Following nearly a year of talks, an agreement is signed between the Colombian Ministry of Education and the British Council. For this meeting the deputy secretary of the organization in London, Arthur John Stanley White, visits Colombia to sign the agreement next to the minister Alfonso Araújo.

By June, the ambassador has secured financing for the project to bring the British Council to Colombia. Manchester's Chamber of Commerce pledges £500 per year, and the Shell oil company makes a commitment to grant one scholarship per year to enable a Colombian student of medicine to study in England.

On the 3rd of April the organization opens its classroom doors, and this year has a total of 425 English students.

The British Council and the Colombian government agree to an English Teachers' Mission. 5 English teachers travel to Colombia to teach in teacher-training colleges. Their salaries will be paid jointly between Colombia and the UK.

The beginning and end of the British Council's first decade in Colombia were marked by two events that were to change history. The first was the Second World War, a conflict in which Colombia joined forces with the United Kingdom as part of the Allies in 1943. The second was the assassination of the political leader and presidential precandidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitán in 1948, which occurred only a few blocks away from the British Council's headquarters.

This year, the British Council opens offices in Barranquilla, Medellín, Cali and Santa Marta. A total of 872 students enroll in the different headquarters.

The Tower of London witnesses the last execution of its history: Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad on the 15th of August for being a German spy.

Seven teachers travel to Colombia from the UK to teach in the five headquarters that now exist in the country.

Colombia's Golden Gate welcomes the British Council. The British Council opens its doors in Barranquilla on the 3rd of March. In its first year, 250 students take English classes in the headquarters located on Calle Bolivar in Villa Damasco (20 de Julio-Progreso).

Following the introduction of French-style cafes in the capital, Bogota finally sees the opening of an English-style tea room. The wife of the then-president, María Michelsen de López, is the person that makes it all possible.

1942 is witness to several conferences offered at the British Council. A variety of personalities pass through the organization's facilities in Bogota up to three or four times per week. From poetry with Otto de Greiff, Eduardo Carranza and Víctor Mallarino, to history with Germán Arciniegas and Enrique Otero D’Costa, not forgetting the Minister of Education Jorge Zalamea and the director of the National Library, Enrique Uribe White. Arciniegas closes his conference with a phrase that marks the British, who are still at war: "If I had to choose any city in the world to save, I would choose London".

On the 2nd of June, the main headquarters of the British Council presents a large-scale exhibition of textbooks, consisting of over 1,600 copies. This is complemented by a series of conferences given by Colombian experts in the National Library. These talks were so successful that, as noted in the annual report, various attendees were unable to enter the conference halls.

"“I'm starting to think that we are achieving something after all"". From a letter by Rona Earle, a teacher from the first teaching mission, to A. S. White, from the Overseas Division of the British Council in London.

English teaching becomes an integral part of the curriculum of normal schools, which train future teachers. This is one of the steps of the English Teachers' Mission, agreed between the British Council and Colombia.

The British Council organizes an exhibition of sculptures and paintings by local artists at its headquarters in Cali. The hope is to continue offering exhibitions of this type, alternated with representatives of British art. In Medellin, León Posada and León Echavarría exhibit their oils and watercolours at the organization's headquarters.

This year, the number of students enrolled at the British Council reaches 2,340.

5,500 people attend graphic art exhibition. An exhibition on British graphic art visits Bogota and Medellin. In the capital, the exhibition is opened by the British ambassador and held in the National Library, the city's main gallery. In Medellin, the British Council plays host the the exhibition and enjoys the presence of the governor of Antioquia.

The British Council plays an important role in the formation of Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is created on the 4th of November. Three years prior, the British Council had invited representatives from the allied nations to discuss cultural efforts for after the war's end. This meeting of education ministers would be the seed of Unesco.

In order to maintain peace around the world, the United Nations comes into being. The United Kingdom and Colombia are founding members and ratify its charter on the 24th of October. The UK joins the Security Council, where it has veto power.

This year, the British Council's libraries loan over 4,000 books.

Under pressure from a series of strikes, the government issues a law that changes to the lives of Colombian workers. The successes achieved include an 8-hour working day, the establishment of a minimum wage, social security and trade union rights.

Weekly gramophone recitals fill the organization's headquarters in Bogota, and are always accompanied by a hot beverage thanks to the ever more successful tea room.

The British Council supports the Society of Colombian Farmers in the organization of an exhibition of books on the subject.

"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent". With this phrase, in a speech on the 5th of March in Missouri, U.S.A., Winston Churchill coins the phrase "iron curtain". The former British prime minister explains the differences that exist between the capitalist West and the area controlled by the Soviet Union, an ideological conflict that would come to be known as the Cold War.

British music within arm's reach. The British Council extends its range of products on British culture. Now, music complements the literature and film collections housed in the organization's libraries in Colombia.

The British Council's film tour grows in Colombia. Over the course of the year, 10,500 people watch films put on by the British Council in the country.

To bring the British Council in Bogota up to date the organization places an order for two typewriters, which are ordered smoothly in January. What proves to be more difficult to obtain is "suitable crockery for the institution", a concern expressed by H. G. Ellis from the regional office.

For the first time in the country's history, Colombians have the option of electing their senators by direct vote on the 16th of March. Liberals win a majority in parliament, despite having lost the previous year's presidential elections.

