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The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
in Argentina); encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational co-operation with the United Kingdom. The organisation has been called a
soft power In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defin ...
extension of UK foreign policy, as well as a tool for propaganda. The British Council is governed by a
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
. It is also a
public corporation A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
and an executive nondepartmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...
. Its headquarters are in
Stratford, London Stratford is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965 it was within the historic county of Essex. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles (10 km) east-northeast of Chari ...
. Its Chairman is Stevie Spring and its Chief Executive is Scott McDonald.


History

*1934: British Foreign Office officials created the "British Committee for Relations with Other Countries" to support English education abroad, promote British culture and fight the rise of fascism. The name quickly became British Council for Relations with Other Countries. *1936: The organisation's name was officially shortened to the British Council. *1938: The British Council opens its first four offices in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
(Romania),
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
(Egypt),
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
(Portugal) and
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
(Poland)."About us"
British Council, Portugal. The offices in Portugal are currently the oldest in continuous operation in the world. *1940: King George VI granted the British Council a Royal Charter for promoting "a wider knowledge of
he United Kingdom He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
and the English language abroad and developing closer cultural relations between
he UK He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
and other countries". *1942: The British Council undertook a promotion of British culture overseas. The music section of the project was a recording of significant recent compositions by British composers: E.J. Moeran's Symphony in G minor was the first work to be recorded under this initiative, followed by recordings of Walton's ''
Belshazzar's Feast Belshazzar's feast, or the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel), tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the Solomon's Temple, First Temple. A ...
'', Bliss's
Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...
, Bax's Third Symphony, and Elgar's ''
The Dream of Gerontius ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment b ...
''. *1944: In August, after the liberation of Paris, Austin Gill was sent by the council to reestablish the Paris office, which soon had tours by the
Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
company,
Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...
and T. S. Eliot. *1946: The British Council collected handicraft products from crafts that were being practised in the British countryside for an "Exhibition of Rural Handicrafts from Great Britain" that travelled to Australia and New Zealand. The majority of the collection was sold to the
Museum of English Rural Life The Museum of English Rural Life, also known as The MERL, is a museum, library and archive dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. The museum is run by the University of Reading, and is situated in Red ...
in 1960 and 1961. *2007: The Russian Foreign Ministry ordered the British Council to close its offices outside Moscow. The Ministry alleged that it had violated Russian tax regulations, a move that British officials claimed was a retaliation over the British expulsion of Russian diplomats allegedly involved with the
poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...
. This caused the British Council to cease carrying out all English-language examinations in Russia from January 2008. In early 2009, a Russian arbitration court ruled that the majority of the tax claims, valued at $6.6 million, were unjustified. *2011: On 19 August, a group of armed men attacked the British Council office in
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, the capital of Afghanistan, killing at least 12 people – none of them British – and temporarily took over the compound. All the attackers were killed in counter-attacks by forces guarding the compound. The British Council office was relocated to the British Embassy compound, as the British Council compound was destroyed in the suicide attack. *2013: The British Council in
Tripoli, Libya Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...
, was targeted by a car bomb on the morning of 23 April. Diplomatic sources were reported as saying that "the bombers were foiled as they were preparing to park a rigged vehicle in front of the compound gate". The attempted attack was simultaneous with the attack on the French Embassy in Tripoli on the same day that injured two French security guards, one severely, and wounded several residents in neighbouring houses. A jihadist group calling itself the Mujahedeen Brigade was suspected possibly linked to
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
in the Islamic Maghreb.


Organisation

The British Council is a charity governed by
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
. It is also a
public corporation A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
and an executive nondepartmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...
. Its headquarters are in Stratford, London. Its chair is Stevie Spring, and its CEO Scott McDonald. The British Council's total income in 2014–15 was £973 million principally made up of £154.9 million grant-in-aid received from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; £637 million income from fees and teaching and examinations services; and £164 million from contracts.''Annual Report 2017–18''
British Council. The British Council works in more than 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the UK and the English language; encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational understanding and co-operation; changing people's lives through access to UK education, skills, qualifications, culture and society; and attracting people who matter to the future of the UK and engaging them with the UK's culture, educational opportunities and its diverse, modern, open society. In 2014–15 the British Council spent: £489 million developing a wider knowledge of the English language; £238 million encouraging educational co-operation and promoting the advancement of education; £155 million building capacity for social change; £80 million encouraging cultural, scientific and technological co-operation; and £10 million on governance, tax and trading expenses.


