Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

7th August 2012

by Judith Macgregor

British High Commissioner to South Africa

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 […]

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7th August 2012 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

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 […]

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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 […]

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6th August 2012

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

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 […]

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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 […]

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3rd August 2012

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by Nick Bridge

Special Representative for Climate Change

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:

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3rd August 2012

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Girl learning journey

And what might that be? Well, here it’s an opportunity to experience a journey that reflects a typical day in the life of an Ethiopian girl and discover more about her community and hopefully encouraging her at the same time. Organised by the Girl Hub Ethiopia, which is part-funded by the UK Department for International […]

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2nd August 2012 Lima, Peru

The magic of the Olympic Games in Lima

by Lucía Vásquez – Communication Section – British Embassy After years of preparation, thousands of athletes, sports fans and spectators all over the world witnessed the opening of the Olympic Games London 2012.  The great spectacle –masterminded by movie director Danny Boyle – was based on the social and economic transformation of theUK, from the […]

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