A. Rubio
What is the daily work of an ambassador like? This is what the 15 young winners of the second edition of the British Embassy’s ‘Ambassador for a Day’ programme were able to find out, whose interest and dedication were recognised yesterday during a reception hosted by the British Ambassador, Hugh Elliott, at his residence.
Before the 15 winners of this year’s competition and the winners of the first edition, the head of the British Mission stressed, in addition to the talent of the participants, the importance of incorporating more and more women into the diplomatic sphere. In this regard, he recalled the speech given by the former Secretary of the Foreign Office, William Hague, at Georgetown University, where he said that “there is no greater strategic prize in the 21st century than the total social, political and economic empowerment of all women throughout the world”.
Hugh Elliott recalled that women were not allowed to enter the foreign service in the UK until 1946 and that until 1973 they were required to resign from their profession if they married. “Today 43% of UK ambassadors are women,” Elliot said, concluding that “we have made progress, although there are still few women ambassadors; we have a huge job ahead of us, but the trend is positive“. Currently 20% of ambassadors worldwide are women.
During the event, the Spanish diplomat Nuria Bou, from the last graduating class of the Diplomatic School, also spoke, encouraging girls to opt for a diplomatic career. “A profession”, she said, “in which if there are women in the decision-making teams, it is shown that they are more empathetic and cases of violence are reduced”.
The students, aged between 16 and 18, had the opportunity to talk to female ambassadors and diplomats from different countries stationed in Madrid and to learn the skills necessary for a career in diplomacy.
The 15 young women, from Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia, Navarre and Ceuta, enjoyed a full programme on Thursday and Friday. The first day began with a session of advice and guidance from ambassadors and minister counsellors from the participating embassies. It continued with high-level speakers, from María Solanas, director of programmes at the Real Instituto Elcano, Marta Pérez Dorao, president of the Inspiring Girls Foundation, to the influencer Maria Speaks English. The day concluded with two sessions on communication and culture in diplomacy.
On Friday, the students attended the ‘Women in Science’ conference, organised by the British Embassy, to discuss the challenges of women in science and technology with María Blasco, director of the CNIO, and Silvia Rueda, director of the Women and Science unit of the Ministry of Science.
“With initiatives such as ‘Ambassador for a Day’, we want young women to get to know the diplomatic world from the inside and see that it is within their reach. Therefore, I hope that the 15 winners from all over Spain who have visited us have learned and enjoyed all the activities,” said the Minister Counsellor of the British Embassy, Sarah Cowley.
The young students – Irune Garjón (Navarra); Julia Rodríguez (Madrid); Irene Mas (Madrid); Azul Celeste Medina (Madrid); Anagabriella Zoghbi (Madrid); Ariadna Gómez (Madrid); María Martínez (Madrid); Lucía Ortega (Madrid); Valeria Gómez (Madrid); Jordina Subirachs (Barcelona); Elisabet Sánchez (Barcelona); Africa Delgado (Ceuta); Ramia Mohamed (Ceuta); Aeicha Rossi (Granada); and Lara Villalba (Málaga) – all agreed that their participation in the programme has been an “extremely interesting and enriching” experience and has served as motivation for their professional future.
In addition to the UK Embassy, the embassies of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ukraine have also participated in the programme.
