Dr. Monk lost op een creatieve manier wereldproblemen op

If we would use female strengths more, we would achieve much more as a society.

Interview by Lisa Goudsmit

Lynn Zebeda (32) and Ama van Dantzig (34) were best friends at first, became business partners and then family. In 2011, they founded Dr. Monk together: a creative studio that addresses social issues. They work for clients such as Philips, VPRO and Tony’s Chocolonely.

What a striking name, Dr. Monk. How did you come up with that?
Lynn: ‘Ama’s father was a professor in Ghana. He was a historian and taught, among other things, the Dutch role in the slave trade. He wrote letters to his sister Doortje in the Netherlands for three decades. Dr. Monk also appeared in them: a little monkey who had all kinds of adventures.’

Ama: ‘We often had conversations about Ghana, the Netherlands, Suriname and themes such as the slave trade; that’s why we called our company Dr. Monk. For me, that monkey represents bridging the gaps between those worlds.’

How and why did you start Dr. Monk?
Lynn: ‘I worked as a consultant in leadership and social entrepreneurship. At the time, Ama and I lived together in an ‘anti-squat palace’ and philosophized there with all our friends about our vision of the world; we eventually hung Dr. Monk above those ideas as a kind of umbrella. Innovation is our focus, underlying themes are globalization, diversity and everything that has to do with inequality and power structures. It is not without reason that our logo looks like a comb: an African symbol for feminine qualities. Since the start of Dr. Monk in 2011, Ama and I have changed and grown, but there is also a lot more going on in the world.’

What do you mean?
Lynn: ‘The old world that is now crumbling was dominated by middle-aged men. The feminine is now taking over more; it has to if we want to survive together. What is wrong in the world for me is that the balance between male and female qualities has gone too far. There is too much emphasis on competitiveness and short-term thinking; masculine values, in my opinion. Feminine strength translates into qualities such as long-term thinking, empathy, cooperation and perseverance. We need those values. They are in both men and women, by the way, but we have to find them.’

How do you contribute to this?
Ama: ‘We solve problems in an impactful, creative and authentic way, based on a vision for a new world that is more sustainable and equal. I initially started doing this from Ghana, Lynn from the Netherlands, now we work with international teams. A good example is our work with Philips, where initiatives are developed for emerging economies. For example, we worked on a breastfeeding project with women in Ghana and Kenya, to investigate what they need for this. Think of a breast pump, but also electricity for that; that is not available, so you have to work with solar energy. Also needed is cooling, hygienic conditions and childcare that knows how to deal with it. A theme like breastfeeding is like the inside of an onion, there are all kinds of layers around it that the core has an effect on.’

What else have you been working on lately?
Lynn: ‘We operate in many different worlds, from the UN in New York to informal neighborhoods in Africa. That helps us solve issues. For Tony’s Chocolonely, for example, we are working on solving problems regarding child labor from a West African perspective. We have produced documentaries for the VPRO, such as ‘Sunny side of spirit’ by Sunny Bergman.’

Ama: ‘I can be seen in it with my family in Ghana. We also do our own productions, such as an arts festival in Accra. All building blocks for a new world’ 

Who are your role models?
Ama: ‘I immediately think of our grandmothers. My family is Togolese, although I was born in Ghana. My grandmother lives in Togo and is an important reminder of everything that is down to earth . She lives very simply on a farm: she lives from what comes out of the ground. That is really what she chose, for that mud hut. She speaks from a completely different world, where I think we all need to go. That is a world with respect for nature, with a long-term vision for the future and the past, with respect for everything that has been and gratitude for where we are now. My grandmother is very funny and critical, because of her I think differently. For example, I recently ate with her and she laughed because I use a spoon, she eats with her hands. She said: ‘you think you have made progress with your spoons, but I can immediately feel with my hands whether food is good and not too hot’.’

Lynn: ‘I’m a kind of clone of my Surinamese grandmother, people say. She was an intuitive warrior with a sense of humor. Those are values ​​that I also live by.’

To talk about International Women’s Day: how important is that day?
Ama: ‘Very important. It’s a shame that it’s necessary, but I’m also very proud of activists who dare to stand up for women. As a man, you can’t just hijack women’s issues to win souls, like Geert Wilders with his ‘resistance spray’. In a ‘new world’ you wouldn’t fight on Women’s Day, but celebrate what rights there already are and who you are. Being a woman is such a multifaceted thing, we should celebrate women in all their diversity.’

Do you call yourselves feminists? And if so, what does that mean?
Lynn: ‘Yes, definitely. I’m a big fan of female power, and what it means to be a woman. I just had a baby and was afraid that my world would become small if I became a mother, but that didn’t happen. I’m combative.’
Ama: ‘I find it funny that it’s so popular to call yourself a feminist now. Years ago, someone asked me that too, and I was still hesitant. I did stand for women’s rights and equality, but I didn’t want to call myself a feminist. This is because I found the connotation with feminism more negative and old-fashioned at the time. Now I think it’s more important as an ideology than ever. If we were to use female power more, we would achieve much more as a society.’

How do you see that?
Ama: ‘Women are, they say, more peaceful, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. That’s generalizing. It’s about inclusivity.’

Lynn: ‘The Netherlands is secretly a macho country, for example, many women are paid less and are financially dependent on men, but it can be worse. Look at the statistical phenomenon of ‘missing women’ in a country like India, where there are fewer women than you would expect, purely because of the way girls and women are treated. There is more to fight for. But what Ama says is also true: we should not only fight for women, we should give everyone the space to contribute.’

Ama: ‘Yes, and we also need to have equal rights in concrete terms. Women need to be seen as fully grown fellow human beings. People who think along, make decisions and participate. That is often not the case. I want to bridge gaps: between rich and poor, men and women, the Western world and Africa. I do realise that I can achieve things because I have certain privileges, certain educations, a certain position. Because I have people around me who are like-minded. That gives me the strength to be a feminist. That said: feminism is not my end goal.’

Lynn: ‘No, it’s a way of being.’