Anglicising Iranian Society and Culture Through Education: The UK Foreign Office and the British Council

2022 ◽  
pp. 153-181
Author(s):  
Darius Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
British Council ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
The Uk

A ‘Sound Investment’? British Cultural Diplomacy and Overseas Students: The British Council's Students Committee, 1935–1939

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-283
Author(s):  
Alice Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Overseas Students ◽  
British Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Run Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Second World

This article explores the UK government's first foray into cultural diplomacy by focusing on the activities of the British Council's Students Committee in the run-up to the Second World War. Students were placed at the heart of British cultural diplomacy, which drew on foreign models as well as the experience of intra-empire exchanges. While employing cultural internationalist discourse, the drive to attract more overseas students to the United Kingdom was intended to bring economic and political advantages to the host country. The British Council pursued its policy in cooperation with non-state actors but ultimately was guided by the Foreign Office, which led it to target key strategic regions, principally in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

Cultural diplomacy and the British Council: 1934 — 1939

1978 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
British Government ◽  
International Peace ◽  
British Council ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Political Form

In November, 1934, the British Council for Relations with Other Countries was founded on the initiative of the Foreign Office. The decision to establish a body specifically designed to conduct cultural propaganda overseas on behalf of the British Government was, perhaps, the most constructive peacetime response to the growing realization that more positive measures were required to counter the detrimental effects of aggressive foreign propaganda upon British interests and prestige. The British Council, which continued to operate under the auspices of the Foreign Office, offered a new and alternative approach to the traditional conduct of foreign affairs: the practice of cultural diplomacy. It was believed that cultural propaganda — broadly interpreted as the dissemination of British ideals and beliefs in a general rather than specifically political form – would not only serve to enhance British influence and prestige abroad, but would also effectively further the wider ideals of international peace and understanding.

Applying Sense-Making and Narrative Techniques to Capture Lessons Learnt

2007 ◽  
Vol 06 (03) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Cheuk
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
British Council ◽  
Narrative Techniques ◽  
The Uk

This case study demonstrates how we have designed a knowledge management project around story-telling ("narrative" feedback). The aim is to create a global virtual space for sharing of good and bad experiences from the commissioning pilot. This project is also designed to help senior managers understand the experiences of the pilot phase of a major change programme within the British Council. The change programme (referred to as commissioning change programme) is about introducing a new internal model/process to release funding to support new products and services' development and implementation. The research design is informed by Dervin's sense-making theory and Snowden's Cynefin framework and mass narrative representation tools. Telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 30 colleagues in the UK and overseas. An initial indirect question was posed to respondents—"What was your experience with the commissioning pilot?"—to capture their stories. The stories told were transcribed and indexed and patterns were identified. The analysis helps to highlight the problematic areas as well as opportunities for improvement. This case study demonstrates the potential of using narratives to evaluate and capture learning points which can be viewed by managers and staff using multiple perspectives. This approach complements the traditional approach of producing an evaluation report which would be written for a specific group of audience, such as the senior management team.

Brian Roberts and the origins of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty

Polar Record ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Heavens
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Collaboration ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Political Settlement

ABSTRACTDuring his lifetime and beyond, Brian Roberts was often thought to be theéminence griseof the UK's Antarctic policy and also of the founding of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Documentary evidence of his influence has, however, been conspicuously absent, due in part to the closure of relevant files in the UK's National Archives. Using Roberts’ personal files in the archives of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, files in the UK National Archives that remained closed for 50 years but have recently been released, and the recollections of surviving contemporaries of Roberts, it has been possible to establish the extent of his involvement in the evolution of the treaty and to add new elements that may contribute towards a reconstruction of its complex history. From 1956 Roberts developed a productive relationship with the UK Foreign Office's Head of American Department Henry Hankey that enabled them to influence the UK policy on Antarctica and to make a significant contribution towards the political settlement represented by the treaty. For Roberts and his colleagues in the Foreign Office the main purpose of the treaty was not primarily the promotion of international scientific collaboration but was essentially a means of addressing a political situation that had become otherwise intractable.

