17th May 2024
Reflections on IDAHOBIT: International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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13th May 2024
Value with Values: UK Commitment to Climate Partnership
25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
28th October 2011 Nairobi, Kenya
Somali Week Festival
This week sees the fifth year of the Somali Week Festival in London, organised by the Kayd Somali Arts and Culture organisation. The British Office for Somalia is a proud sponsor of this event, which brings together poets, writers and musicians from across Somalia to perform in the UK. This year’s artists and performers include […]
28th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace
25 years to the day that Pope John Paul II hosted an unprecedented gathering of world religious leaders in Assisi to pray for world peace, Pope Benedict XVI on 27 October hosted, in the same place, his own “Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World”. Again, leaders of the […]
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27th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Cyberpunks click here
No-one saw the Internet coming. Now it’s changing the world; the language we speak; and how we live. I recently hosted a lunch for Ukrainian bloggers, who noted how cyberspace had created unprecedented opportunities for people to, amongst other things, share news and views and influence politics. But the Internet has also brought big challenges, […]
27th October 2011 Chevening, UK
Zameer Abbas: My first time in the UK!
This is the second blog in series of blogs by our new 2012/12 Chevening scholars from Pakistan. In this edition, Zameer Abbas, who is studying at the University of Sussex, tells us about his first time in the UK. My first time in UK! I landed at London Heathrow Airport on Sunday 25th September 2011, […]
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27th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Cyberspace Conference, follow it!
The last decade has seen cyberspace explode from 16 million internet users in 1995 to nearly 2 billion today, more than half in developing countries. This has revolutionised how we live and work. The Internet, with its incredible connective power, is creating vast economic and social opportunities that would have been unimaginable 20 years ago. […]
26th October 2011 Toronto, Canada
SINfographic: A field guide to UK scientists and engineers
We have another another SIN infographic (SINfographic?) this week, this time about scientists and engineers in the UK. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Office for National Statistics prepare annual summaries of key science, engineering and technology (SET) indicators, such as R&D expenditure and international comparisons, which can be downloaded from the […]
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25th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukraine-UK Olympic Quiz
Do you know how many times London has hosted the Olympic Games? How many people around the world are going to watch the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games? Or the name of the Ukrainian athlete who has won the largest number of Olympic medals? (Hint on last question: see my blog “London 2012… and […]
24th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What next for Ukraine #2
I was in London last week meeting ministers; experts dealing with Ukraine in a number of government departments; and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine, made up of members of the House of Commons and House of Lords with a particular interest in this country. People in the UK are keen to know what is […]
24th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
New UK investment in Romania
Earlier this month the Romanian Government ratified its agreement with British energy company Melrose, to start seismic surveys and drilling in the Black Sea exploring for oil and gas deposits. This is great news for British investment in Romania. Melrose and its partners plan to invest some 130 million US dollars in this project and […]
21st October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Talking about Cyberspace
It sounds like something from science fiction. But in fact it is with us as we live and breathe. And next month, 1 and 2 November, the Foreign Office will host a conference on cyberspace in London – the opportunities for social good, increased democratic engagement and prosperity it represents, along with its dark side, […]