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13th June 2013 Washington DC, USA
Ahead of the G8 Summit, Northern Ireland flourishes culturally
On Monday, the 39th G8 Summit will commence in Northern Ireland. I am looking forward to Northern Ireland being positively highlighted on the global stage for these two days and beyond for a multitude of reasons. I think that the world will be fascinated with not only how beautiful the country is (please let it not […]
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13th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Smart Defence – Smarter Defence Industries
How will Europe provide for its security in the future? The challenges we face are changing and becoming more complex, requiring investment in new technologies – in cyber security for example. But defence spending has been declining, with austerity cuts in budgets across the continent. This year, for the first time, Asia will spend more […]
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12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Project visit "boys and girls in action"
Thanks to the support of British Embassy; the Violence Prevention Programme of USAID and Guatemalan businessmen, the Foundation Elecciones Infantiles, with the endorsement of the Department of Education, for the consecutive second year we continue executing the Programme Girls and Boys in Action. The Programme looks for the formation and enforcement of human and democratic […]
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12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visita a Proyecto “Niñas y Niños en Acción”
Gracias al apoyo de Embajada Británica; Programa Prevención de la Violencia de USAID y empresarios guatemaltecos, la Fundación Elecciones Infantiles, con el aval del Ministerio de Educación, se encuentra ejecutando por segundo año consecutivo a nivel nacional el Programa Niñas y Niños en Acción. El Programa busca la formación y puesta en práctica de valores […]
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12th June 2013 London, UK
Digital Diplomacy at the Foreign Office leadership conference
Every year UK Ambassadors return to London to look at how the Foreign Office can most effectively deliver UK priorities overseas. A key focus of those meetings is “diplomatic excellence”, working to ensure the UK has the most effective diplomatic service in the world. This year the use of digital tools to enhance UK diplomacy […]
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12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Make Poverty History
Could you survive on $1.25 per day? I certainly couldn’t. But over 1 billion people round the world have to do so. These are the extreme poor. Poverty not only means that people lack food and shelter. It also means that they struggle to escape poverty because they also lack good education and healthcare. And it means that […]
12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Honorary Consuls gather in Brisbane
Honorary Consuls from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa gathered in Brisbane for their annual conference and briefing on latest developments in our consular policy. I gave them an update on the current state of bilateral relations. These are local residents in cities where we do not have a consular office, who volunteer to help support […]
11th June 2013 New York, USA
Raising the Curtain on Brits On and Off Broadway
There’s a long and glittering history of traffic between the West End and Broadway. In a recent lavish exchange of gifts, London finally got The Book of Mormon and New York was introduced to the delights of Matilda the Musical, which promptly snaffled five Tony Awards from 13 nominations. One of Matilda’swinners on Sunday night was British playwright Dennis Kelly, who […]
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11th June 2013 Havana, Cuba
7 days with swing!
Last week in Havana we saw a fantastic celebration of British culture. Once a year, as in many other countries in the world, the Embassy organises a BritWeek when we put on a variety of events. In Havana our cinema programme included the Cuban-British film, The Day of the Flowers. Obra Blue/Orange, put on by British director […]
11th June 2013 Paris, France
My regional visit to Lyon
I recently spent two days in Lyon, where there is a whole range of areas where Britain and France are working together. First of all, I went to Interpol, which is a century-old cooperation between police forces, where we have senior members of staff working on secondment from the British police to ensure the best […]