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Tim Cole

Former British Ambassador to Cuba

Part of UK in Cuba

12th June 2015 Havana, Cuba

#BritTalks

Lord David Triesman
Lord David Triesman

Last week, we held the first #BritTalk in my house. In a fascinating presentation, Lord David Triesman, in Havana on business, shared his experiences of working with FIFA and Sepp Blatter when he was Chair of the Football Association. The audience was gripped by Lord Triesman’s tales of sleaze and abuse of power, by his descriptions of systemic corruption and the divisions that lie at the heart of FIFA. With honesty and clarity he answered their questions, including about how exactly people go about asking for bribes and who he thinks should be the next FIFA President. He finished with a radical suggestion about how future World Cups might be run – not by a public body but by a private company. Afterwards, the journalists, students and others who attended discussed FIFAgate and football over a drink on the patio.

Brit Talks
Brit Talks

Lord Triesman’s talk is exactly what I hope the series of BritTalks (or ‘Charlas Británicas’) will be: challenging, intriguing, thought-provoking.  The talks will cover a range of subjects relevant to both Cuba and the UK, subjects that we both have a stake in, things we care about, issues that unite us, things we should talk about. The presenters will be people who have got something interesting to say, an experience to share or a particular perspective we should hear. They will usually be British or Cuban but they might not be. The audience will be anyone who wants to turn up and ask a question.

Themes for future talks include ‘The Caribbean in 2030’, ‘Not just The Beatles! – British music you should be listening to’, ‘Danza Contemporanea and the UK’ and ‘How to Run a Successful Business’. Keep an eye on our Embassy Facebook page for dates and times. I look forward to seeing you there!

3 comments on “#BritTalks

  1. John
    We haven’t planned that far ahead but yes, there probably will be a BritTalk in January. Keep an eye out on UKinCuba Facebook page or @HMATimCole on Twitter. No need for an invite – just turn up (Paseo 352, 15 y 17, Vedado).
    Tim

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About Tim Cole

Hi! I’m Tim Cole, the British Ambassador to Cuba. I arrived in Havana in August 2012 and presented my credentials as British Ambassador the following month. I’ve been a diplomat…

Hi! I’m Tim Cole, the British Ambassador to Cuba. I arrived in Havana in August 2012 and presented my credentials as British Ambassador the following month. I’ve been a diplomat since 2001; before Cuba, I spent 5 years in London where I worked on Pan-African policy and global economic issues and 6 years in southern Africa as Deputy Head of Mission in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Most of my career has been in Africa as before joining the FCO I ran humanitarian aid programmes in Central Africa for the British NGOs Christian Aid and Save the Children. I’m married to Clare and we have 2 children – Jonathan and Zea.

The idea of this blog is to tell you what the British government is doing in Cuba and why. If you enjoy the blog and want to read more, please follow me on Twitter.