19th February 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Most of the world’s population lives in countries where freedom of religion or belief is restricted in some way, and over a third where such limitations are extreme. Some 60 countries retain on their statute books laws against blasphemy, or apostasy, with often draconian punishments for those who transgress. And yet, as long ago as […]
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29th October 2014
Toronto, Canada
Back in August, we wrote about an exciting upcoming event called DementiaHack. We hoped to bring together a bunch of researchers, clinicians, caregivers, people living with dementia and computer scientists to code some creative tech-based solutions to some of the challenges that people face with this issue. A little over a month after the event […]
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15th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On 15 October, today, ministers, businesses, experts and MEPs from across the political spectrum will come together for the Green Growth Summit to call for an ambitious EU 2030 climate change and energy package agreement at the October European Council. An ambitious package could pave the way for a global deal on climate change at […]
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7th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Caritas Internationalis (CI) is the official humanitarian and development agency of the global Catholic Church. Created in the 1950s under papal guidance, it was described recently by Pope Francis as “an essential part of the Church”. It now has over 160 member organisations operating in 200 countries and territories around the globe, including CAFOD in […]
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4th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last November I was in London with the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel. They visited Cambridge University, an inner-city London school, the Google Campus and Tech City in East London. It was the latter visits which inspired my Swedish counterpart in London and me to think about a follow-up event focusing on how the flourishing […]
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13th August 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The following is a guest blog by Steve Townsend, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy to the Holy See On 13 August 1964, Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans made British judicial history, although not in a way they would have appreciated. They were the last people executed in the United Kingdom. Throughout the […]
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8th August 2014
Toronto, Canada
You may remember that back in March we mentioned an exciting hackathon event to build a software platform for the self- and community management of dementia. We can announce today that this event will take place over 12-14 September 2014 in Toronto, and 11, 13-14 September 2014 in London. Never shy of large or complex […]
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6th August 2014
Skopje, North Macedonia
Just in case you thought diversity was a modern obsession, peddled by management consultants and politically correct Human Resources teams, here’s a quote from John Scotus Eriugena, Irish philosopher who lived 1200 years ago: ‘Beauty is unity in diversity.’ It took me a while in my career to understand the value of diversity. I really […]
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4th July 2014
Toronto, Canada
As we look forward to Toronto’s Smart Week 2014 in October, it’s worth reviewing what’s been going on in the UK around the Internet of Things. Briefly, the term Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the rapid proliferation of network-enabled devices and the Internet-like structures that enable them to communicate with each other. For example, […]
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27th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Earlier this week I was in London to address an in-house training programme of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on religion and foreign policy. The course is aimed at British diplomats, but also public servants from other government ministries; there were a number of participants this week from the Ministry of Defence, and on […]
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