4th August 2021 Skopje, North Macedonia
As the days are sliding and passing by, while the most of us are sitting in our pyjamas in our homemade offices, closed in by the second pandemic in this still new millennium, we are watching on our digital skies how many parts of the world are facing the harsh and devastating reality of the […]
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30th September 2020 Skopje, North Macedonia
Two years into my posting as British Ambassador to North Macedonia, September was my first month working for the recently merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the whole team coming back fully into the Embassy and adapting to the “new normal”. With my Embassy team, we have been working remotely and in groups from the […]
15th October 2019 Skopje, North Macedonia
In pursuing my goal of visiting local cities and exploring local communities, last week my destination was Bitola city. While on the road, I was excited to learn a few words and expressions in the local dialect as I had heard so much about its uniqueness. Fortunately, my first attempts were mostly well received by […]
3rd October 2019 Skopje, North Macedonia
Last week, I travelled only a short distance from Skopje to visit Veles. It was a packed day as there was a lot to discuss and a lot of people to see and meet. Although Veles has a rich cultural history, our conversations were focussed on its future. Mayor Ace Kocevski talked about his plans […]
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28th August 2019 Skopje, North Macedonia
As much as I enjoy living and working in Skopje, it’s always a great pleasure when I get to visit other places across the country. Last week I had the honour of attending the opening of the Struga Poetry Festival, the world’s oldest consecutive running poetry festival. It was moving to hear poets from around […]
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29th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
Last week, for the second year running, the British Embassy Vienna took part in the “Vienna Girlsday”. I certainly learned a lot. The aim of the “Girlsday” (in German it is called “Töchtertag” or “daughters’ day”) is to introduce young women to areas of work where women are under-represented. In the UK in 2019 we […]
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27th December 2018 Vientiane, Laos
Guest blog by Martin Couch, Acting Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Laos: A surprise visit to Nongdeng village in Xamnue district, Huaphan province (remote northern Laos) Thank you Ambassador Hugh Evans for letting me post a blog about my short time here in Laos. As someone who works in the Foreign and […]
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24th October 2018 London,UK
One of the most important events of our annual Chevening Scholarships calendar is the orientation day, held on Saturday at the ExCel Centre in London’s Docklands, when new Chevening scholars learnt more about the year that awaited them, had the opportunity to debate key issues from climate change to artificial intelligence, and heard from such […]
5th September 2018 Hanoi
I’ve only been Ambassador here in Vietnam for a month, but that’s long enough to pick up on the importance of education. As a society with a Confucian history, I can see that study is valued highly, even if things have changed a lot in the millenium since Hanoi’s Temple of Literature first tested scholars against […]
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22nd February 2018 Abuja, Nigeria
I recently organised a targeted Chevening Scholarship application workshop for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Chevening is a holistic UK government funded scheme that prepares talented individuals for the future leadership of Nigeria, through a cultural exchange and master’s degree programme in the UK. The workshop was hosted in collaboration with the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) […]
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