In Colombia the organization has 1,386 students and 288 members, with the latter paying to use the British Council's facilities and resources. Specifically, Bogota has 1,100 students and 200 members, while in Medellin there are 286 and 88, respectively.

“It was primarily due to the efforts of the institute's employees, who prevented several attempts to burn the building during the night of Friday April 9th, that there was so little damage to British Council property". From a letter written in 1948 by the director of the British Council in Colombia, Neil MacKay, to the Latin American department.

15,000 people per month, no less. This is the number of Colombians who watch the films screened by the British Council.

After 12 years without the Olympic Games being held, the olympic torch reaches London. The last games had taken place in Berlin in 1938, before the outbreak of war. Due to the post-war economic environment, the London games were known as the games of austerity.

The British Council grants 46 scholarships across Latin America. Of these, 27 are in scientific fields.

On the 4th of April, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is created, and comprises 12 member states including the United Kingdom. It represents a mutual defence agreement against the threat of the Soviet Union.

The British Council's headquarters may not have been damaged on the 9th of April, but the financial effects of the Bogotazo are starting to make themselves felt. The organization receives fewer students and rental costs increase, and begins to look for new headquarters in both Bogota and Medellin.

The director of the British Council in Colombia helps the government to bring two British scientists to the country. Indeed, a botanist and a zoologist arrive to participate in a research project in the La Macarena mountain range.

At the end of August, the BBC carries out its first live transmission from the other side of the Channel.

A photographic exhibition of the writers William Wordsworth and Robert Louis Stevenson is temporarily retained by customs. Once the impasse is resolved, Bogota residents are able to enjoy the works of the famous poet and of the author of "Treasure Island".

As part of the agreement between Colombia's Education Ministry and the British Council, doctors continue to be those chosen to study in the United Kingdom. In addition to two doctors, a vet and an agriculture expert also travel.

People continue to gather in both the Bogota and Medellin headquarters every week to do dramatic readings. English is not the only language of theatre, even if it's a British play; with the support of the British Council, the Lope de Vega company presents "Othello" and "Hamlet" in Spanish.

The British government implements zebra crossings as law. Although these white lines on the street already existed, cars are now obliged to stop and allow pedestrians to cross.

Shakespeare reaches the country in the form of the academic Derek A. A. Traversi. Invited by the British Council, the expert gives a conference on the English playwright and modern writing.

E. Martin, the organization's music advisor, organizes concerts of British music in Medellin, performed by musicians from the region.

Dr. Rojas, a former British Council scholarship holder, gives a conference on British agriculture. As well as him, this year's other conference speakers are Dr. Bushnell, Mr. Grubb and Captain Boyle.

A new British Council cinema projection hall is installed, with a capacity for 70 people.

Following nearly a decade of talks to obtain new headquarters- first due to lack of space, and later due to costs- in January, the Bogota British Council moves to its new facilities in the Sucre building, located on Jiménez de Quesada Avenue.

En julio se publica en el Reino Unido el “Reporte Drogheda” que se había comenzado a preparar desde el año anterior. Se trata de un documento que termina impactando la inversión del British Council en Latinoamérica, pues recomienda aumentar el número de becas y subsidios de estudio para la región.

On the 13th of June, events occur which are unprecedented in the history of Colombia. At the start of the day, Roberto Urdaneta is the country's designated president. A few hours later, the president-elect —Laureano Gómez— reassumes the position he had left due to a heart attack in 1951. In the evening, General Rojas Pinilla is recognized as the new president. "No more blood, no more predation in the name of political parties; peace, justice and freedom", the General says over the radio. The coup d'etat was supported by the traditional parties, to such an extent that the Liberal leader Darío Echandía described it as a "coup d'opinion", a moniker also taken up by the press.

The British scientist Francis Crick and the American James Watson publish the molecular structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) for the first time. Almost a decade later, the pair would receive the Nobel Prize for this scientific leap.

Former scholarship holders continue to contribute. To express their gratitude to the British Council and share the knowledge they acquired during their time studying abroad, former scholarship holders generally give conferences upon returning to the country. This year, Héctor Silva shares what he learnt about drain systems and hydraulic works, not only in the British Council's headquarters but also at the Society of Colombian Farmers.

The organization finances the visit of several famous doctors to Colombia. The surgeon R. W. Raven and Dr. W. Lederman visit as cancer specialists, and the pathologist J. B. Dugid completes the group.

Future Nobel Prize winner William Golding publishes his first novel, "The Lord of the Flies". While the book is not initially a huge success, it proves to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century.

Queen Elizabeth II inaugurates the first permanent passenger terminal at Heathrow Airport, which would go on to be one of the busiest airports in the world.

Thanks to the British Council, Dr. G. H. Brown, a leading figure in histology (the study of human tissues), gives a conference on the subject in Bogota.

Thanks to the British Council, 317 Latin Americans visit the UK, 76 of them on scholarships.

Jean Paul Sartre requests that the Colombian philosopher Fernando González be included among the candidates for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Thanks to the pressure of Sartre and other thinkers, the Otraparte philosopher- as González is known- becomes the first Colombian nominated for this prize.

J. T. Christie, Dean of Oxford's Jesus College, visits Colombia on a tour of 30 colleges in the region, in order to improve the country's links with the United Kingdom. Following the trip, the British Council helps to find teachers for the three British colleges in the country- two which are already operating in Bogota and one which will open soon in Medellin.

