17th December 2025
MAKING LIFE SAFER, FOR EVERYONE
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
5th December 2018 Stockholm, Sweden
The Path to 1.5 degrees: The Role of Climate Mitigation Technology and International Partnership
This year’s annual gathering of the global climate community in Katowice, Poland, the 24th “Conference of the Parties” (COP24), falls against the backdrop of October’s landmark report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the impacts of global warming beyond 1.5°C and actions required to curb average global temperature rise within […]
Read more on The Path to 1.5 degrees: The Role of Climate Mitigation Technology and International Partnership | Reply (3)
5th December 2018 Vienna, Austria
Citizens’ Rights: my speech in Vienna
Update: for the UK Government’s guidance on Living in Austria as a UK national, see Living in Austria. Please sign up for email updates on that page to get the latest information as and when anything changes. As many of you know, The British Embassy in Vienna has been conducting a series of outreach events […]
Read more on Citizens’ Rights: my speech in Vienna | Reply (5)
5th December 2018 beijing
When the World’s First Human Cyborg Came to Town!
Many of us have seen sci-fi films like Avatar and Pacific Rim where humans control robots by moving their own bodies. Well, this might not only live in fiction! The Science and Innovation Network (SIN) in the British Embassy Beijing had the honour of inviting Professor Kevin Warwick – also known as the World’s First […]
Read more on When the World’s First Human Cyborg Came to Town! | Reply (1)
4th December 2018 Skopje, North Macedonia
How much is enough – can we end violence against women in Macedonia?
Changing the statistics by raising awareness: as part of the global conversations in these #16DaysofActivism to raise awareness to end the gender based violence, we have asked Marija Bashevska, gender equality advocate to tell us what kind of effort is needed to end violence against women. Marija is currently president of the think-tank Reactor-Reasearh in Action in Macedonia. She is […]
Read more on How much is enough – can we end violence against women in Macedonia? | Reply
3rd December 2018
FLAGG at 20: reflections from the founders of the FCO’s LGBT+ staff association
Jonathan Drew: There are some things that need a very deep intake of breath before starting. Like writing to the PUS, six months into being a diplomat, to ask him to give his blessing to the formation of a staff LGBT+ group. On a cold November night twenty years ago, with some trepidation, I wrote that […]
Read more on FLAGG at 20: reflections from the founders of the FCO’s LGBT+ staff association | Reply (2)
30th November 2018 Skopje, North Macedonia
How to make the perfect Shortbread this St Andrews Day
In the winter period when our days are cold and rainy we like to do cosy things and having a nice cup of tea with delicious home made cookies, bread or cake is one of them. For St Andrews day we asked our British colleagues to give us tips on some Scottish food which we […]
Read more on How to make the perfect Shortbread this St Andrews Day | Reply
29th November 2018
Ben Merrick: dealing with Mother Nature’s destruction after Hurricane Irma
When the people of the British Virgin Islands went to sleep on 5 September 2017, they knew a very large storm was approaching. But nothing could have prepared them for the devastation they would experience when Hurricane Irma made landfall the next day. The once crystal clear, turquoise waters would churn with debris and across […]
Read more on Ben Merrick: dealing with Mother Nature’s destruction after Hurricane Irma | Reply (2)
29th November 2018
Sophie Lott: how the Forced Marriage Unit saves lives
I have spent 7 years working in the joint Home Office and Foreign Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU). As I walk into work, anticipating the type of calls I will handle today still brings a mixture of apprehension but also promise – knowing the unit, every day, has the potential to save lives. During my […]
Read more on Sophie Lott: how the Forced Marriage Unit saves lives | Reply (1)
27th November 2018 Tripoli, Libya
Libya: UK leads the way as Libya re-opens for business
“The meetings in Aberdeen, in May, and this week in Tunis, have shown that the UK is a key partner for Libya in boosting oil production,” Mustafa Sanalla, Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), said at the recent trade mission hosted in Tunis by the Libyan British Business Council (LBBC). I could not have […]
Read more on Libya: UK leads the way as Libya re-opens for business | Reply (2)
22nd November 2018 Abuja, Nigeria
Colourful, vibrant, booming Lagos: UK trade with Nigeria
When I tell people I live in Lagos, Nigeria, I often get quite a lot of quizzical looks… Why did you move there with your family? Is it safe? What about Boko Haram? Is corruption not endemic? As the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, I know that the challenges of corruption, insecurity and poverty […]
Read more on Colourful, vibrant, booming Lagos: UK trade with Nigeria | Reply