The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
We recognise that appropriate use of media and social media contributes to the British Council’s aims.
We use media and social media in two main ways:
- to promote the British Council and its services
- to engage directly with audiences through a range of digital and learning channels including personal channels used in a professional capacity.
The British Council is committed to:
- maintaining a safe, professional and respectful social media presence, and ensuring our colleagues follow suit by abiding by our Code of Conduct and other relevant policies and guidance
- promoting the Values we stand by – open and committed, expert and inclusive, optimistic and bold
- protecting the rights, interests and responsibilities of the people and the communities we work with and prevent misuse or abuse of social media communication platforms.
We have a global Social Media Policy that sets out the principles and appropriate behaviour standards for official British Council-branded pages, as well as colleagues’ personal social media accounts.
We will provide adequate and appropriate resources to implement this global policy statement and will ensure it is communicated and understood.
The British Council will review this global policy statement annually to reflect new legal and regulatory developments and ensure good practice.
This global policy statement was approved by Scott McDonald, Chief Executive, in April 2025 and is due for review in March 2026.