Notable activity


English and examinations

The British Council offers face-to-face teaching in more than 80 teaching centres in more than 50 countries Three million candidates took UK examinations with the British Council in more than 850 towns and cities in 2014–15. The British Council jointly runs the global
IELTS The International English Language Testing System (IELTS ), is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia an ...
English-language
standardised test A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...
with
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
ESOL Examinations and
IDP Education IDP Education Limited is an international education organisation offering student placement in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Republic of Ireland and Canada. IDP has more than 100 offices in 31 countries and 550 counsellors. IDP Australia p ...
Australia. Over 2.5 million IELTS tests were delivered in 2014–15.


Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

In 2014, the British Council launched its first MOOC, Exploring English: Language and Culture, on the UK social learning platform
FutureLearn FutureLearn is a British digital education platform founded in December 2012. The company is jointly owned by The Open University and SEEK Ltd. It is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)ExpertTrack microcredential and Degree learning platform ...
. This was accessed by over 230,000 people.


English for peace

"Peacekeeping English" is a collaboration between the British Council, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
to improve the English-language skills of military personnel through the Peacekeeping English Project (PEP). PEP is helping train approximately 50,000 military and police service personnel in 28 countries, amongst them Libya,Britishcouncil.org
 Ethiopia and Georgia.


Mobility programmes


Education UK

In 2013, the British Council relaunched the global website Education UK for international students interested in a UK education. The site receives 2.2 million visitors per year and includes a search tool for UK courses and scholarships, advice and articles about living and studying in the UK.


Erasmus+

From 2014 to 2020, the British Council and Ecorys UK jointly administered almost €1 billion of the €14.7 billion
Erasmus+ Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his Christian name, baptismal name, given after Erasmus of Formia, Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used fro ...
programme offering education, training, youth and sport opportunity for young people in the UK. It was expected that nearly 250,000 will have undertaken activities abroad with the programme.


Schools


Connecting Classrooms

Over 16,000 schools have taken part in an international school partnership or benefited from teacher training through the British Council Connecting Classrooms programmes.


Arts and culture


ACCELERATE

ACCELERATE was a leadership programme for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
people in the
creative arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
, run jointly by the British Council and the
Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
in partnership with
Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...
arts agencies, between 2009 and 2016. During that time, 35 people participated in the program, with many alumni going on to excel in their fields.


UK-India Year of Culture

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II hosted the official launch of the UK-India Year of Culture on 27 February 2017 at Buckingham Palace, with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The British Council worked with the Palace and British-Indian start-up Studio Carrom to project a peacock, India's national bird, onto the facade of Buckingham Palace.


fiveFilms4freedom

In 2015, the British Council launched
fiveFilms4freedom FiveFilmsForFreedom (previously FiveFilms4Freedom) is a free, online, 10-day LGBTQ+ film programme from the British Council and the British Film Institute originally supported by the UN Free & Equal campaign. It launched in 2015 as the first globa ...
a free, online, 10-day LGBT film festival with the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
supported by the UN Free & Equal campaign. It was the first global online LGBT film festival. The festival runs a 24-hour campaign to ask people to watch a movie and show that love is a human right. In 2016, films were viewed by over 1.5m people in 179 countries.


Shakespeare Lives

In October 2015 the British Council announced a global programme with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
,
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
, the National Theatre, the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
, the Shakespeare 400 consortium, the
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) is an independent registered educational charity based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, that came into existence in 1847 following the purchase of William Shakespeare's birthplace for preserva ...
and
Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
to celebrate
Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
life and work on the 400th anniversary of this death.


''Selector Radio''

'' Selector Radio'' is a weekly two-hour radio show, produced by Folded Wing for the British Council. Originally launched in 2001, the show is now broadcast in more than 30 countries around the world, connecting a global audience to a wide range of music the United Kingdom has to offer, covering a variety of genres from grime,
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
,
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, dance and more. The show features interviews, guest
DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...
es and exclusive live sessions from some of the UK's most exciting artists. It avoids many mainstream acts, in favour of emerging talent and
underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...
styles. It has an estimated listenership of over four million people. The show is hosted in the UK by Jamz Supernova – many countries take the English language version of the show and create a new show from the tracks and features, translating the 'links' into local language.


