12 schools in Bandar, all eager to hold the Queen’s Baton during its two day stay in Brunei. The baton is surprisingly heavy since it’s made of titanium and solid wood. But […]

30th October 2013 Kingston, Jamaica

by Samara South

Political and Press Support Officer

It all started with a Facebook post…

Last week we gave 7 laptop computers to a basic school in St Elizabeth. In furthering our public diplomacy objectives, our aim this time around was to engage with rural Jamaica but even more so to further impact the education sector beyond our Chevening scholarships. We decided to solicit the help of our Facebook users via a competition that would locate an early childhood […]

30th October 2013 Singapore

by Tom Crawley

Southeast Asia Science and Innovation Team

Combating re-emergent infectious diseases

The tropical island of Langkawi was an incongruously idyllic setting for a conference dedicated to the debilitating infectious disease Chikungunya. The conference was organized by the European project ICRES, and supported by our own SEA-EU-NET project, which seeks to expand and deepen research collaboration between Europe and Southeast Asia. Meaning ‘that which bends up’ in […]

29th October 2013 Brasilia, Brazil

by Luana Seabra

The many faces of current diplomacy

Public diplomacy, digital diplomacy, e-diplomacy, diplomacy 2.0. Has diplomacy changed that much in current years that it has divided itself into so many different strands? In one of this blogs’ first posts, Chris stated that we are in the business of talking to strangers. We want to “explain our ideas more widely and we need […]

29th October 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

by Nikesh Mehta

Counsellor for Foreign Policy and Security

Breaking Barriers With The Commonwealth Games Baton

One of my favourite things about being a diplomat is having the opportunity to represent the UK at fun and unusual events. This past weekend was a good example: I attended the opening ceremony of the Asian Youth Para Games; helped to launch UNICEF’s ‘Disable to Enable’ campaign in Malaysia; and got to hold the […]

28th October 2013 Toronto, Canada

by John Preece

Canadian science news: 21-27 October 2013

[View the story ” Canadian science news: 21-27 October 2013″ on Storify]

28th October 2013

by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

This post was published when the author was in a previous role

The Green Growth Group Summit

The following is guest post by Mette Kahlin, Political Attaché. Today on the 28 October in Brussels, a large group of key EU Ministers and business people, including UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey, and Swedish Environment Minister Lena Ek, will meet to discuss green growth. They all have a […]

28th October 2013 Beirut, Lebanon

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Dedication, dedication, dedication, that’s what you need

For my generation, Record Breakers was TV gold. We would watch in wonder as world records were broken and Norris McWhirter demonstrated extraordinary knowledge of even the most obscure stats. At the end of every show, Roy Castle would sing the theme song – ‘If you want to be the best, if you want to […]