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John Coster (FRGS) is a Journalist and Documentarian and former lecturer at De Montfort University. As a Journalist, he setup Citizens' Eye a community based newspaper in Leicester, England. Furthermore John Coster is director of the Documentary Media Centre and founder of the Parallel Lives Network. During his time at DMU he was the course lead for Media Production (BA). The Documentary Media Centre is an independent museum, archive and library – registered with AiM (Association of Independent Museums). The 'Doc Media Centre' runs events such as Military History Live and The Saturday Heritage Fair. All work aligns with the United Nation’s 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). It identifies and connects with active documentarians via the Parallel Lives project – practitioners located across Latin America, West & East Africa, South Asia, and South-East Asia.

John Coster is also the Community Engagement Lead at the REAL Documentary Festival. The REAL Initiative programme is tailored to meet the needs of individuals and enterprises at different stages of growth – from established filmmakers and digital artists, to start-ups in their first year of business, to people who are just thinking about taking their first steps. A vision to work towards establishing Leicester as a centre for documentary and non-fiction film and digital art in the East Midlands. REAL Initiative is funded by Phoenix, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Midlands Engine and Arts Council England .