With the organization's support, universities in Manizales and Barranquilla open their so-called "British Rooms", centres for English-language resources on British culture. This step was taken thanks to the stimulus of several new summer courses organized by the British Council, which saw the participation of 65 English teachers.

In addition to the new college, Cali residents continue to have access to British culture thanks to the reopening of the institute in the city.

“The Book of Job”, illustrated by the British artist William Blake, arrives in Colombia. The British Council brings the 19th century prints over to be exhibited in Bogota.

Continuing with the goal of improving teaching in Colombia, 45 English teachers from public and private colleges attend a training course offered by the British Council in Bogota.

Desmond Shawe Taylor, the Irish music critic who writes for The New Yorker and other publications, gives a conference entitled "Music in England today".

Over the course of the year, the British Council entertains its visitors by screening a total of 761 films.

The first president of the National Front, Alberto Lleras Camargo, assumes office. Despite the fact that women went to the polls the previous year, this is the first time that they have the chance to elect their country's president.

The British Council's exhibition of modern photography is presented at Medellin's Piloto Library and the National Museum in Bogota.

An exhibition of antique maps is held in the organization's Bogota headquarters. These old representations of Colombia and South America, some created by British citizens, adorn the walls of the British Council.

1,778. The number of functions screened by the organization has more than doubled since 1958. This year, 1,778 screenings took place across the length and breadth of the country.

One of the issues stirring the world is the atomic. For that reason, the British Council in Colombia sponsors a conference on nuclear physics given by Professor W. Murgatroyd, head of the Nuclear Engineering department at London's Queen Mary College.

The British Council carries out an exhibition of reproductions of British paintings spanning 200 years of art, from 1750 to 1950.

The British Council keeps strengthening the strategies that have allowed it to become established. This year, the number of books in the library reaches 8,000. With regard to scholarships, there is a total of 5 beneficiaries, although two of them are unable to take them up. Across the country, 871 students enroll in English courses.

This year, the British Council screens 193 scientific, technical and medical films. The circumstances improve with the loan of 288 films to colleges, 133 to universities and 893 to other institutions.

Thanks to the British Council, the Ballet Festival goes on tour around South America, appearing a total of 76 times in Colombia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Bogota residents enjoy 3 functions at the Colón Theatre.

In Bogota, the British Council organizes a documentary and photographic exhibition on the German composer Frideric Handel and the Englishman Henry Purcell, both great masters of baroque music.

With the support of the British Council, Colombia's anglophile libraries now have 8,101 books, and their 154 members can also access 49 periodicals.

This year, two women and a man were awarded British Council scholarships. The holders are Teresa Salazar for studying metallurgical chemistry, Olga Muvdi for the Education Institute in London, and Guillermo Restrepo for pathology.

A photographic exhibition is held in Bogota regarding help for the blind population in the United Kingdom. It is complemented by two films and the most modern support techniques for blind people are displayed.

In Medellin, the number of students at the Colombo Británico College increases by 50%, and in Bogota the Anglo-Colombian College now has facilities to house 550 students. To meet this growing demand, the British Council continues to bring teachers over from the United Kingdom. This year, two go to Bogota, two to Medellin and one to Cali.

This year, 538 students enroll at the Bogota headquarters.

The list of exams offered by the British Council is expanded. In addition to the Cambridge Syndicate English test, the organization begins to administer exams for the London General Certificate of English, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institute of Costs and Works Accountants. This year, 7 candidates from the British Council and 24 from the Anglo-Colombian College sat the Cambridge exam. One person sat each of the other aforementioned exams.

Colombian are able to enjoy the work of the British artist Henry Moore. The British Council organizes a permanent exhibition of photographs of his works, small bronze sculptures and lithographs.

Shakespearean theatre also reaches the country thanks to the British Council. Colombia is part of a group of 8 European and Latin American countries that are able to enjoy the performances of the Shakespeare Festival Company. The group puts on 64 plays during its tour, and Bogota residents enjoy its production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for three consecutive days at the Colón Theatre. The ticket prices range from 5 to 100 pesos.

In Bogota a reception is organized by the director J.W. Gale in honour of Cecilia Vargas, who celebrates 20 years as an employee of the British Council. Cecilia is given a gold necklace, purchased thanks to a collection made by former scholarship holders and other friends of the organization.

Medicine continues to be a priority for the organization. Of the four tours of specialists sponsored by the British Council, three are made up of doctors. Ten films on the subject are screened and two of the four scholarship holders are for medical specialities. C. F. González goes to Edinburgh to study Neurology and L. F. Uribe travels to England to specialize in Radiodiagnosis at the Leeds General Infirmary.

The British Council brings Uwe Kitzinger to Colombia. A member of Oxford's Nuffield College, Kitzinger was the first British economist in the European Council in Strasbourg.

The British Council invites specialists from several fields to tour the country giving conferences. The specialists include C. J. Hamson (comparative law), B. Queenan (educational television), W. S. Allen (English teaching) and Professor Shotton (pharmacology). J. D. B. Fowells also gives conferences on the British Council's policies.

Bogota's Shaio Clinic has the pleasure of welcoming the cardiologist C. M. Oakley. As well as attending his masterful conferences, specialists can also hold discussions with the doctor.

