Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

28th March 2011 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

How to run a clean, lean, green Embassy machine

I chose to dedicate my first “corporate” blog entry to the Embassy green work as the subject is so closed to my heart – my academic background is a combination of Journalism and Chemical Engineering, and so I have been an avid supporter of environmental protection. It is an impressive accomplishment to see how Romania […]

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28th March 2011 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

Launch of Google Earth ‘4 degree map’

The British Government has just launched an interactive map that highlights some of the possible impacts of a global temperature rise of 4 degrees Celsius. This is an interesting approach to flag up once again why the UK Government and other countries believe we must keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius: because beyond that […]

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28th March 2011 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

E-government@work!

The British cabinet has launched an e-government initiative asking Facebook users to have a say on how government could make savings in public spending. What do you think about this initiative? Do you have any ideas to share with us? Looking forward for your comments,

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28th March 2011 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care

A powerful statement from one of my role models, leadership educator John Maxwell. I was one of the approximately 1,000 people who attended his leadership seminar in Bucharest last Wednesday, 23 March. A rare opportunity to see (and shake hands with!) the author of many of my favourite books on personal development. I hear often […]

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27th March 2011

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by Leigh Turner

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

Why I shouldn’t watch The Boat Race

How much would it be worth Oxford paying me to watch next year’s boat race against Cambridge?  Or how much would Cambridge be prepared to pay to stop me watching? It’s Saturday night in Kyiv and the Oxbridge alumni of the city are gathered at the Golden Gate pub (next to the eponymous 1037 Kyiv […]

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27th March 2011

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

اختبار اللغة العربية

هناك اعتقاد شائع بأن حياة الدبلوماسي هي حياة ترف واسترخاء: شوكولاتة  فيريرو روشيه وحفلات الكوكتيل. و يا ليت كان ذلك صحيحا. إن أحد جوانب عملنا في الخارج و الذي نادرا ما يراه الآخرين هو الجهد الذي نبذله في تعلم اللغات. وفوق كل الدراسة فإنه علينا أن نتقدم للامتحان. نعم، حتى السفير يجب أن يخضع للامتحانات: […]

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27th March 2011

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

Testing Arabic

There is a popular perception that a diplomat’s life is one of luxury and relaxation: all Ferrero Rocher and cocktail parties.  If only that were true.  One aspect of our work abroad that is rarely seen is the effort we put into learning languages.  And on top of studies, we have to take exams.  Yes, […]

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24th March 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Water on the table

The Informal Environment Council taking place in Gödöllő on 25-26 March has an exciting agenda even if it doesn’t have a snappy title. This is for several reasons. The topics for discussion are water and climate policy – an appropriate combination from Hungary’s point of view. Because focusing on water issues seems to be able […]

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23rd March 2011

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

A fine Hungarian example

On 3 March a new Alliance for Future Generations came together in the UK. The trigger for its formation was an inspirational visit by Hungary’s Ombudsman for Future Generations – a frequent partner of ours on environmental issues – to the UK in February 2010. A presentation he made at the British Ministry of Justice […]

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