Climate change and plastic free environments – we are all responsible to #ActGreen0

• DIPLO Blog, Public diplomacy
• 18th November 2019

Skip to content UK in North Macedonia
Part of #BeyondPlastic UK in North Macedonia
18th November 2019 Skopje, North Macedonia
Climate change and plastic free environments – we are all responsible to #ActGreen Introduction by Her Majesty’s Ambassador Rachel Galloway, British Embassy Skopje:
Climate change presents an existential risk to global prosperity & security, and I am proud that the UK are leading in the fight to protect our environment. This year, we have become one of the first major economies to commit to ending our contribution to climate change altogether by reducing our emissions to net zero by 2050. This is consistent with the science of what is needed globally to avoid dangerous climate change. The next Climate Change Conference (COP25) will take place in December and we will post a series of environmental related blogs by some guest bloggers to share information & ideas. Next year, the UK has successfully bid to co-host with Italy the 2020 Climate Change Conference (COP..

British education: major visa reform for post-study visas0

• DIPLO Blog, Public diplomacy
• 4th November 2019

Skip to content Leigh Turner
Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna
Part of UK in Austria
4th November 2019 Vienna, Austria
British education: major visa reform for post-study visas I commend a recent British Council blog, written by Education Director Maddalaine Ansell.
Ms Ansell writes about the major reform to post-work study visas for international students which the UK Government has announced will enter into force from 2020. “From next year,” she writes, “students graduating from British higher education institutions with at least an undergraduate degree can apply to stay for two years to work or seek work. If they find skilled work, they can switch into the skilled workers immigration route, which can lead to permanent settlement in the UK.”
The change will not directly affect Austrian students, who can already study in the UK for courses starting in the 2020-21 academic year on the same basis ..

The Government Art Collection in Vienna0

• DIPLO Blog, Public diplomacy
• 31st October 2019

Skip to content Leigh Turner
Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna
Part of UK in Austria
31st October 2019 Vienna, Austria
The Government Art Collection in Vienna The Duke of Wellington stares across the room towards a distant Queen Victoria, while Emperor Franz Josef – sash, ‘tache and all – observes impassively. Not the plot of a historical novel, but the paintings in the dining room at the ambassador’s residence in Vienna.

Works from the Government Art Collection (GAC) are displayed in UK Government buildings in nearly every capital city, making it the most dispersed collection of British art in the world.
The Collection promotes British art and plays a key role in British cultural diplomacy, delivering an expression of Britain’s culture and its values. Nowhere is this more relevant than in Vienna, a city where appreciation of art and culture flows through everyday life; and where our continuing ..

Mostar deserves better0

• DIPLO Blog, Public diplomacy
• 31st October 2019

Skip to content Matt Field
British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
31st October 2019 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mostar deserves better The British Embassy recently moved its whole operation down to Mostar for a day. In addition to many other activities across the city, we set up a ‘pop-up’ reception in front of the Mepas Mall. This gave the chance for different teams to explain our work – defence cooperation, education, projects, scholarships, consular support, political work, and commercial – to people as they stopped by.

Just as importantly, it gave us the chance to ask the citizens of Mostar about their priorities for themselves and the city, the kinds of things that they would like to see change. This is a question we as an Embassy have been asking ourselves and others since I arrived, to try to make sure that our priorities and assistance programmes properly match with the change people in this country want to see. The citizens of BiH are the best judges of how to imp..

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE0

• DIPLO Blog, Public diplomacy
• 30th October 2019

Skip to content Paul Brummell
Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department, Communication Directorate
30th October 2019 London,UK
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE The Indigenous Peoples’ Memorial is one of the many striking buildings in the Brazilian capital designed by the prolific modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer. Built in a spiral-shaped design around a central courtyard it was apparently inspired by a Yanomami house. In truth, the building is looking a little the worse for wear. The permanent collection was closed when I visited while on holiday in August, but it was still a worthwhile visit, thanks to a display in that central courtyard, installed to commemorate the UN designation of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Entitled “the Forest of Indigenous Languages”, from the sand-covered courtyard sprouted many wooden poles, each representing a different indigenous language. The poles were of varying heights, since to a standard-height base had been added an addition..

White trees, blue skies and a green plan0

• DIPLO Blog, Public diplomacy
• 25th October 2019

Skip to content Leigh Turner
Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna
Part of UK in Austria
25th October 2019 Vienna, Austria
White trees, blue skies and a green plan Have you ever wondered why the trees are painted white in Vienna? To stop cars running into them, protect them from dogs? The special paint protects new bark from the summer sun! Woodland trees don’t require sun cream but the intense environments of our cities means it’s not only humans who need protection from harmful rays.
I recently had a wonderful opportunity to meet Austria-based British Tree Surgeon Martin Speariett, whilst he was dangling precariously from a Robinia tree he had been pruning in the Embassy’s garden. He said that increasing the amount of ‘green coverage’ in cities helped regulate temperature and reduce air pollution. More trees meant cleaner air but, in man-made environments, we were responsible for keeping the trees ..