scholarly journals Connecting Museums: a case study in leadership, innovation and education in university science museums leading internationalisation projects

Educação ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
José Luís Schifino Ferraro ◽  
Adam Goldwater ◽  
Caroline McDonald ◽  
Melissa Guerra Simões Pires ◽  
Janet Stott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Science Museums ◽  
Porto Alegre ◽  
British Council ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
The Uk ◽  
University Museum ◽  
University Science

This article reports on Connecting Museums: leadership, innovation and education in Science Museums, an international conference involving three university museums: Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCT-PUCRS), the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM), at Newcastle University (NU), and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH). The partnership started with a project to develop a joint exhibition on the theme of evolution organised by MCT-PUCRS and GNM, supported by the British Council’s Newton Fund (Institutional Skills 2016). The two museums shared the project at the UK University Museums Group (UMG) conference in 2016, where it came to the attention of colleagues at OUMNH. Following the UMG conference, the leadership and education teams of the three museums opened a dialogue to exchange knowledge and experience on leadership, innovation and education in science museums. This culminated in the first Connecting Museums conference in Porto Alegre, Brazil in October 2017. The conference was attended by 81 professionals, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students with interests in museology, the natural sciences and related areas. *** Connecting Museums: um estudo de caso sobre liderança, inovação e educação em museus de ciências universitários liderando projetos de internacionalização ***Este artigo constitui-se de um relato sobre o Connecting Museums: liderança, inovação e educação em Museus de Ciências, uma conferência internacional envolvendo três museus universitários: o Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCT-PUCRS), o Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM), da Newcastle University (NU) e o Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH). A parceria entre as instituições iniciou-se a partir de um projeto para o desenvolvimento de uma exposição conjunta, organizada pelo MCT-PUCRS e pelo GNM financiada pelo Newton Fund por meio do edital Institutional Skills 2016 promovido pelo British Council. Os dois museus apresentaram o projeto na conferência do University Museum Group (UMG) em 2016 no Reino Unido, despertando a atenção de colegas do OUMNH. Após a conferência, as equipes de gestão e de educação dos três museus iniciaram um diálogo que culminou na troca de conhecimentos e experiências nas áreas de liderança, inovação e educação em museus de ciências. Este diálogo resultou na primeira edição da conferência Connecting Museums em Porto Alegre, Brasil, em outubro de 2017. Participaram do evento 81 profissionais, entre pesquisadores e alunos de graduação e pós-graduação, cujo interesse estava relacionado à museologia, ciências naturais e áreas correlatas.Palavras-chave: Museus de ciência. Liderança. Inovação. Educação em ciências. Internacionalização.

Chinese English Teachers' Perspectives on “Distributed Flip MOOC Blends”

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Marina Orsini-Jones ◽  
Bin Zou ◽  
Yuanyan Hu ◽  
Li Wei
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
British Council ◽  
Research Award ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

This article reports on a study involving experienced university lecturers from mainland China reflecting on how to blend FutureLearn MOOCs into their existing English Language Teaching (ELT) curricula while on an ‘upskilling' teacher education summer course in the UK in academic year 2016-2017. Linked to a British Council ELTRA (English Language Teaching Research Award) project, the study involved: a. the administration of a pre-MOOC survey relating to teachers' beliefs towards online learning in general and MOOCs in particular; b. ‘learning by doing': taking part in a FutureLearn MOOC; c. reflecting on the experience both face-to-face in workshops, in online forums and in a post-MOOC survey. The outcomes of this article highlight that the understanding of what a MOOC is might differ between the UK and China. The article concludes by presenting the perceived pros and cons of adopting a ‘distributed flip MOOC blend' as previously discussed in related work.

scholarly journals A foreign office inspection report at british consulate in Cernauti in 1940

2019 ◽  
Vol XXII (1) ◽  
pp. 128-133
Author(s):  
Zidaru M.
Keyword(s):  
British Council ◽  
Foreign Office

