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RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
9th August 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Not the End of Geography
Globalisation, advances in communications, the “shrinking of distance” do not mean the End of Geography, any more than the collapse of communism presaged the End of History, as Francis Fukuyama claimed. That was the thesis of a talk on “Geography and Diplomacy” I gave to the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland this week. The state’s […]
8th August 2012 Lima, Peru
In the Olympics
The following is a blog by Julio Muñóz-Deacon, Peruvian Ambassador to Peru in London. The Games are coming to an end. And up to this point, we can say that they have been outstanding. The Chinese and the Americans have been the most successful so far and team GB is doing great. There has been […]
7th August 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A weekend in Oaxaca
I usually do all I can to avoid hordes of tourists, but last weekend I jumped at the chance to join them. And I’m glad I did! The opportunity to watch the 80th anniversary of the Guelaguetza – an indigenous cultural festival in Oaxaca a Southern State of Mexico – at the invitation of its […]
7th August 2012 Bucharest, Romania
HAI ROMANIA
The following is a guest blog by Rhys Osborne, Head of Registry at British Embassy Bucharest Last Friday I spoke at a Reception held to officially send-off the Romanian Paralympic Team heading to London in the coming weeks for the 2012 Paralympic Games. The reception, arranged by Sally Wood-Lamont, President of the Romanian Paralympic Committee […]
7th August 2012 New Delhi, India
Spotlight on engineering
There have been so many announcements around engineering recently that we thought we would bring you an engineering special! Firstly there was the announcement on 16 July from the Royal Academy of Engineering that Ratan Tata, the Chairman of Tata Sons, has been elected as one of three Honorary Fellows this year along side Professor […]
6th August 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Isolationist? Moi?
I read an article last week by a French philosopher and economist drawing a parallel between Britain and Japan as “Islands of Isolation.” His theme was that both countries remain inward- looking and preoccupied with the disintegration of their original culture. I can’t speak for Japan, but anyone who watched the magnificent opening ceremony of […]
6th August 2012 Yerevan, Armenia
All Change at Yerevan Zoo
The following is guest blog Gareth Wynn-Owen, Deputy Ambassador in Yerevan. Although I have been in Yerevan for nearly three years, I am still discovering fascinating corners of the city. Over the weekend, my wife Molly and our 16-month daughter Alicia visited the Yerevan Zoo. It was absolutely scorching as we chugged along in chaotic […]
3rd August 2012 Lima, Peru
Beggars… can be choosers!!
By Annabella Matute, Chevening scholar For weeks until now I had been feeling like the Peruvian female version of David Beckham. Yes, despite my passion for sports and my increasing enthusiasm for the Olympics I was being left out of the biggest event in town: London 2012. If I have to be fair, my exclusion […]
3rd August 2012 New York, USA
Open for Sport, and Open for Business
The Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games was the proudest moment in recent memory for any Brit, and I was pleased to watch it unfold with my colleagues at the Consulate here in New York. I was in awe of what, to me, was a terrific start to the greatest show on earth. The Olympics, with […]
3rd August 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
How are you feeling?
In November 2010, UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the government was asking the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to devise a new way of measuring well-being: “we’ll start measuring our progress as a country, not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving.” Between April 2011 and March 2012, 165,000 UK adults aged 16 and over answered four ONS questions: