Entries Written By John Coster
World Environment Day: A View from India
The theme for World Environment Day 2023 is focusing on solutions to the issue of plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. World Environment Day 2023 is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands on Monday 5th June: Côte d’Ivoire is showing leadership in the campaign against plastic pollution. Since 2014, it has banned …
Africa Day 2023
We want to wish all our friends and colleagues across the African continent a very joyful and safe Africa Day. We will be hosting our own event this coming Saturday with food from Ghana and Kenya, in partnership with Anita Barrand, and launching our latest project, the Kenyan Asian Archive. There were over 2,000 East …
International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM 6th February
The Documentary Media Centre has hosted a range of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (6th February) events for the Zinthiya Trust since 2017. The charity provides specialist one-to-one support to prevent domestic abuse, honour-based violence, and FGM, undertaking teaching courses covering healthy relationships and how to recognise the warning signs. This year, …
International Day of Education 2023
By John Coster Today marks the International Day of Education. Across our social media platforms, I’ve been sharing impactful content from many global organisations advocating for access to education for all, especially young girls. Every report, study, and high-level speech delivers undeniable evidence of the value of education for ordinary people living in the most …
Spotlight: Kavita Ashok – India
By John Coster In this new Series on the Parallel Lives Network website, I’ll be showcasing the work of individuals that engage with us from across the global south. For today’s blog post, I was delighted to interview Kavita Ashok, an Environmentalist, Women and Health activist and President of Tree for Life NGO in New Delhi, India. …
Spotlight: Shahenoor Akther Urmi – Bangladesh
By John Coster In this new Series on the Parallel Lives Network website, I’ll be showcasing the work of individuals that engage with us from across the global south. The network is hosted at the Documentary Media Centre by John Coster in Leicester, UK, and consists of active NGOs, charities, community groups, individuals, and educational-based …
Day 16 #16DaysOfActivism
Welcome to Day 16 of #16DaysOfActivism from across the Parallel Lives Network. We’ve reached Day 16 and the final day for our event using the #16DaysOfActivism hashtag. What better day to end it ….10th December….the annual Human Rights Day. It’s been interesting seeing the many NGOs globally who have taken up the opportunity to promote …
Day 15 #16DaysOfActivism
Welcome to Day 15 of #16DaysOfActivism from across the Parallel Lives Network. My latest interview was with Natasha Gooneratne, Founder of Perspective South which presents stories, narratives, and perspectives from the Global South. Natasha, who is based in Colombo Sri Lanka, uses her extensive experience in the area of Third World Approaches to International Law …
Day 14 #16DaysOfActivism
Welcome to Day 14 of #16DaysOfActivism from across the Parallel Lives Network. Interview with Julian Harrison discussing mental health activism and what that means to him as an expert in equality & diversity. Julian and I have been friends for 15 + years and during that time I’ve always found him very open when discussing …
Day 13 #16DaysOfActivism
Welcome to Day 13 of #16DaysOfActivism from across the Parallel Lives Network. Interview with Gerhard Haas on the subject of Climate Activism. I’ve been lucky to host several events with Gerhard over the last few years and certainly consider him a proactive climate activist due to his engagement in the subject globally via Twitter. We …