Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

8th March 2017 London, UK

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by Boris Johnson

Former Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs

The world would be a better place if all girls went to school

I am always dubious about so-called silver bullets that allegedly solve a host of problems. “Life can’t be that simple,” I think. “Surely there must be a catch?” But there is one step that would improve countless lives — and make the world an infinitely better place — if only every government summoned the will […]

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8th March 2017 Gaborone, Botswana

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by Katharine Ransome

British High Commissioner to Botswana and UK Representative to the Southern Africa Development Community

#BeBoldForChange: Celebrating Women and Men as equal partners in society this International Women’s Day

Did you know that up until 1972, if you were a woman in the British Diplomatic Service, you had to resign if you got married? Nobody is really sure how this policy came about, but thankfully wiser minds have long since prevailed. Now both male and female diplomats equally find ways to combine family and […]

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7th March 2017 Science Innovation USA

Patricia Gruver

Patricia Gruver

Science & Innovation Officer, Los Angeles

From STEM to STEAM: Science and Art Go Hand-in-Hand

A Conversation with Rosie Grayburn, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Getty Conservation Institute In recognition of International Women’s Day, I interviewed a very inspiring female scientist working here in Los Angeles. Rosie’s career illustrates the strong science ties between the US and the UK, as she originally hails from England. Can you tell me a little bit about […]

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7th March 2017 Science Innovation USA

Patricia Gruver

Patricia Gruver

Science & Innovation Officer, Los Angeles

Science Belongs to Humanity…Or Does It?

A Guest Blog by the Women of the Science and Innovation Network Science knows no country because knowledge belongs to humanity and it is the torch that illuminates the world- Louis Pasteur This beautiful quote sums up why networks like HMG’s Science and Innovation Network (SIN) are so important, and why collaborating on science and […]

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7th March 2017 London, UK

Fiona Blyth

Fiona Blyth

Senior Policy Adviser, UKMis New York

Working for Somalia through the United Nations Security Council

Delivering support and achieving progress in Somalia requires more than one international partner. Multilateral institutions are a vital way of convening the international community and combining our efforts to have a greater effect. One of the many ways in which the UK supports progress in Somalia is through our Permanent Seat on the United Nations […]

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7th March 2017 London, UK

Sam Grout-Smith

Sam Grout-Smith

Peacebuilding, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, UKMis New York

The fight to end slavery is still not won

To me, and I expect many others, the word slavery conjures up images of the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. Although the institution of slavery has been almost entirely abolished around the globe, there are still millions of people living in conditions of slavery. When we talk of child soldiers, women trafficked into the […]

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7th March 2017 Tokyo

Elizabeth Hogden

by Elizabeth Hogben

Head of Science and Innovation (Japan), British Embassy Tokyo

Involve patients, harness new technologies, share data: future prospects for UK and Japan research partnerships to tackle dementia

Dementia is not an inevitable consequence of ageing…. and yet it is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. Japan as a society is wrestling with the effects of a rapidly ageing population, where the number of people with dementia is forecast to rise to more than 7 million by 2025. […]

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7th March 2017 Delhi, India

Jane Urquhart and Leena Kukreja

Jane Urquhart and Leena Kukreja

Women in STEM: closing the gender gap

Growing up in Australia, like all kids, I was curious and inquisitive about the ‘science’ behind things. Encouraged by a school teacher mother and an engineer father, I coveted a plastic microscope and a chemistry set. But, like many other kids, I lost confidence in my abilities in science and maths. Growing up in India, […]

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6th March 2017 Holy See

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by Sally Axworthy

Ambassador to the Holy See

International Women’s Day: Sisters are Doing it for Themselves

We usually think of the Catholic Church as a male-dominated organisation because priests staff the hierarchy. But, as I have been discovering in my first six months in Rome, women play an important role in the Church. Indeed there are nearly twice as many religious sisters (800,000) as there are Catholic priests (around 400,000) – […]

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