9th April 2026
The Gulf, Berlin and the Commission on the Status of Women: building global alliances to advance women’s progress
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
26th February 2026
Different Memories, Shared Futures: Why Inclusive Remembrance Matters for Serbia and the Region
22nd December 2025
Continuing to grow the global alliance for women and girls
20th August 2012 Washington DC, USA
Rebecca Ferguson brings GREAT British music to America
This past week I had the pleasure of listening to Rebecca Ferguson, X Factor UK runner up and the latest British music export to the US, as she sang live on Fresh FM in the Washington DC area. Not only does she have the most amazing soulful and powerful voice for one so tiny, she […]
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20th August 2012 Washington DC, USA
Afghanistan: Some First Impressions
The following is a guest post by Nic Hailey, who was a Counsellor – Political, Press, and Public Affairs in the British Embassy in Washington, now the new Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy in Kabul. He writes about his initial impressions after his first few weeks in Afghanistan. After four wonderful years in Washington, I’ve […]
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19th August 2012 Harare, Zimbabwe
Police training in Gereshk
I have invited members of the PRT to use my blog to talk about their work and experiences in Helmand. Shelley Groves the PRT’s new Female Police Advisor has kindly written about her first police training course. On arriving in Lashkar Gah to take on my role as the PRT’s new Female Police Advisor, my first […]
17th August 2012 Chevening, UK
A Chevening Scholar performing at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony!
Our latest Chevening Conversations blog has an Olympic theme as Filipino Chevening Scholar Benedict Carandang tells us about how he was selected as a performer for the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony. Now that the London 2012 Olympic Games have sadly ended, I would like to share with you my amazing journey as one of the volunteer performers of the greatest show on […]
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17th August 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Going for Gold
And so, it’s over. After seven years of preparation, the London 2012 Olympic Games has finished. 17 days of world class sporting talent on show to a global audience of billions of people, with more than 7.4 million of them visiting venues across the UK. We have been enthralled, excited, dismayed. We’ve laughed, smiled, groaned […]
17th August 2012 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Football Fever
I am delighted that Tony Collingridge, the Director of UK Trade & investment in Malaysia, has agreed to write a guest blog on the Premier League and the importance of an overseas business strategy. As an ardent Liverpool supporter, I would just like to add that we remain one of the best-supported clubs in Malaysia […]
17th August 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
Public speaking and championing women in the board room
It is always a rather heart-stopping moment when you arrive at an official function as a diplomat and find you’re billed as a key note guest speaker with no prepared speech to deliver. It happened to me a week into my first African posting in Swaziland. I turned up at a rural event to discover […]
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16th August 2012 Toronto, Canada
DECC releases new innovation assessments for low-carbon technologies
DECC, the UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, has released the latest round of Technology Innovation Needs Assessments (TINAs). These reports “aim to identify and value the key innovation needs of specific low carbon technology families to inform the prioritisation of public sector investment in low carbon innovation.” Currently available on the DECC website […]
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16th August 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Olympics Indian style
Although for millions of Indians visiting London is not even a remote possibility, everyone here with access to a television, radio or newspaper will have been aware, however vaguely, of the 2012 Olympic Games going on in a city far away. It may have been difficult for many to comprehend the exhilaration of the 16 days’ […]
16th August 2012 Bangalore, India
Spirit of Eco Entrepreneurship
Sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship are buzz words heard everywhere, including in business, academia and social circuits. All these elements came together at a reception hosted by my colleague Tom Wells last month. About 25 representatives from the Bangalore cleantech community shared their innovative ideas in the cleantech space at this informal gathering. The entrepreneurial and […]