25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
23rd April 2024
Good English – A Key to Panama’s Future Success
21st March 2024
Forests in focus on International Day of Forests
6th March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
International Women’s Day: Doing Something Practical
One of the dangers of International “Days” is that they can generate a great deal of well-meaning talk, but little action. Sometimes they serve to raise public consciousness about an undeservedly forgotten issue or a neglected cause. But too often they come round on the annual calendar, and nothing much seems to change. International Women’s […]
Read more on International Women’s Day: Doing Something Practical | Reply (1)
6th March 2012 Washington DC, USA
Michael O’Neill highlights progress in Helmand
I’d like to draw your attention to the latest blog by our Head of Mission in Helmand, Michael O’Neill. The post covers his recent trip to Sangin, and highlights the impressive progress that has been made there over the last year and a half. As Michael notes, when he first visited Sangin in late 2010, […]
Read more on Michael O’Neill highlights progress in Helmand | Reply (1)
6th March 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
“It’s not about charity”
I first met Atif Sheik in Lahore. He and I were speaking at a British Council event for Pakistani graduates of UK universities. He told me that he campaigned for disabled people’s rights in Pakistan. “It’s not about charity,” he said. It’s about political participation. ” I know,” I said. “I’m disabled too.”. So back […]
5th March 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
Hitting the road least travelled by to the South of Namibia
I have just returned from a fascinating week-long familiarisation trip to the deep south of Namibia. I visited British businesses, a High Commission-funded environmental project, met with local mayors, officials from the Karas Governor’s office, flew by helicopter to visit NamDeb’s offshore marine diamond operations, saw a 16th century Portuguese shipwreck, talked to local school […]
Read more on Hitting the road least travelled by to the South of Namibia | Reply (4)
5th March 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
English in Lebanon: A Fire Worth Lighting
A love of English language teaching is in my DNA. My first job was as an English teacher, to Palestinian schoolchildren. My Grandfather spent fifty years in Nigeria, promoting access to English education. And my father has devoted his life to making it easier and more fun for people to learn English. He lives the […]
Read more on English in Lebanon: A Fire Worth Lighting | Reply (4)
5th March 2012 London, UK
Serbia – from war to EU candidate in 20 years
On Friday, European leaders agreed to Serbia being a candidate for future EU membership. The significance of this achievement, and the difficult steps Serbia had to take to get here, should not be overlooked. Serbia has come a long way in the last 20 years. Her EU aspirations have meant coming to terms with the role […]
Read more on Serbia – from war to EU candidate in 20 years | Reply
5th March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukraine/EU: article by 5 European Foreign Ministers
The Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany have published an important article in the International Herald Tribune about Ukraine. In the article, the authors note that they see themselves as Ukraine’s allies and are convinced that closer political and economic ties, as well as people-to-people contacts, between the […]
Read more on Ukraine/EU: article by 5 European Foreign Ministers | Reply (1)
5th March 2012 Geneva, Switzerland
Panels, Protocols and Ponchos
It’s been a busy week. With our Ministers in town for the Council’s High level Segment, we’ve all been suffering from higher than average stress levels. Many Ministers chose to use their statements to focus on the appalling violations in Syria, which the Council addressed in an urgent debate on Tuesday. Council members spoke out […]
5th March 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
Introduction – Susan Hyland
I have been Political Counsellor at the British High Commission in Islamabad since December 2011. This is my first posting to South Asia. Before coming to Pakistan, I was Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, and before that I served in Moscow, Paris, New York and […]
2nd March 2012 Washington DC, USA
Digital by Default: The New Gov.UK
One of the great things about communications in the age of the Internet is how quickly you can get a message out. Whether it’s an email, or a blog post, or a well placed tweet, we can get information where it needs to be—anywhere in the world—in the blink of an eye. But the downside […]