In April 1940 a British inspector arrive in Cernauti to inspect the activity of the British consulate in this city. During the inspection activity he checked the stage of the building and equipment, the security of the consulate, accounts, Consulate’s correspondence, the passports and visas issued by the consulate, the situation of British community in Cernauti, the activity of the British Council in Cernauti. The aim of this article is to present how control took place and what were the conclusions of this inspection

scholarly journals Tackling the gender biases in higher education careers in Pakistan: potential online opportunities post COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Maleeha Ashraf ◽  
Gabriella Cagliesi ◽  
Denise Hawkes ◽  
Maryam Rab
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
British Council ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Uk

Driven to improve the quality of higher education as an engine of growth and socio-economic development within Pakistan for 20 years, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan has focused on linking academics and professional services staff with their counterparts in various countries, including the UK, US, and Australia. In collaboration with the British Council, the PAK-UK initiative has been launched to offer deeper linkages between the academics and universities in the UK and Pakistan. This paper presents statistical analysis of data collected in a British Council project highlighting the gender inequalities of the current HEC strategy. The results suggest the potential for online opportunities to help close and amend this gender gap and improve higher education in Pakistan, and the PAK-UK initiative’s role in contributing more broadly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Intercept!

Colossus ◽  
2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Copeland
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Royal Navy ◽  
Royal Air Force ◽  
Metropolitan Police ◽  
Service Staff ◽  
Wireless Service ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Police Vehicles

A top-secret cryptographic dictionary compiled by Bletchley Park in 1944 defined ‘Y Service’ as ‘The organisation responsible for the interception of all enemy and neutral radio transmissions’. The job description was succinct, the task huge. The Y Service staff who intercepted and recorded the German and Japanese transmissions are unsung heroes of the attack on the enemy codes. Many of them were women. Their difficult and painstaking work was less glamorous than codebreaking, but without Y the Bletchley cryptanalysts would have had nothing to decrypt. Chapter 2 sketches the growth of the Y Service between the wars, including the establishment of the Royal Navy intercept site at Flowerdown, the Royal Air Force site at Cheadle, and the Army site at Chatham (see photograph 40). These and other military sites in the UK tended to focus on Morse transmissions. Curiously, the interception of the non-Morse transmissions associated with Fish fell at first to the London Police. Collaboration between the Foreign Office signals interception programme and Scotland Yard’s Metropolitan Police wireless service began in 1926 (‘wireless’ means ‘radio’). The Police wireless service, which started life in an attic at Scotland Yard, was originally set up to develop wireless for police vehicles; from 1926 the police operators had the additional brief of intercepting material of interest to the Foreign Office. In 1930 the Foreign Office started to finance the police Y section, which in turn became increasingly involved in the development of experimental equipment for Y work. Following successes against European traffic, the police operators received carte blanche to investigate ‘any curious type of transmission’. In the mid-1930s the section expanded and was relocated to buildings in the grounds of the Metropolitan Police Nursing Home at Denmark Hill in south London. Police operators first intercepted German non-Morse transmissions in 1932, on a link between Berlin and Moscow. These transmissions, which went on for ten months, were clearly experimental, and the police monitored them in conjunction with the Post Office’s Central Telegraph Office. It seems that the pre-war transmissions were unenciphered. Y’s first wartime encounter with non-Morse transmissions came in the latter half of 1940, when two stations broadcasting enciphered teleprinter code were intercepted.

Russian—UK Academic—Industrial Collaboration

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 362-366
Author(s):  
J. R. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Training Programme ◽  
British Council ◽  
Industrial Base ◽  
Femtosecond Optics ◽  
Vital Importance ◽  
Training Course ◽  
Laboratory Facilities ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Active Training ◽  
Industrial Collaboration

A collaborative programme is described that was established in 1997 between academic and industrial partners in Russia and the UK, and is supported by the British Council, to provide an active training ground for students from the Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudnyi. Imperial College's Femtosecond Optics Group has made available training course and laboratory facilities in association with IP Fibre Devices in the UK who have given financial and equipment support for the project as well as actively participating in the training programme through hosting students at their R&D facility The overall programme was conceived by the IRE Polus Company in Moscow, in an effort to maintain a mechanism to train students in key technological areas that will be of vital importance to the development of an internationally competitive associated Russian industrial base.

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