The library is home to 8,050 books and there are 125 members across Bogota to make use of them.

The New Philharmonia Orchestra arrives in Colombia to give a performance, under the baton of the renowned composer Sir John Barbirolli and featuring musicians such as Pope and Kletzki.

The relationship between the United Kingdom and Colombia grows stronger with the arrival of British volunteers in the country. All are linked to the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) organization, with two arriving as professors (one at the Pontifical Bolivarian University in Medellin, and the other at the Industrial University of Santander) and the third volunteer working at the UN office in Bogota.

The British Council arranges an exhibition of the work of Bernard Leach, the so-called father of British studio pottery. 50 drawings, 50 photographs and 6 pieces of pottery by the renowned artist are put on display.

The cooperation agreement signed between the British Council and the Colombian government includes an alliance with ICETEX that, among other aspects, helps to considerably reduce the cost of travelling to the United Kingdom for Colombian scholarship holders.

The British professor J. Fowler gives a series of conferences in Colombia. In Bogota he visits the University of Los Andes, as well as the University of Valle in the city of Cali. The professor's interest in radiation means that his talk on medical physics and thermoluminescence is widely accepted by specialists.

185 biochemistry books are on display in an exhibition organized by the British council in Bogota.

This year and the following year, the British Council offers 22 positions to support education- 5 in universities and the remaining 17 in colleges. Some of the employees who occupy these roles are already linked to the British Council, while others are recruited from the United Kingdom.

Its headquarters on the outskirts of Bogota is not beneficial and the British Council returns to the city centre. The organization moves to the the same building as the British Embassy, at Carrera 10 # 19-65, on the tenth floor and only three floors above the Embassy.

The British Council is pleased to welcome Mr. Walter Lucas, from the British Theatre League. He visits the National University, Uniamérica and the Anglo-Colombian College.

The British Council's library is growing by leaps and bounds- as is the number of people who want to access it. 1,725 members have the chance to enjoy the 9,975 books that make up the collection.

Thanks to the British Council, 1,536 films are screened a total of 3,607 times, meaning over one million people are able to enjoy the screenings in different cities across the country.

As part of its educational and cultural work, the British Council continues to bring books into the country. This year, a variety of exhibitions pass through the organization's doors, among them physics and maths books and science manuals for colleges.

The number of films, books and records owned by the British Council increases. Following three and a half years of work, the catalogue that registers the content of the entire collection is finally complete.

This year, the annual Anglo-American summer school in November and December is focused on professors from National Secondary Education Institutions (INEM). The 30 certified professors received guidance from the UK's W.R. Lee, known for his work in games for learning.

Following several years where the number of British volunteers in Colombia remained stable in single figures, this year 20 arrive in the country. Of them, 11 work as English teachers, 7 as scientific advisors, 1 as a social worker and 1 as a cadet in the city of Pasto. This year, one of the volunteers who had arrived in Colombia in 1967- William Edmundson- returns to the United Kingdom. He liked the country so much that he would come back in 1971. After all, it was the place where he discovered that "one can hug people, kiss people, dance in the streets. That was marvellous: a liberation for a part of my personality that had been kept suppressed".

The British Council organizes a work visit for the archaeologist Adrian Digby. The former member of the British Museum visits the University of Los Andes.

The British Council brings along the Amadeus Quartet, one of the UK's most well-known quartets and OBE holders. The group performs in the concert hall of the Luis Ángel Arango library in June.

Bogota residents have the opportunity to visit an exhibition of the author's "A Christmas Carol" books. The British Council organizes the event to mark the centenary of Dickens' death.

The organization's close relationship with the Colombo Americano has now lasted for more than a decade. This year, the U.S. institution is responsible for training INEM teachers (National Secondary Education Institutions), while the British Council provides nearly all of the material.

The British Council organizes book exhibitions throughout the year, with themes such as cybernetics, English teaching, educational books, university texts and even tropical agriculture.

Deans from Colombian universities visit the United Kingdom, accompanied by their peers from Denmark, Hong Kong, India and Iraq, among other countries.

An exhibition of art prints produced in the post-war period (1945-1957) arrive in Colombia, thanks to the British Council.

The British Council sponsors a concert by the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by the master John Pritchard.

The Welsh playwright Emlyn Williams tours Latin America, and Colombia is one of his stops. N.K. Thomas, the principal lecturer in English literature at the Westhill College of Education, also arrives in the country.

The Technical Cooperation Agreement signed between ICETEX and the British Council proudly announces that thanks to this agreement there are now 40 Colombian students studying in the United Kingdom.

The British Council organizes two seminars on English reading comprehension for teachers. The first takes place at the University of Caldas with 45 participants from 9 different institutions. The second is held at the University of Los Andes in Bogota and is attended by 60 people.

Still a novelty in the country, contemporary dance arrives with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre. The company performs in Cali and Medellin.

The British Council is awarded the Educational Credit Honour for Merit, handed out by ICETEX and Colombia's National Education Ministry.

The theme of this year's exhibitions are bookbinding and textbooks for medicine students. Medicine undoubtedly continues to be one of the topics on which the British Council places great importance.

The city of Ibagué is home to a two-day seminar on group methods for English language teaching.

