Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

29th November 2011 Chevening, UK

Memories of a Canadian scholar: My Chevening Experience

Our latest Chevening Conversations blog is by Canadian alumnus Shahreen Reza, who studied for an MPHIL in Modern Society and Global Transformations at the University of Cambridge. Shahreen blogs about the initial Cambridge experience from a Canadian perspective. When we first arrive we’re all terribly homesick. Suddenly the grit and grime of the city of Toronto felt divine. […]

Read more on Memories of a Canadian scholar: My Chevening Experience | Reply (2)

29th November 2011 Toronto, Canada

McMaster Health Forum tackles global health

The McMaster Health Forum Stakeholder Dialogue on global health, Addressing Health and Emerging Global Issues in Canada, took place in May, and SIN Canada supported the expert participation of Dr. Sudeep Chand of Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs). The Forum materials were released last month, so we are finally able to report […]

Read more on McMaster Health Forum tackles global health | Reply

29th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

London 2012: counting down with prizes

What could be better than meeting famous Ukrainian Olympians Serhiy Bubka and Valeriy Borzov?  With 242 days to go until London 2012, I was delighted to welcome them, plus six winners of our Online Olympic Quiz, to the embassy on 28 November.  I won’t say too much here because you can read all about it […]

Read more on London 2012: counting down with prizes | Reply

29th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Brilliant British education #9

I always seem to be talking about education in these blogs.  That’s partly because the UKhas some of the best universities in the world as well as a schools sector which attracts people from all over the planet.  But it’s also because many educational establishments are actively and successfully promoting British education right here in […]

Read more on Brilliant British education #9 | Reply (1)

28th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Rugby: building character in Ukraine

The rain is pelting down and the temperature has sunk close to zero.  On the pitch, two teams of boys and, in some cases, girls, run, dodge and tackle as they dispute possession of an oval-shaped ball, gradually becoming muddier as they do so.  It’s fast-paced, end-to-end stuff involving fitness, strategy and sophisticated tactics in […]

Read more on Rugby: building character in Ukraine | Reply

28th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Martin Harris

British Ambassador to Ukraine

The Fat Gap

Here’s one area Romania does not want to ‘catch up with the rest of the EU’ – obesity. The latest study by Eurostat shows that Romania has the lowest incidence of obesity among the 19 EU Member States surveyed, with 8% of women and 7.6% of men recorded as obese. At the other end of […]

Read more on The Fat Gap | Reply (12)

25th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Terror in the house

25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It was 1973 when the expression “domestic violence” in a modern context was first used formally. This happened in the United Kingdom Parliament, where the world’s first domestic violence services federation, Women’s Aid, was established some months later. Almost 40 years have […]

Read more on Terror in the house | Reply

25th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Looking even dafter for men’s health

A guest blog by Miles Martin, UkrTashBud, Mo-Team, British Embassy Kyiv On 1 November I wrote a guest blog, Movember: looking daft for men’s health.  The month of Movember is in full swing with Mo’Bros and Mo’Sistas around the world doing their bit to raise money and promote awareness of men’s health issues.  Here in […]

Read more on Looking even dafter for men’s health | Reply

25th November 2011

Avatar photo

by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Defence cooperation – stronger than ever

Our Armed Forces Minister, Nick Harvey MP, was in Canberra and Sydney this week. He had a series of meetings with the Defence Department Ministerial team – Stephen Smith, Warren Snowdon and Jason Clare, and met a very broad range of senior officials and military officers. There was much to talk about. The Minister and […]

Read more on Defence cooperation – stronger than ever | Reply (1)

24th November 2011 Chevening, UK

The life and times of a Chevening Officer

Our latest Chevening Conversations blog takes a look at the other side of Chevening – the crucial role that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Chevening Officers’ play in ensuring that Chevening remains one of the world’s most prestigious scholarships programmes. Ritika Kochhar is our Chevening Officer in India, one of the biggest Chevening posts in […]

Read more on The life and times of a Chevening Officer | Reply (6)