Julie Chappell » Ambassador to Guatemala, Guatemala City

As I sit here in the airport, I am going through a roller coaster of emotions. I am truly, truly sad to be leaving. In 3 years, I have made some amazing friends and have got to experience an incredible country. But I also feel satisfied that our Embassy team has done so much over this time to benefit our two countries – promoting trade and cultural links; working with … Read more »Farewell to Guatemala

Between 2 and 10 March the British Embassy will host its 3rd British Week. Following successes in 2010 and 2011, this year’s British Week will be bigger than ever in what is a very special year for the UK and Guatemala. See here Ambassador’s Julie Chappell message:  

This week Guatemala’s President, Otto Perez Molina, launched a National Agenda for Competitiveness, a nine year roadmap detailing how the new Guatemalan government intends to generate new business investment in the country to create more Guatemalan jobs. The plan presents opportunities for the UK – and the launch is timely given our British Week between 2-10 March; more about this later – but there are also challenges to overcome. The … Read more »Invest in Guatemala: British Week 2012

Today I’m pleased to introduce 3 guests to my blog, all of whom have links to St Andrews University in Scotland, which is celebrating its 600th anniversary, and which will be one of the excellent institutions taking part in our UK Education Fairs in Guatemala and Quetzaltenango on 2 and 3 March! So first, let me hand over to Thomas Marr, Senior International Officer at St Andrews University: The University … Read more »UK Education: tradition, innovation, diversity

Today we have a guest blogger, Elena Mercadante, who is here for three weeks on a temporary attachment to the Embassy. She describes how she grabbed the chance to swap New York City for Guatemala City. When I read about the opportunity to help out at the Embassy in Guatemala City in the run-up to their British Week, I jumped at the chance! I already knew what a beautiful and … Read more »Swapping New York for Guatemala

11th February, marks 200 days to the Paralympic Games in London. As with the Olympic Games, the UK is prepared and gearing up to receive athletes, press and government delegations for this international and inclusive sporting showcase! Hosting the Paralympics in 2012 will be a particularly special moment for the UK as the country that founded the Paralympic movement in 1948 and put disability sport on the map. Dr Ludwig … Read more »Counting Down!

Julie is taking a well deserved break, so this is David at the helm for a couple of weeks. In the Embassy this week we were pleased to welcome our Regional Consul, Marie Forsyth, on a visit.  Marie’s based in Mexico City, but has responsibility for our Consular sections and Honorary Consuls in all 10 countries from Mexico down to Colombia – a busy role!  At a reception hosted by … Read more »Regionalising consular work

Inauguration days are exciting times with feelings of optimism and hope that a new government’s election brings: they bring opportunities but also challenges. Guatemalans exercised their democratic right in record numbers last September and November when they chose Partido Patriota, led by Otto Perez Molina, to govern the country. On 14 January the new President was sworn in, along with Guatemala’s first female Vice President, Roxanna Baldetti, for a four … Read more »New government; new opportunities

I recently made my last trip to Honduras as UK Ambassador. It was sad to say goodbye, but I’m happy that there are lots of good things for my successor to take on when she arrives in June. For example, during the visit I and Lisa (who is in charge of our Honduras project work) attended the soft launch of the new Land Rover showroom in Tegucigalpa. It’s a brand … Read more »Visiting Honduras

And to kick off the new year, here’s our Lisa with a blog on one of our most important (and popular!) areas of work: Scholarships! One of the highlights of working in the Embassy is involvement in the FCO’s Chevening Scholarships programme, and the opportunity to meet and support the future leaders of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who apply for these one-year Masters scholarships in the UK. In December, … Read more »Chevening Scholarships