Of the recitals, which always attract a large audience in the centre of Bogota, those given by Jeanne Dolmetsch and Camerata Barroca stand out in particular. In addition, four young musicians from the Guildhall School of Music go on a tour of five Colombian cities, performing British music.

Mrs. Susan Drew teaches a 40-hour course on 20th century English literature for literature professors. The course takes place at Bogota's National Pedagogic University.

The British Council has 31 professors working in the country's universities, under the English as a second language scheme. The programme is also present in 19 colleges.

Continuing the British Council's flair for establishing alliances, its joint project with the University of Los Andes for the development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials is making swift progress. This time, they are working on an English programme for science and technology students.

The exhibition "Contemporary British Drawings, 1961-1975" reaches the country, organized by the British Council and held for the first time in the 1975 Sao Paulo Biennial. The exhibition is held in the Bogota Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO) before going on to Cali, Pereira and Barranquilla.

3,000 people. The British Council organizes an exhibition of the English painter Richard Smith in the Bogota Museum of Modern Art, which receives 3,040 visitors. Prints by the 18th-century artist William Hogarth are also exhibited at the venue.

Mr. Robert Spencer, a master of the lute, comes to Colombia thanks to British Council sponsorship. 150 people enjoy the recital at the organization's headquarters, and 350 people attend a concert by a local group at the Museum of Colonial Art. With two further recitals taking place (one held in Medellin), over 1,000 people are able to hear the music of this medieval instrument.

83 participants from 12 countries travel to the country to attend an international seminar on the in-vogue teaching methodology, English for Specific Purposes (ESP).

The KELT programme (Key English Language Teaching) is designed in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and faculties of education and other areas. The programme seeks to improve teaching standards in universities and colleges, and support the SENA with vocational English.

The modernist sculptures by the British artists Barbara Hepworth are brought to Cali by the British Council, and draw 1,000 people to the La Tertulia Museum in just 20 days. 4,000 attendees also enjoy the exhibition in the Bogota Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO).

The British Council brings the photographer Ian Berry's exhibition “This Is Whitechapel” to Colombia. The images attempt to capture the essence of the Whitechapel area of London in a decade where the neighbourhood is experiencing drastic social and economic change.

The exhibition “Colour in British Painting” graces the British Council during its tour around several headquarters in Latin America. 14 artists form part of this exhibition of small paintings.

This year's book exhibitions touch on an issue of growing popularity: Ecology and the environment.

This year, 138 Colombians benefited directly in some way from the British Council's programs. The areas of interest were agriculture (14), arts and humanities (23), education (15), medicine (17), science and technology (39) and social studies (30).

The Oxford Playhouse Company is on tour in South America, and Bogota is one of their stops. In the Colón Theatre, they perform the plays “Heartbreak House” and “Habeas Corpus”. The theatre company goes back to before the Second World War, and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton featured in one of their famous productions in 1966. The then-director of the British Council, Newberry, recalls a problem that occurred with the play: "It had to be performed without a set, which had been left behind in Caracas because they were unable to load it in the plane".

Cultural Mondays are still in vogue at the La Candelaria office. 12 recitals and 7 conferences are held, and 9 documentaries and 10 feature films are screened. Additionally, 4 exhibitions take place over the course of the year.

In partnership with the International Development Agency (ODA) and the University of Los Andes, under the guidance of Professor Henry Widdowson, the British Council publishes the book “Reading and Thinking in English”. 4,000 copies are given out to 7 higher education institutions in Colombia. Clive Taylor, English Language Manager, recalls that "our job was to distribute them in universities around the country. Physically, it was a tough task. In one of those visits to a Bogota university we used the Land Rover. First, I got out with books under my arm. Our director managed to stack a pile of books on his head. Unfortunately there were no cameras around to record such a scene!

One of Great Britain's most famous musical ensembles, the Medici String Quartet, appears in Colombia. The four-piece has performed concerts together with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

This year, a total of 79 Colombians benefited directly in some way from the scholarship programmes. The areas of interest were Agriculture (6), Arts and Humanities (18), Education (12), Medicine (6), Science and Technology (25) and Social Studies (12).

In honour of the 50th anniversary of the English novelist D.H. Lawrence, the British Council screens a documentary about his life.

The British Council thrills the country with two quartets, Alberini Quartet (classical) and the Stan Tracy Quartet (jazz). The organization also brings along the duet Ross Pople and Michael Freyhan.

At year's end, the National Education Ministry's IEI (Electronic Language Institute) plays host to the British Council's KELT (Key English Language Teaching) programme. From this moment on, training programmes for secondary school teachers are carried out at the IEI.

Paintings and prints by the English artist Sir Howard Hodgkin arrive in Colombia as part of the travelling exhibition “Indian Views”.

The 21st edition of the Cartagena International Film Festival (FICCI) presents British films supplied by the British Council.

16 years following the closure of the institute, the British Council reopens the doors of its teaching centre in Bogota, thus rounding out a total of 40 teaching centres across the world. 400 students enroll in the first year, a quarter of them in specialized courses. The centre has seven teachers, of which five work full-time.

In September, British and Colombian government officials meet to discuss a variety of topics. The representatives for culture and education are the British Council's C. Taylor and María Eugenia de Serrano, the deputy education minister. During the meeting, Colombia asks the British Council to increase the number of scholarship holders and cooperate more closely in film, radio and television media. Help is also requested to produce school History and Geography texts for high-achieving students.

