8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
17th October 2024
OSLOBOĐENJE BEOGRADA
11th October 2024
Busting the gender myths – women and organised crime
28th December 2016 Holy See
The Nativity Scene in St Peter’s Square
At Christmas, Nativity scenes make their appearance in churches and homes across the world. In Italy there is a particularly strong tradition of presepio – some churches in Rome have exhibitions of historical and modern designs, and there are some streets on Naples which are full at this time of the year with thousands of […]
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23rd December 2016 Kenya
A Dialogue on Sustainable Water Resources for Africa at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Annual Congress in Nairobi
Access to safe drinking water is fundamental to human development and well-being. It is also a fundamental human right, as recognised in 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. Worldwide, over 663 million people still lack access to safe drinking water; nearly half of this population lives in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Science and innovation must […]
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23rd December 2016 London, UK
Hogmanay 2017 from Islamabad!
As we look forward to 2017 and celebrating the Scottish holiday of Hogmanay, I’m thinking about the special link between Scotland and Pakistan. The British High Commission in Islamabad has an active Scottish contingent, who support the relationship between Pakistan and the whole of the UK, including Scotland, on issues ranging from economic development to […]
22nd December 2016 Holy See
Pope Francis at 80: The Pope’s favourite words
Pope Francis turned 80 on 17 December. Messages poured in from around the world (70,000 emails) and the Pope celebrated with 8 homeless people. Much has been written about the Pope’s achievements. He is on a mission to change the Church, making it more global, ecumenical, open to dialogue with other faiths, focussed on the […]
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22nd December 2016 Abuja, Nigeria
Tackling Sexual Violence Stigma Attached to Victims of Boko Haram
On 23 November, the British High Commission and International Alert convened a workshop in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, where 2.2 million people are displaced. In North East Nigeria, stigma attaches to survivors of sexual violence. Stigma attaches to women who bear a child outside marriage. Stigma attaches to anyone associated with Boko Haram. Many […]
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22nd December 2016 Canberra, Australia
Gold Standard support for scholars
At the beginning of this month, I was honoured to accept, on behalf of the British High Commission, the Public Affairs Asia Gold Standard Award for Diplomatic Engagement for our work supporting scholarships for Indigenous Australian students. We have been supporting the Charlie Perkins Scholarship Trust since 2010 through the FCO’s Chevening programme, and recently extended […]
21st December 2016 London, UK
Foreign Office 2016
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has 268 overseas missions operating in 168 counties and territories and is the voice of the UK government across the world. Take a look at some of the biggest priorities we’ve been working on this year. EU Referendum On June 23rd, the British people voted to leave the European Union. […]
21st December 2016 Lagos, Nigeria
SCIENTISTS AND STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGING AT THE SOUTH AFRICA SCIENCE FORUM 2016
The second South Africa Science Forum 2016, which was held from December 8 -9 at the International Convention Centre of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa (SA) was a great opportunity for SIN Officers (Nairobi, Kenya; Cape Town, South Africa; and Lagos, Nigeria) to meet and interact with various […]
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21st December 2016 London, UK
A New Start for Asma: A Story of Hope through UK Assistance for Food and Livelihoods in Conflict-Affected Darfur
Asma Mohamed Omar Korsi is a businesswoman in Darfur. She proudly smiles as she overlooks her growing business. Years of hard work have paid off and enabled her to expand her small millet enterprise to include an array of different food items in the bustling central market of Geneina town. Asma, 50, has raised her […]
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21st December 2016 Abuja, Nigeria
Rivers Re-Run Elections
Last weekend I was part of a team from the British High Commission, joined by US and German colleagues who travelled to Rivers State, Nigeria to observe the Rivers State re run elections. The elections in Rivers State are notoriously problematic (this was the third attempt at running the elections here), but we hoped that things […]