Tag: British High Commission in Colombo

16th June 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

800 years of the Magna Carta and Human Rights today

Only four copies of the 1215 Magna Carta still exist: one is held at Lincoln Cathedral, one at Salisbury Cathedral and two are held at the British Library in London.

For centuries, the Magna Carta, signed by King John at Runnymede in England in 1215, has been quoted to help promote human rights and alleviate suffering all around the world. This week, we are celebrating its 800th anniversary, and its continuing relevance today.  To mark the anniversary, my colleagues at the UK Mission in Geneva hosted a […]

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27th May 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

To be or not to be… Shakespeare’s Globe comes to Colombo

On 14 May, Shakespeare’s Globe came to Colombo. Sri Lanka was their 96th stopover in their Globe to Globe challenge to perform Hamlet in every single country in the world. Here in Sri Lanka, they performed twice, a free matinee for 20 schools from across Colombo, and an evening production. Junior prefects from the British […]

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13th May 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

The Road to Recovery

This year, Mental Health Awareness Week focuses on mindfulness. Mindfulness helps people observe the way they think and feel about their experiences, good or bad – a valuable tool for staying mentally healthy. It can help people with mental and physical health problems, from stress, depression and anxiety to chronic pain, eating disorders and concentration. Georgina […]

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19th February 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

A visit to the Vanni

Sunrise over Mullaitivu beach

Earlier this week, the UN Human Rights Council agreed to Prince Zeid’s request to defer consideration of his office’s investigation into the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka to the summer. The UK was a main sponsor of the resolution setting up the investigation and we remain committed to it. Those who provided information to […]

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6th February 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

A Ringside Seat

Hugo Swire, our Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, visited Sri Lanka last week. It’s always good to get in early, and his was the first bilateral visit to the new Government of Sri Lanka. It was an exciting opportunity for my Government to congratulate President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremasinghe face to face, and […]

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26th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Searching for Maya

For our final blog in our#TsunamiRemembered series, we turn to fiction, sometimes the best way to make sense of facts. Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe is the author of Rhythm of the Sea and Trinity. Her 2011 book of poetry, There’s an Island in the Bone  won the 2011 State Literary Joint Award for poetry. She was longlisted for […]

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25th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Waves of Compassion

In our penultimate #TsunamiRemembered blog, Tesco, the MCC, an ancestral home and overwhelming compassion come together to help rural talent shine. Kushil Gunasekera describes his vision for Foundation of Goodness. I was born in the rural village of Seenigama, but educated in Colombo, and was always determined to bridge the gap between the rural and […]

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24th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Through Hell and High Water: the drivers’ story

This morning we held a short memorial in the office to remember those whose lives were taken away or damaged by the tsunami, and those who worked so tirelessly and generously to rebuild Sri Lanka. So it seems appropriate for our eighth blog to tell the stories of five long term members of British High […]

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23rd December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

The Underwater Wave

Our seventh blog looks at the impact of the tsunami on marine life, and particularly the turtles for which Sri Lanka is famous. Dudley Perera founded the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Conservation Project when he left school in 1988. He writes about recovering from the tsunami and the continuing threats to turtles. Situated on Sri Lanka’s […]

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22nd December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Piyumi’s Story

Our sixth blog is by Lynn Stanier, a specialist travel agent to Sri Lanka, organising holiday and sports tours.  Lynn turned her immediate devastation into a long term determination to support vulnerable children.    Immediately after the tsunami, I visited Sri Lanka with my son Ryan to volunteer and support the Sri Lankan people.  I […]

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