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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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26th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Illicit Drug Economy: A Danger to Humanity
Today June 26th is the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking; our guest blogger is our Security and Justice Officer, Sara del Cid. The world is increasingly globalised, and as with many other social phenomena, globalisation has been accelerating the diffusion of the contemporary drug problem. While the increase in global trade has […]
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26th June 2013 London, UK
Twiplomacy – Peter Millett
Peter Millett on communicating effectively: “Could you tweet my blog please?” Did I really say that to one of my staff? What on earth is this new language I’m using? No-one knew of “tweeting” and “blogging” 20 years ago. More…
26th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Freedom of religion or belief: a fundamental right
The European Union – as an institution, and as individual member states – is often criticised for not doing enough to protect and promote freedom of religion and belief around the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is very clear on the issue, we are often reminded. And yet, the critics say, amongst the […]
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26th June 2013 Dublin, Ireland
Escape from Warsaw: history, optimism and far too much cake!
I am just back from a long weekend working visit to Warminsko Mazurskie region in North Eastern Poland. It was a reminder that there is a lot more to Poland than cities like Warsaw. The region has a complex history. I visited the site of the Battle of Grunwald where Poles and Lithuanians defeated the […]
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26th June 2013 Bangalore, India
Ageing at ISEC
About 40 years ago, the famous Indian Social Scientist Prof. V K R V Rao said “I now want to utilise some of my time in building up a third institution in the field of social sciences, in addition to the two which I have helped to build, namely, the Delhi School of Economics and […]
26th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK Trade & Investment Conference in Sydney
Last week our Trade and Investment teams from across Australia and New Zealand gathered in Sydney for their annual conference. It’s a big part of what we do: they comprise around 1/3 of my Australia staff. All but three are locally hired. Last year the trade team assisted over 1200 companies, introduced 387 companies to […]
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26th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Twiplomacy
“Could you tweet my blog please?” Did I really say that to one of my staff? What on earth is this new language I’m using? No-one knew of “tweeting” and “blogging” 20 years ago. I’ve been using Twitter now for 2 years. It can become infectious, but is it useful? Should diplomats shed their quill […]
25th June 2013 Kingston, Jamaica
Renewable Energy in Jamaica – in the pipeline or pipe dream?
Living in a country with almost constant sunshine has a myriad of advantages. Having the opportunity to go to the beach all year round, with the temperature never dropping below 60 degrees, offers lots of positives. Another one that immediately jumps at me is the harnessing of the sun to produce energy. Jamaica is in […]
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25th June 2013 Budapest, Hungary
Mushrooms, wine, car parts and business opportunities
I try to travel outside Budapest for a couple of days at least once a quarter. Last week I visited Miskolc and Eger. It was an excellent trip. In Miskolc I was able to meet the mayor and chat with him about local developments and challenges, I gave a presentation to the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county Chamber of Commerce […]
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25th June 2013 Toronto, Canada
Setting the standard for cell therapy: Project update
UK-Canada cooperation in regenerative medicine and cell therapy continues to thrive, with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) in Canada and Cell Therapy Catapult in the UK recently signing a collaborative agreement. Initial outputs from SIN Canada’s main project in this sector (Setting the standard for cell therapy) are expected towards the end […]
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