Cultural and educational exchange with North Korea

The British Council has been running a teacher training programme in
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
since 2001. In July 2014 the British Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for cultural and educational exchange.


Other activities


''Love's Labours Lost''

The British Council-supported production of ''
Love's Labours Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...
'' in 2005 was the first performance of a
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
play in Afghanistan in more than 17 years. The play was performed in the
Afghan language Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
of
Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī  ...
.


Young Creative Entrepreneur Awards

The British Council Young Creative Entrepreneurs identify and support talented people from across the creative industries such as the
International Young Publisher of the Year {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The International Young Publisher of the Year is a British Council award programme, which has been developed with the support of the London Book Fair. It is targeted at publishers aged 25 to 35 from emerging economi ...
,
International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year The International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year (IYDEY) is a British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoti ...
,
International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year The International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year award is a British Council and London Calling award program for young (aged 25 to 35) entrepreneurs in the music industry from the developing and transitional economies, launched in 2006, and la ...
and British Council West Africa Arts Program ~ Creative Entrepreneurs 2018 awards.


Controversies


Expenses

In 2010, Conservative MP Mark Lancaster, the then Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury, the then
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
Michael Martin, and other MPs were involved in rows over expenses incurred on undisclosed taxpayer-funded British Council trips. The British Council's then Chief Executive, Martin Davidson, also faced press criticism for expenses claimed in apparent breach of the British Council's own internal rules for overnight stays in London.


Closure in Russia

In 2007, the Russian government accused the British Council of illegal operation by breaking Russian tax laws and ordered the organisation to close two of its offices. Many believed that the council had become the victim of a diplomatic row between the UK and Russia. In 2018, Russia expelled 23 British diplomats and closed down the British Council (due to lack of regulations of its activities) along with the general consulate in St. Petersburg. The move was reported to be retaliation against the UK's actions toward Russia for the
poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in the city of Salisbury, England. According to UK sources and the Organis ...
.


Israel and Palestine

The British Council has been a primary partner of the Palestine Festival of Literature since the Festival's beginning in 2008. In 2009, the Israeli police, acting on a court order, closed down the venue scheduled to host the Festival's closing event since there was
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,
involvement, but the British Council stepped in and the evening was relocated to its grounds. The British Council supports the festival, also known as PalFest. A controversial issue arose in 2012, because PalFest's website states that they endorse the "2004 Palestinian call for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel". Susanna Nicklin, the council's director of literature said in response: "The British Council is a non-political organisation, and we believe that international cultural exchange makes a powerful contribution to a more peaceful, tolerant and prosperous world. Therefore, the British Council does not support cultural or academic boycotts."


Dissident Chinese writers

In April 2012, the British Council faced a storm of protest over the exclusion of dissident Chinese writers from The London Book Fair in 2012. Critics included English PEN and journalist
Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He was a columnist for ''The Observer'' and a blogger for ''The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left The Observer in 2022 and bega ...
writing in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', as well as
Alastair Niven Alastair Neil Robertson Niven Hon FRSL (born 25 February 1944) is an English literary scholar and author. He has written books on D. H. Lawrence, Raja Rao, and Mulk Raj Anand, and has been Director General of The Africa Centre, Director of L ...
, a former Literature Director of The British Council itself.


Cuts

In March 2007, the British Council announced its "intention to increase its investment in the Middle East, North Africa and Central and Southern Asia". In June 2007, MPs were told of further closures in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
and
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...
(where there had been a British Council Library since 1946). The British Council libraries in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and in Belgrade are also to close. Similarly in India, the British Council Libraries at
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
and
Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
were closed despite protests from library users as part of the Council's policy to "reduce its physical presence" in the country and to divert funds to mega projects in the fields of culture, education, science and research. British Council libraries and offices have also been closed in a number of other countries judged by the British Council to be of little strategic or commercial importance, as it refocused its activities on China and the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
area. Council offices were closed in Lesotho, Swaziland, Ecuador and provincial
Länder Länder (singular Land) or Bundesländer (singular Bundesland) is the name for (federal) states in two German-speaking countries. It may more specifically refer to: * States of Austria, the nine federal subdivisions of Austria * States of Germany ...
in Germany in 2000–2001 – as well as Belarus – prompting Parliamentary criticism. Subsequent promises by British Council Chair Neil Kinnock to a conference in Edinburgh that the Belarus closure would hopefully prove to be just a "temporary" withdrawal proved illusory. The British Council office in Peru also closed in September 2006 as part of a rethink of its strategy in Latin America. In Italy British Council closed its offices in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, and reduced the size of offices in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and Rome (with the closure of the library in the latter).
Charles Arnold-Baker Charles Arnold-Baker, OBE (born Wolfgang Charles Werner von Blumenthal; 25 June 1918 – 6 June 2009) was an English member of MI6, barrister ( called 1948) and historian. He was the author of the ''Companion to British History''. He was award ...
, author of ''
the Companion to British History The ''Companion to British History'' is a single-volume encyclopaedic reference work written by Charles Arnold-Baker and edited by his son Henry von Blumenthal. It was published by Longcross Press in 1996, and described by ''The Spectator'' as "a ...
'' said of the British Council's shift in priorities: "This whole policy is misconstrued from top to bottom. We are going somewhere where we can't succeed and neglecting our friends in Europe who wish us well. The only people who are going to read our books in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
or
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
are converts already." The article also points out that the
Alliance française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and the
Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
, unlike the British Council, are both expanding and replenishing libraries Europe-wide. France opened its new library in Tel Aviv in 2007, just a few months after the British Council closed there and shut down the British Council library in West Jerusalem. In Gaza, the
Institut français The Institut Français (French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as ...
supports the Gaza municipal library in partnership with the local authority and a municipal twinning link between
Gaza City Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...
and the French port of
Dunkerque Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
British Council informs Norwegian callers that "our office is not open to the public and we do not have an enquiry service". Goethe Institute also has a more visible presence in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
than the British Council. There is now, in contrast, only one British Council office left in Germany – and that is in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.


Accountability

Formally it is to its sponsoring department, the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...
, that the UK Parliamentary Table Office refers any parliamentary questions about the British Council. The effectiveness of British Council efforts to promote higher education in China was examined in the UK by the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
Select Committee on Education and Skills in a report issued in August 2007. It expressed concern that in terms of joint educational programmes involving Chinese universities, the UK lagged behind Australia, USA, Hong Kong, Canada and France. In its evidence to this committee, the British Council had argued that "UK degrees are highly valued by international students for their global recognition. International students adopt an essentially utilitarian view of higher education which is likely to increasingly involve consideration of value for money, including opting for programmes at least partly delivered offshore". As their preferred marketing 'model', the British Council gave the example of India where their UK India Education and Research Initiative is being 'championed' by British multinational oil companies such as BP and
Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
, the pharmaceutical giant GSK and arms company
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
. Criticism of British Council marketing efforts in this area have also come from Scotland where ''
The Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...
'' obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act showing that the British Council's Marketing Co-ordinator in the USA had been referring to the University of Stirling as 'The University of Sterling' (sic) and also documenting 'tensions' between Scottish Executive civil servants and British Council in India and China over overseas promotion of universities in Scotland where education is a devolved responsibility. ''The Sunday Herald'' reported that these turf wars were undermining the Scottish Executive's key Fresh Talent policy. Some of the activities of the British Council were examined in 2007/08 by the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO's report, ''The British Council: Achieving Impact'', concluded "that the British Council's performance is strong and valued by its customers and stakeholders". It also concluded, however, that its English classes are elitist and have unfair advantages over commercial providers, as well as questioning thousands of unanswered phone-calls and e-mails to British Council offices. As part of its examination of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Annual Report, the Foreign Affairs Committee spends an hour each year examining witnesses from the British Council but even this level of scrutiny is undermined by a Commons ruling exempting MPs from the requirement to declare overseas trips paid for by The British Council. Two members of the Public Accounts Committee (
Nigel Griffiths Nigel Griffiths (born 20 May 1955) is a British Labour Party politician, and former Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South from 1987 to 2010. Early life Nigel Griffiths was educated at Hawick High School in the Scottish Borders befo ...
MP and Ian Davidson MP) were office-bearers in the British Council Associate Parliamentary Group. Nigel Griffiths MP was Vice-Chair of this British Council lobby group until stepping down as an MP. In 2008 the British Council was called before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following earlier publication of a National Audit Office report. The subsequent PAC report confirmed that Nigel Griffiths MP – Vice Chair of The British Council Associate Parliamentary Group – was part of the small number of PAC members who approved this report on the British Council despite not having been recorded as being present during the evidence session – in June 2008 – where the British Council's Chief Executive was cross-examined. Mr Griffiths had earlier travelled to Russia and spoke favourably of British Council activities there in January 1998 around the time that their man in St Petersburg (Stephen Kinnock) was expelled. In April 2009 the British Council was told to clean up its act by the Information Commissioner after losing staff data that included details of their trade union affiliations and lying about the encryption status of the computer disc lost. Following the accusations made against the British Council in Russia (see above) Trevor Royle, the experienced Diplomatic Editor of ''The Sunday Herald'' quoted a 'British diplomatic source' admitting: "There is a widespread assumption that The British Council is a wing of our Secret Intelligence Services, however minor. Officially it is no such thing but there are connections. Why should it be otherwise because all information is invaluable? After all, the British Council also deals with trade missions and inevitably that involves low-grade intelligence-gathering."SundayHerald.com
 In 2005, along with the
Alliance française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, the
Società Dante Alighieri The Dante Alighieri Society (Italian: ''Società Dante Alighieri'') is a society that promotes Italian culture and language around the world. Today this society is present in more than 60 countries. It was formed in Italy in July 1889. The so ...
, the
Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
, the
Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the government of Spain, Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the ...
, and the
Instituto Camões The Instituto Camões ( English: ''Camões Institute''), formally, Camões — Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I. P. ( English: ''Camões — Institute for Cooperation and Language, Public Institute''), is a Portuguese international instit ...
, the British Council shared in the
Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...
for the outstanding achievements of Western Europe's national cultural agencies in communications and the humanities. At the time of this joint award the full extent of The British Council's closure policies in Europe was not yet public knowledge.


In literature

Royle also goes on to note that the novel ''
The Russia House ''The Russia House'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union. A film ba ...
'' by
John Le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...
(former consular official David Cornwell) opens with a reference to The British Council. The organisation's "first ever audio fair for the teaching of the English language and the spread of British culture" is "grinding to its excruciating end" and one of its officials is packing away his stuff when he is approached by an attractive Russian woman to undertake clandestine delivery of a manuscript which she claims is a novel to an English publisher who she says is 'her friend'! It is also featured in one of the scenes in
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's ''
The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), ...
'' – the character Crabbin, played by
Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ea ...
in the film, worked for The British Council. In 1946, the writer
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
advised serious authors not to work for it as a day-job arguing that "the effort
f writing F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
is too much to make if one has already squandered one's energies on semi-creative work such as teaching, broadcasting or composing propaganda for bodies such as the British Council". In her autobiography, Dame
Stella Rimington Dame Stella Rimington (born 13 May 1935) is a British author and former Director General of MI5, a position she held from 1992 to 1996. She was the first female DG of MI5, and the first DG whose name was publicised on appointment. In 1993, Rimi ...
, the first woman head of
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...
, mentions working for British Council in India prior to joining the British Intelligence Services. The British Council has been referred to (and its man on-station, ''Goole'') – frequently in a humorous way by
Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pare ...
in his collection of anecdotes about a diplomat's life on foreign postings for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – ''Antrobus Complete''. In the six
Olivia Manning Olivia Mary Manning (2 March 1908 – 23 July 1980) was a British novelist, poet, writer, and reviewer. Her fiction and non-fiction, frequently detailing journeys and personal odysseys, were principally set in the United Kingdom, Euro ...
novels that make up The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy, Guy Pringle is an employee of the British Council, and Council politics make up several of the plot points. The books portray Eastern Europe and the Middle East in the opening years of World War Two.


Burma

The role of British Council in Burma in 1947 came under scrutiny with release of classified documents to a BBC investigation by journalist Feargal Keane into the role of dissident British colonial officials in the assassination of the then Burmese independence leader
Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947) was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he was assassinated just six months before his go ...
(father of
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
). The BBC programme quoted from a 1948 document sent by the Chief of Police in Rangoon to the British Ambassador stating their belief that there had been British involvement in the assassination of Aung San and his Cabinet for which one of his political opponents was hanged and that "the go-between" had been a British Council official named in the programme.


Libya

In August 2011 a journalist from ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' discovered a certificate dated 2007 issued by the British Council in
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
to a daughter of President Gadaffi who had previously been said to have been killed in a US raid on Gadaffi's residence in 1986.


