Kemi Adegoke speaks at TEDxEuston

We are proud to present one of our fascinating speakers at TEDxEuston 2010; Kemi Adegoke. 

Kemi is one of the "famous five" people of Nigerian extraction that stood in the April 2010 parliamentary elections in the UK. 

Kemi Adegoke works as a systems analyst within the RBS Group. She studied Computer Systems Engineering (M.Eng) at Sussex University, graduating in 2003, and is also a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society. In June 2009, she completed an undergraduate. degree in Law at the University of London (Birkbeck). 

She is also on the board of Charlton Triangle Housing Association. She was born in London, although she lived in Nigeria until the age of 16, and now lives in Herne Hill, South London. Before her selection as a candidate for Parliament under the Conservative Party, she was the Deputy Chairman of the Dulwich and West Norwood Conservative Association, and worked as a project leader for the Conservative Party Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group in 2006 and 2007. She was selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate, running against Tessa Jowell in the Dulwich and West Norwood Constituency in the 2010 Parliamentary election.

Kemi was widely celebrated in the Nigerian press. 234Next led with a story rightly titled Kemi Adegoke blazes trail in UK politics called her the "feisty, outspoken Conservative candidate"....In the article she describes her challenges in winning the votes of Nigerians living in her constituency ....describing the response of one particular man during her campaign as "E ba ti lo si party to favour foreigner...” asking in a mixture of Yoruba and English, why she didn’t choose a party that was sympathetic to foreigners. On the other hand, in this article in the Mail online, she is described as one of David Cameron's "cuties". The paper goes on to suggest that Kemi, with the other "cuties" were chosen for the wrong reason: to carry David Cameron's message that the Tories have changed. Not changed their principles, but their appearance.

Photo credit Daily Mail 

But what does Kemi have to say herself about her experience in British politics? On the challenges and the joys?. On the campaign trail, walking the pavements and shopping centres speaking to people. What does she want to share with us on the joys and pains of seeking public office? What is her take on African politics, knowing that in most countries, the chances of a bright young lady like her standing for office would be almost unheard of ?

Kemi challenged conventional wisdom in many ways - smart, young, female, black and conservative. 

Don't miss her talk at TEDxEuston. To register, get in touch with us through our website at or by emailing team@tedxeuston.com.