The British Council presents a variety of documentaries on a wide range of subjects: literature, with“Age of Shakespeare” and “Contemporary British Novelists”; dance is represented by “Dance in Britain”; “Medical Picture Show” is screened on the subject of medicine; and “RIBA 1980” deals with the subject of architecture.

The British Council and the ICETEX sign an agreement that, among other aspects, seeks to provide financing and support to enable British academics to come to Colombia.

For this year, and to commemorate the 200th anniversary of The Liberator's birth, the British Council offers five Simon Bolivar scholarships to study in the United Kingdom.

The British Council acquires its own house, two blocks from the headquarters it had been renting from the De Narváez family. It moves to a new headquarters at Calle 87 #12-79, which would be the organization's home for over two decades. The change is due to the increase in the number of students that has taken place in the country.

"""We came to the corner of Carrera 87 and Calle 12, but it was as if we were with the Colón Theatre, with Colcultura, with Gloria Zea, with Fanny Mikey...there were loads of presentations. You know, it was nearly every week, every two weeks"". Delia Zapata, Receptionist at the British Council Colombia."

The British Council undergoes a makeover with a new image.

This year, the TCTP (Technical Cooperation Training Programme) has over £200,000 to award a total of 94 scholarships, which are specially intended for tecnical and technological study in the United Kingdom.

The British Council launches the English Teaching Assistants' Programme on behalf of the central committee in London. The initiative enables UK undergraduate students to visit Colombia to support English teaching in colleges or universities.

The BBC, a public network from the UK recognized for its educational television, sends a team to Colombia who are experts on the subject in order for the country to learn from their work, with the support of the British Council.

The archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina receives a subsidy from the British Council for purchasing books intended for children who speak English as a native language.

British Council sponsorship enables a silent film festival to be organized in the country. Robert Hughes' televised documentary series “The Shock of the New” tours the Museum of Antioquia, the University of Los Andes and Cooperartes. Its eight episodes trace the history of modern art from the late 19th century.

Thanks to British Council sponsorship, around 60 academics and another 28 visitors travel to the United Kingdom. This year's short-term visits are focused on education and the applied sciences.

Thanks to the British Council, a presentation of books on the performing arts is held in Bogota.

The master of suspense. Six years after the death of the English director Alfred Hitchcock, his first UK-produced films reach Colombia. As a complement to these screenings the British Council invites Phillip Strick, an expert on Hitchcock's work.

Guillermo Cano, director of the El Espectador newspaper, refuses to silence his allegations against drug traffickers. As a result, hitmen working for the capo of the Medellin Cartel murder him in an attempt to prevent journalism from keeping them in the public eye.

The budget of the British Council in Colombia this year reaches close to £2m.The vast majority comes from different organizations in the United Kingdom, but the operation in Colombia finances 20% of the total.

The organization carries out an exhibition of British posters that tours the whole country, drawing large crowds.

There's no need to go to commercial cinemas to watch films- over the course of the year, the organization screens 46 feature films and 25 documentaries.

The education advisor of the UK's International Development Agency (ODA) travels to Bogota. Her visit proves to be a launchpad for the following year's ELT programme. The review of the year notes that "she supported our idea of establishing regional resource centers, and other modest forms of improving the scope of ELT in Colombia".

Thanks to the British Council, Bogota residents are able to witness the Actors Theatre Company's production of "Hamlet".

The British Council brings the Britten Quartet to Colombia, one of the most important string quartets from that period. The wind music comes in the form of the London Gabrieli Brass Ensemble.

The British Council organizes four exhibitions (“Norwich Watercolors”, “Lord Byron”, “Age of Shakespeare” and “British Posters 1890-1980”) outside its headquarters. This represents a significant increase given that in the previous year only one was held. María Clemencia de Bohórquez, remembers the first exhibition very well, and was the employee in charge of the event: "The most difficult exhibition I had was one on watercolours that came from the Museum of Norwich. As it was the first time that original, 18th watercolours had arrived, we had a huge setback with customs for the insurance. We had scheduled it for January at the Luis Ángel Arango library, but were only able to open it in March. We didn't have it for long- the term was cut short due to all the paperwork".

At the MAMBO, the British Council organizes an exhibition of prints made between 1950 and 1981 by the British artist Henry Moore. Additionally, the organization carries out a further 3 exhibitions entitled “Cloth, Clay and Wood”, “Bill Brandt Photographs” and “There and Back: Londoners on the Move”.

Colombia will never forget the year 1989, due to the terrorist attacks stemming from drug trafficking. These include the assessination of the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, Luis Carlos Galán, in the municipality of Soacha. Another candidate, José Antequera, of the Patriotic Union (UP) is killed by a hitman at El Dorado airport. At the end of the year, a bomb explodes in an Avianca aeroplane that drug traffickers believe is carrying César Gaviria, the Liberal Party's replacement for Galán as presidential candidate. Fewer than 10 days later, 500kg of dynamite hidden in a bus explode near the Administrative Department of Security (DAS).

With the support of the British Council, the Lontano group, directed by Odaline de la Martínez, appears in the first edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Music in Bogota.

