Shifra Jacobson – Management & Coordination​

For the past forty years, Shifra Jacobson has been a human rights and social justice advocate. She describes herself as being a lifelong learner as well as an adult and popular educator. After an absence of 14 years from South Africa, Shifra took her first job at Grassroots Educare Trust as part of the resource centre in developing materials and programmes for early childhood development. At the time she was involved with women’s building cooperatives. In the late 1980s became increasingly involved in children’s rights and co-founded Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN). Rapcan developed partnerships with the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, The Children’s Institute at UWC as well as UCT.

She joined the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation developing continent-wide networks for human rights responders in eleven countries in Africa. She was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund to conduct research to develop a neighbourhood response to child abuse prevention. Shifra became Assistant Director of Education at the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre training teachers and learners as well as police personnel in antiracism and the dangers of prejudice, bias and assumptions. From 2009 until joining the Counselling Hub in 2019, Shifra joined a Jewish welfare organisation in order to establish a coordinated mental, physical, aged and indigent care providers network.

In the next phase of the Counselling Hub, