Amatey Doku is a management consultant for the Nous Group. Born in London and of Ghanian heritage, he spent 2 years involved in the National Union of Students, as Vice-President then Deputy President, and before that he led the Cambridge Union Students' Union (CUSU) and the Jesus College Students' Union (JCSU).
During his time as JCSU President, Amatey campaigned for the College to repatriate the Okukor, a Benin Bronze statue. It had held pride of place in the main hall of Jesus College, Cambridge, since being looted from Benin in 1897. Initially reluctant, the College formally handed over the Okukor to representatives of the Nigerian government in October 2021.
A dedicated sticky toffee pudding enthusiast, Amatey has also shown dedication in his side-quest to review every sticky toffee pudding he eats on Twitter.
In this episode of Healthy Discussions, Zack and Amatey discuss the surrounding culture wars, how to move past culture wars, the dearth of political leadership in the UK, whether the UK is prepared for Prince Charles to take the throne after the death of the Queen Elizabeth II, and what's needed to bring the country together.
// Timestamps
0:00 - Intro & Experience of Student politics
3:54 - Is the media's portrayal of culture wars in student politics accurate?
9:10 - The positive case for campaigning on diversity
16:30 - Contrast with negative campaigns such as #RhodesMustFall
21.38 - Does having minority leadership impact the outcome?
22:37 - Why was there resistance to giving back the Okukor?
25:08 - What are the lessons for the future in this?
27:56 - How do we move past culture wars? And Keir Starmer
36:07 - Discussing the impact of anti-racism training
43:07 - The precarious position of the Labour Party
47:04 - Who benefits from culture wars, then?
50:09 - Will the death of Queen Elizabeth II strain the UK's leadership and culture even more?
53:44 - Book recommendation
// Amatey's Links
📖 Book recommendation: The Anarchy by William Dalyrymple
🐤 Twitter: @AmateyDoku
🍮 Thread of Sticky Toffee Pudding Reviews: https://twitter.com/AmateyDoku/status/1221201642525220864
🐓 More about the Okukor: https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/articles/jesus-college-returns-benin-bronze-world-first
// Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BV7DKjjVp0Q
// Socials
–> Twitter - @MontereyZack
-> "Thinking Allowed" - my free Personal Email Newsletter with my favourite links and thoughts
// Credits
Music - Overriding Concern by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4187-overriding-concern
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