English and examinations

In July 2011 the Hong Kong edition of ''
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'' reported on the flourishing "ghost-writing" industry that critics suggest has sprung up around the British Council IELTS tests in China. A major IELTS corruption scandal in
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
resulted in prosecutions in November 2011.


Connecting Classrooms

In January 2012 the press in Pakistan reported that the Federal Investigations Agency was investigating a visa scam associated with the British Council's "Connecting Classrooms" programme.


Chairs

The Council has been chaired by: * 1934–37 Lord Tyrrell * 1937–41
Lord Lloyd Anthony John Leslie Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Berwick, (called Tony; born 9 May 1929) is a retired British judge, and a former member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Lloyd was born on 9 May 1929, the son of Edward John Boydell Llo ...
* 1941–45 Sir Malcolm Robertson * 1946–55 Sir Ronald Adam * 1955–59 Sir David Kelly * 1959–67 Lord Bridges * 1968–71 Lord Fulton * 1971–72 Sir Leslie Rowan * 1972–76 Lord Ballantrae * 1977–84 Sir
Charles Troughton Sir Charles Hugh Willis Troughton (27 August 1916 – 13 May 1991) was a British businessman and barrister who was chairman of W H Smith, director of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes, and chairman of the British Council. Early life and ed ...
* 1985–92
Sir David Orr Sir David Alexander Orr MC* (10 May 1922 in Dalkey, County Dublin – 2 February 2008) was an Anglo-Irish businessman, philanthropist and World War II veteran. Early years Orr was born the third of four children to Canon A.W.F. Orr, an An ...
* 1992–98 Sir Martin Jacomb * 1998–2004 Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws * 2004–09 Lord Kinnock * 2010–16 Sir
Vernon Ellis Sir Vernon James Ellis (born 1 July 1947) was the chair of the British Council from 2010 to 2016. Education Ellis was educated at Magdalen College School, before going to Magdalen College, Oxford, to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics ...
* 2016–19 Christopher Rodrigues * 2019–present Stevie Spring


Trade unions

Some staff at the British Council are members of unions. UK staff are represented by the
Public and Commercial Services Union The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies. History The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...
. Some employees in Japan belong to the
General Union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...
.


Publications

From 1967 to 1989 the British Council published the journal ''Media in Education and Development''. History
Initially titled ''CETO news'', ISSN 0574-9409, it became ''Educational Television International: a journal of the Centre for Educational Television Overseas'', ISSN 0424-6128, in March 1967 (volume 1, issue 1). The journal changed its name again, in March 1971, to ''Educational Broadcasting International: a journal of the Centre for Educational Development Overseas'', ISSN 0013-1970 (volume 5, issue 1). Its final name change was to ''Media in Education and Development'', ISSN 0262-0251, in December 1981 (volume 14 issue 4). The final issue went to print in 1989 (volume 22).


British Council Partnership


English UK
ref>


List of British Council Approved Centres

* British Study Centres


Annex


Locations

The British Council is organised into seven regions.


Americas

The British Council has offices in: * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


East Asia-Pacific

The British Council has offices in: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Europe

The British Council has offices in: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


West Asia and North Africa

The British Council has offices in: * * *
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


South Asia

The British Council has offices in: * * * * *


Sub-Saharan Africa

The British Council has offices in: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


East Europe

The British Council has offices in: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


See also

*
Eunic The European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) is a network of European national institutes of culture and national bodies engaged in cultural and related activities beyond their national borders. EUNIC brings together organizations fr ...
*
Teaching English as a Foreign Language Teaching English as a second language (TESL) or Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TESL, TEFL, and TESOL distinguish betwee ...
(TEFL) *
Cultural diplomacy Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose ...
*
Public diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...


References


External links

*
British Council Film
directory
Royal Charter of the British Council
(1993).
Catalogue of the British Council Whitley Council Staff/Trade Union Side archives
held at the
Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Virtual tour of the British Council
provided by
Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...
* {{Authority control 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom Cultural organisations based in the United Kingdom Cultural promotion organizations English-language education English as a global language Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign Office during World War II Funding bodies in the United Kingdom Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government British propaganda organisations Organisations based in the London Borough of Newham Organizations established in 1934 Stratford, London Language advocacy organizations