22nd December 2025
Continuing to grow the global alliance for women and girls
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
17th December 2025
MAKING LIFE SAFER, FOR EVERYONE
9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
22nd December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
We are a Christian Country
2011 has seen a year of activity commemorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. This Bible, possibly the single most influential text in the English language, was a great achievement of its day. But it also had lasting impact. In a speech last weekend to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister David Cameron said […]
21st December 2011 Ottawa, Canada
A holiday message
A holiday message from British High Commissioner Andrew Pocock… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zof8de9GQMk
21st December 2011 Nairobi, Kenya
Somalia: Reflections on 2011, Focus on 2012
With 2011 drawing to a close, let’s take a moment to reflect on the past year, and look ahead to the next. 2011 has been a particularly tragic year for Somalia and, most importantly Somalis. Despite a great deal of effort and goodwill by many people both outside and inside of Somalia, the country remains […]
Read more on Somalia: Reflections on 2011, Focus on 2012 | Reply (54)
20th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK leads humanitarian funding
Important developments at the UN in New York, where “humanitarian week” has ended with the annual replenishment conference for the UN Central Emergency Fund (CERF). This is a vital fund, established with UK encouragement in 2006 by the General Assembly, to provide timely and reliable funding for countries affected by rapid and unexpected emergencies, as […]
20th December 2011 Beirut, Lebanon
Social Media Changing Lives, and Lebanon
The theme of last week’s International Human Rights Day was the role that social media can play in highlighting and challenging human rights abuses. So I was excited to be invited to take part in the American University of Beirut’s conference on Social Media Changing Lives, put together by the excellent @mhijazi and his team. […]
Read more on Social Media Changing Lives, and Lebanon | Reply (5)
20th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Queen Marie arrives at the Ambassador’s Residence
This week Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Margareta unveiled a new picture at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Bucharest – a portrait of Queen Marie of Romania. Queen Marie was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, born Princess Marie of Edinburgh in 1875. As the wife of King Ferdinand she became Queen of Romania in 1914. […]
Read more on Queen Marie arrives at the Ambassador’s Residence | Reply (1)
19th December 2011 Bucharest, Romania
Training on first aid
It has been a longstanding personal goal to learn to give first aid and this has eventually come to fruition with support from a local NGO Asociatia React and enthusiastic volunteers at SMURD Bucharest, the special unit within the municipal fire brigade. I was very pleased to hear that SMURD, an almost iconic institution with […]
19th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
How the EU helps Ukraine: an example
Everyone knows that one of the benefits of Ukraine’s potential integration with the EU is that the EU will help Ukraine to adapt the quality of its administration to EU standards. In other words, the EU will help Ukraine to become a more EU-type country. But how does that work in practice? One of the […]
Read more on How the EU helps Ukraine: an example | Reply (3)
17th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Year of Living Dangerously
It is a year since Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself in petrol and set fire to himself. He was protesting because he was unable to earn a living. At the time I was studying Arabic in London. I struggled to understand the Arabic words used in the news reports. But I wasn’t alone in failing to […]
16th December 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Arnold Falls for Quebec
Another Bilingual blog from our Montreal Science & Innovation Officer, Nicolina Farella: It all started last March, when I received a phone call from Arnold Black. Arnold wears two hats. On one hand, he is Project Manager for C-Tech innovation (R&D company in the clean technology sector), and he also holds the position of Technology […]