11 | Amatey Doku | Wokeness in Britain: How do we resolve the culture wars?

Healthy Discussions

English - January 19, 2022 09:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MB
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Previous Episode: 10 | Dr Haidar Al-Hakim | Growing up Mixed Race & Medical

Next Episode: 12 | Cameron Wyllie | What is stopping us closing the attainment gap in our education system?

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?