There's no need to go to festivals in order to enjoy British film, as the British Council is still screening various films at its headquarters. This year the range of films on offer is so varied that it goes from documentaries on British rock music to an event called "Christmas with Charles Chaplin". A total of 19 documentaries and 61 feature films are screened, and 14 concerts, 9 conferences, 6 exhibitions and 1 theatre play are organized at the venue.

With the support of the British Council, two British theatre plays ("The Practice" and "Divine Gossip”) are presented at the Ibero-American Theatre Festival.

Thanks to the British Council, the British group Endellion, which has been together since 1977, comes to Colombia to perform works by Beethoven and Britten. The pianist Jennifer Bate and the musician Francois Dolmetsch also make an appearance.

The British Council holds two seminars on English education in Cali and Bogota. Both are a complete success.

Thanks to the British Council, a link is created between the University of Los Andes and the University of Reading to improve courses on alternative energy. The organization's commitment to the environment will continue to increase over the course of the decade.

With the support of the British Council, the British director Alan Eriera travels to London to present his latest production, “From the Heart of the World - The Elder Brothers' Warning”. The documentary concerns the indigenous people who live in the Sierra Nevada and their sacred place, the Lost City, and how the white man is harming the environment. The presentation is applauded by environmentalists.

The government creates Colfuturo, an institution that is geared towards supporting Colombians who want to carry out postgraduate studies abroad. In conjunction with ICETEX and the Latin American Institute for Cooperation, the British Council supports and participates in the design of the new organization.

The launch of the “Follow Me” course takes place in the facilities of the British Council in Bogota. Designed for mass English education, the programme includes 15 monthly submissions (of four units each), made up of an audio cassette, a video cassette and a book. The series is an adaptation made by Támesis Editores of the material produced by the BBC in London. As explained in the article in the El Tiempo newspaper on July 2nd, 1991: “Follow Me is starting to be distributed en masse in Colombia, at more than two thousand points of sale...for those who wish and are able to sign up for the full course in advance, the editors offer a monthly home delivery system and will also hand out a free sound system".

As part of the celebrations of the centenary of the Colón Theatre in Bogota, the British Council invites the wind octet of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe to delight the audiences of the capital.

The British Embassy and the British Council organize a British Week in Pereira. The events held include an exhibition of a replica of the Crown Jewels, film screenings, adverts from the UK and rock videos. Keith Morris, the British ambassador to Colombia, is present at the inauguration.

The COFE projet opens a resource centre on the San Andrés and Providencia archipelago. In the opening ceremony, Keith Morris (British Ambassador to Colombia) refers to the bonds between the British culture and the history of the islands. Another centre is also opened at the Technological University of Pereira.

As part of its commitment to ecological and environmental matters, the British Council sees an opportunity to boost ecotourism in the Quindio department. To that end, it finances the visit of a British consultant, who advises the Colombian government on tourist enterprises of this nature.

After many visits to Colombia with the support of the British Council, the British historian Malcolm Deas is awarded the Cross of Boyaca. The Colombian president, César Gaviria, acknowledges the vast knowledge that Deas has of the country.

The British Council carries out a cycle of screenings on literature in film. Bogota residents have the chance to see films based on novels by the British authors E. M. Foster, Evelyn Waugh and William Golding. The films shown are "Room with a View" by James Ivory; "A Handful of Dust" and "Where Angels Fear to Tread", both directed by Charles Sturridge; and "The Lord of the Flies", by Harry Hook.

British Council organizes an exhibition of artists called "The Decomposition", on the subject of what composition is not. By then it had already worked with waste, with things thrown away from the artistic mediums; expressions already being used in the United Kingdom. Maria Clemencia de Bohórquez, the Director of Art and Creativity at the British Council in Colombia, reveals more: "We did that display in the Luis Ángel Arango library. We invited Colombian artists and the curator was José Ignacio Roca. He put out a national call and invited young artists to open dialogue between British and Colombian artists. A number of residency projects in the UK arose from that and several artists went there".

Bogota's Anglo-Colombian College opens the William Shakespeare Theatre. The British Council invited the famed architect John Wyckham to design the new building. The bond between the organization and the college will continue to be strong as the British Council will be part of the theatre's managing board for a number of years.

The British Council continues to bring contemporary and experimental art to the country. Together with the Municipal Cinemateca, the organization arranges an exhibition of the feature films of the recently-deceased Derek Jarman. The British artist is known for his daring avant-garde productions, not only in film but also in painting and set design.

Seven Colombians receive the Simon Bolivar scholarship, a prize administered by the British Council to study in the UK. The prizewinners come from a range of backgrounds, from Mauricio Navas, a TV director, to Jaime Bermúdez, an advisor in the chancellery. Looking back on his time in the UK, Navas states that: "I only have positive things to say, and nothing negative. It was an invaluable year for my current life, being able to have contact with English culture and the university, and the experience of producing film and TV in England".

20 large-format paintings and drawings make up an exhibition entitled "Cries and Whispers" that opens in the Luis Ángel Arango library. The works are part of the British Council's collection and are by British artists like Terry Atkinson, Tony Bevan, Christopher le Brun, Lisa Milroy and Andrew Stahl.

Two new resource centres are opened in the country: one at the University of Atlántico in Barranquilla, and the other at the University of Cauca in the city of Popayan.

