Tag: British High Commission Colombo

19th June 2017 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

For services to the community – from Her Majesty The Queen

Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Honours List this month included Lynn Stanier, the founder of Their Future Today, a British charity in Sri Lanka supporting some of the most vulnerable children and families in society.  She was awarded an MBE for this work, which she describes below. I was in complete shock!  The High Commissioner […]

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4th April 2017 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Digging up the legacy of war

It’s 20 years since Princess Diana walked through a minefield in Angola and changed the way we think about land mines.  And it’s 20 years since the Ottawa Convention banning their use was concluded.  But mines and unexploded ordnance still cause indiscriminate destruction and hinder development in over 63 countries and territories around the world […]

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12th July 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

The books that bind

It was a career first for me on Sunday, when I found myself selecting knickers for Her Majesty The Queen. No lèse-majesté this, rather part of the celebrations of the 210th anniversary of the building of the Governor’s Palace at Mount Lavinia.  This included a literary festival, featuring British authors who have written about or been […]

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17th May 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Minding mental health

“It’s Mental Health Awareness week this week, and we’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on a recent mental health consular case the team has been supporting. A few weeks ago, a British National came for a holiday of a lifetime to the Maldives.  This person had a pre-existing mental health condition, but did not inform […]

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3rd May 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Supporting Press Freedom

Today is World Press Freedom Day.  So it was appropriate that I spent Saturday evening at the Sri Lanka Inquirer awards ceremony, an event celebrating the culmination of British High Commission funded training and some of the best recent investigative journalism in Sri Lanka and Maldives. There is no freedom so worth defending as Freedom of […]

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13th November 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Looking forward in remembrance

On 8 November, we gathered at the Liveramentu War Graves in the Torrington Road cemetery for the annual reflection on sacrifice and the horrors of war that is Remembrance Sunday. The Act of Remembrance was as moving as ever. Bright Sri Lankan sunshine reflected off the rows of white headstones. Veterans, children, diplomats and serving […]

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10th October 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

World Mental Health Day

This year, World Mental Health Day is focusing on dignity. We all have mental health.  Treating people with mental health problems with dignity helps everyone take steps to safeguard their wellbeing.  Failing to do so can lead to self-stigma, low confidence, low self-esteem, withdrawal and social isolation. Providing effective support to people experiencing mental health […]

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22nd September 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Teaming up to transform the world with Chevening

The application window opens this week for the Chevening Rolls-Royce Science and Innovation Leadership Fellowship Program (CRISP). The programme aims to build collaborations between the UK and Sri Lanka in business, science and innovation.  It connects leading Sri Lankans with the best British academicians and practitioners. The 11 week programme at the University of Oxford’s […]

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16th June 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

800 years of the Magna Carta and Human Rights today

Only four copies of the 1215 Magna Carta still exist: one is held at Lincoln Cathedral, one at Salisbury Cathedral and two are held at the British Library in London.

For centuries, the Magna Carta, signed by King John at Runnymede in England in 1215, has been quoted to help promote human rights and alleviate suffering all around the world. This week, we are celebrating its 800th anniversary, and its continuing relevance today.  To mark the anniversary, my colleagues at the UK Mission in Geneva hosted a […]

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25th November 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

What makes a man: why sexism is a men’s issue

I wanted to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by partnering with others who feel as strongly. The reaction was so positive that I’ve ended up with two blogs and a campaign. Kofi Annnan described violence against women as a pandemic. Globally, one in three women will have experienced some […]

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