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Different Memories, Shared Futures: Why Inclusive Remembrance Matters for Serbia and the Region
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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17th December 2025
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6th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Readers’ questions: Intelligentsia or chattering classes?
What are your thoughts on the concept of intelligentsia? – Alena Belausava Alena: thank you for your question. I liked it because it sparked my curiosity. I wondered if we have a similar term. So I had a brief splash around in the shallows of the internet to research the idea. I’ve come up with […]
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6th September 2013 Dublin, Ireland
A GREAT British Presence at the Krynica Economic Forum
I have just completed a hectic couple of GREAT days at the Krynica Economic Forum. Our mission was to promote British expertise, capability and innovation and highlight the opportunity that Poland and the rest of Emerging Europe represents for British business. Krynica is sometimes described as the Central European Davos and attracts a high profile […]
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6th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Accelerating cultural collaboration
I announced this year’s participants in the British Council’s Accelerator programme in Melbourne yesterday. The initiative takes up-and-coming indigenous cultural leaders from Australia to the UK, to work with mentors and peers. Previous years’ winners have talked eloquently about the personal development which they gained from participating. We were serenaded at the event by the […]
5th September 2013 Washington DC, USA
WTO: Bali and beyond
I had the fortune to spend summer on the beautiful shores of Lake Geneva representing the UK at the World Trade Organization (WTO), a 159 country organisation that governs international economic relations. It was a welcome respite from the heat and humidity of DC during the summer – several weeks soaking up the fresh mountain […]
5th September 2013 San Francisco, USA
Supercomputing partnership to boost UK and US economies
On 29 August, I had the privilege of attending a ceremony commemorating the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre (HC) and US Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) in the area of high performance computing (HPC). This MOU, signed by LLNL Director Parney Albright and […]
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4th September 2013 Washington DC, USA
Drawing a crowd: The British Embassy goes to Comic Con
Have you ever been watching an award show or an interview and seen an actor or actress speak out of character and… hold on a moment… they’re British? This most recently happened to me while watching the Emmy’s last year when I (unfortunately) hadn’t yet watched ‘Homeland’ and didn’t realise that Damian Lewis, who won […]
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4th September 2013 USA
Security on the seas
I have less than one year before my next diplomatic posting (wherever that may be) but before I go, intend to write a monthly blog about the UK-Florida relationship. I’ll share some of the insights I’ve gained during my three and half years service here so far.
4th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human rights and trade
A blog co-authored with Nadia Hashmi, human rights lead at the British Embassy in Ankara Did you know that diamonds are the most tightly-regulated trade item in the world? The reason is to combat human rights violations which could potentially be involved in their acquisition. Human rights and trade can seem strange bedfellows. Sometimes people argue […]
4th September 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Ambassador 2020
I’ve posted before about Naked Diplomacy and why diplomats must ride the digital tiger. Last week I was scheduled to join Foreign Minister Bildt for a Q&A session on innovative diplomacy with Sweden’s ambassadors. I was looking forward to learning from them, as the first Foreign Ministry to put all their envoys on Twitter. But […]
4th September 2013 Vientiane, Laos
Laos through my eyes – Mark Ratter
This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos. “Where’s that?” was the response I was often met with when I told people of my interest in Laos when I was younger. From the age of […]