In conjunction with the British Chamber of Commerce, the British Council starts to administer an English exam for executives from different companies. The test will enable organizations to find out their employees' knowledge of the English language. The process is so efficient that the results are published two weeks after the exam date.

The British artists Simon Hitchens and Simon Thomas come to Colombia to participate in a stonecarving competition, with the support of the British Council. The competition takes place in Barichara, a town recognized for its handicraft work.

The Ministry of Culture is created under the liberal government of Ernesto Samper. The first minister of the portfolio, Ramiro Osorio, is a close ally of the British Council, and the organization collaborates with the Incentive Programme for Creation Grants and cooperates with the Sub-Directorate of Arts on several projects. With their help, it becomes possible to launch the artistic residency programme in the UK for Colombian artists. Over the years, Colombians such as María Consuelo Araujo, Ramiro Osorio, Fanny Mikey and Juan Gabriel Vásquez visit the UK thanks to this relationship.

An agreement is signed between the British Council and the SENA (Colombian National Training Service) to carry out a training cycle on implementing policies that boost growth and competitiveness.

The British Council supports the completion of the first edition of the "British Festival" in Bogota. The opening event is a party held in the Country Club, with profits going to the British Association of Colombian Charities (ABCC). This event continues the British Council's policy of inclusion, as confirmed by its director Kate Board in the final report: "The committee decided that the festival would not follow the traditional pattern of festivals of this type by having an elitist approach, but rather would aim to reach as wide an audience as possible".

Thanks to the support of the British Concil, the Luis Ángel Arango library exhibits the graphic works of the British pop artist Allen Jones from 1960 onwards.

Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Juan José. Juan José Reyes, an employee of the British Council since the mid-seventies, receive the Order of the British Empire, an honour that very few Colombians have received. His work in the organization and efforts to unite both countries meant the Crown's recognition was well-deserved.

The British Council supports a pilot test for training English teachers online in the Urabá region of Antioquia. The classes are taught at the Turbo campus of the University of Antioquia.

The second edition of the British Festival is held, and this year is called "British Spring". Dance. To the delight of the people of Bogota and the British expat community, the grand "May Ball" dance is held in the Dann Carlton Hotel. Environmental seminar. A seminar on the environment is held in the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, focused on industrial matters and their effects. The British expert Tony Albert is the keynote speaker. The United Kingdom inspires Colombia.

With the support of the British Council, the Latin America Foundation and Colombia's National University organize an international gathering on the use of bikes and trains.

The David Glass ensemble presents the play "Hansel and Gretel" with the sponsorship of the British Council. The group also carries out an artistic residency with children under the care of IDIPRON, the Municipal Institute for the Protection of Childhood and Youth.

Colombia's House of Representatives awards the decoration of the Simon Bolivar Order of Democracy to three organizations: the Anglo-Colombian College, the Anglo-Colombian Bank and the British Council.

The UK is this year's guest of honour at the 12th International Book Fair in Bogota. Together with its Mexican equivalent, the Bogota fair has established itself as one of the most important in Latin America, and this year one of the pavilions is completely occupied by British culture- all with the support of the British Council. British film. Four films leave audiences speechless in the British pavilion: “Mrs. Brown”, “Richard III”, “Under the Skin”, and “Brassed Off”. "The Invisible Man" is also shown, a spectcular silent film that is accompanied by music and sound effects. Additionally, the theatre group The English School performs three English plays: “Hamlet”, “Rhinoceros” and “The Last Lesson”. From folklore to the chamber: the group City Waites perform folkloric gaita music, La Folia play chamber music and the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia bring things to a close by performing a repertoire of the famous English composer Edward Elgar. Laser art. The artist Chris Levine presents a holographic exhibition, making use of laser beams to create visual language.

As part of the British celebrations to mark the new millennium, the Millenium Dome and the London Eye are opened, two megaconstructions that today are icons of the city.

The British Council and the Javeriana University organize the National ELT Conference on the subject of language skills development. The opening event features the UK's ambassador to Colombia, Ms. Jane Willis; Jan Van De Putte, the director of the Javeriana University's languages faculty; and the director of the British Council in Colombia, Joe Docherty.

With the help of the British Council, British culture takes over Colombia for 25 days. Amid music, film, literature and art, Bogota residents are able to enjoy all of British culture in this edition of the British Festival, entitled British Accent.

The British Council opens an exhibition of its history in the Britannia Room of the Dann Carlton Hotel, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its arrival in the country.

Baroness Kennedy for Human Rights. Baroness Helena Kennedy, Labour politician and advisor to the Queen, visits Colombia to participate in the Journalism and Human Rights seminar. The event also features the British journalists David Harrison and Robert Powell, in addition to a variety of Colombians who cover the event for different media outlets. Mónica Valencia, a governance officer at the British Council, knows how important the seminar is: "Events with journalists and the media are what we have to work on, in order to obtain different points of view and because they are disseminated more widely".

The central theme of this year's ELT annual conference is the development of materials, and it features the presence of the experts Mary Meyer (Oxford) and Brian Tomlinson (Cambridge).

Fashion doesn't distinguish between languages. The British Council brings Ann Vince to Colombia. The designer, winner of the Graduate Fashion Week 2001 in the UK, is not a Spanish speaker but understood the plaudits of the audience. An event is also held in the Portobelo Design Center to collect donations for the Good Treatment Agreement, a private pro-childhood partnership.