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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
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Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
30th July 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
Tributes and tribulations to mark opening of Olympic Games and Olympic Truce in Namibia
Not many people know that the Olympics was historically a period of peace in ancient Greece, when warring factions put down their arms and focussed on competing rather than attacking each other. This ancient Greek tradition of “ekecheiria”: ‘truce’ helped encourage a special environment for the early Games, and ensured safe passage and participation of […]
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30th July 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Being Open
June and July 2012 have been a time for openings. First of all, opening data. The UK Government’s Open Data White Paper is about creating a culture where public data is available to make public services more effective and responsive to individual needs. Big data like this remains a huge untapped resource, and has been […]
30th July 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Oswaldo Paya, 1952-2012
All British ambassadors work with human rights defenders. As the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has said: “Human rights are part of our national DNA and will be woven into the decision making processes of our foreign policy”. I have written previously about our work with people and organisations trying to prevent the trade in human […]
30th July 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
London: the centre of the world
Waiting to do a radio interview, I heard an ABC reporter in the slot before me say, “When you’re here in London with all the history and all the international connections, it really feels like it’s the centre of the world.” And, at least for the next few weeks, so it is. July 27 began […]
27th July 2012 Washington DC, USA
Going For Gold, On And Off The Field
As the UK Government’s Chief Economist in the US, one of the things people ask me about most frequently is the Olympics. This line of discussion comes from all kinds of angles – which restaurants should people visit, what will the weather be like? But one of the most tantalising questions has to be from […]
27th July 2012 Washington DC, USA
Keep Calm and Host the Olympics
With the spectacular opening ceremony happening in London tonight, I wonder how many people attending the London 2012 Olympics this year will have been there in 1948, the last time London held the Olympics? My father was one of those who attended the 1948 London Olympics at the old Wembley Stadium, a 12 year old […]
27th July 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
It's Trade AND Development, Not Trade OR Development
Trade and development. In the UK, it’s a single subject. Just take two examples. First, the UK’s trade policy unit is staffed by officials from both the Department of Business and the Department for International Development. Second, whilst two-thirds of the UK’s Trade and Investment White Paper is about boosting UK exports and attracting more […]
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27th July 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
"Yifter the Shifter"
After all the waiting, we’re here at last – the day of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. And even the cynics seem to be getting excited. This morning, I assisted Miruts Yifter to raise the London 2012 flag at the entrance to our Embassy compound, where it will fly throughout the Games. Unusually, for the […]
27th July 2012 Warsaw, Poland
Crisis and a GREAT British Summer
Anyone who has experienced one knows that British Summers are GREAT. Not necessarily the weather but the programme – Ascot, Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, Henley….and this year the Greatest, Biggest, Best, global sporting icon which starts today the Olympic Games – London 2012. We know the opening ceremony this evening is going to be […]
27th July 2012 London, UK
My birthday greeting for His Majesty the Sultan
In Brunei, foreign envoys face the unusual challenge of reading out on local radio an appropriate “greeting” for His Majesty The Sultan, whose birthday falls on 15 July – an occasion for banquets, parades and public celebration. Not Hallmark card territory – I began my recording by re-capping my own sovereign’s friendly greeting to HM […]
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