30th August 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
As you may have seen from the media and our digital comms, the UK has changed its travel advice for Lebanon. We are now advising against all but essential travel to Lebanon. For Brits intending to travel to Lebanon, this means that you need to assess whether your trip really is essential. For Brits already […]
3rd July 2013 London, UK
On 2 April the International Law Team at the British Embassy in The Hague launched a Twitter account dedicated to international law issues. @UKintlaw is the first government Twitter account set up to tweet and engage solely on matters of international law. Its primary focus is on tweeting news arising out of events taking place within […]
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7th June 2013 London, UK
HootSuite discuss social media strategies in government on their blog, following the visit of Alistair Burt MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) in May: As members of the media are taking to social media channels to deliver important news in real time, a growing number of governments (from municipal to federal) […]
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31st May 2013 Havana, Cuba
I’m the British Ambassador to Cuba and I’ve decided to start this blog. The idea is to write about the United Kingdom and Cuba, everything that joins them together and one or two things that separate them. Of course, the British Embassy in Havana already uses lots of digital platforms for communication – for example, […]
23rd May 2013
I confess to having been reluctant to embrace Twitter. But I confess myself a bit of a convert. The great TV critic Clive James once said about “Dallas”, “I came to mock but I stayed to pray”. I wouldn’t go that far, but I have found my first two weeks on Twitter (@hmapauljohnston) both fun and […]
30th April 2013 Beijing, China
Digital diplomacy is undoubtedly an increasingly important aspect of public diplomacy and its popularity is growing fast. It helps us understand our audience better, talk to them directly and make an impact in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Besides relevant topics about our country objectives – foreign policy, economics, trade, climate change and the […]
1st March 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Yesterday was our ‘Education, Education, Education’ Day. I met the prizewinners of our competition for English teachers, including an inspirational administrator from Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp, whose winning lesson plan was based on fish and chips. She is helping even those living in extreme desperation to enjoy and unlock English. But the day […]
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31st January 2013 London, UK
Spending so much time working on social media and digital platforms, it’s easy to find yourself thinking that the only way to engage with the people is through cyberspace. So it was great to spend a couple of days last week being reminded of the benefits of face-to-face communication. The occasion was a two-day seminar […]
24th December 2012 London, UK
Here are some of the social media highlights from the Foreign Office and its network of British embassies, high commissions and missions overseas during 2012 …
8th October 2012 New York, USA
LONDON – British companies growing overseas learned about using social as a way to connect to potential clients and partners at Google’s campus in Tech City during Social Media Week London. The very well-connected and new-to-social crowd had the opportunity to engage with experts from government and industry. I had the opportunity to speak on […]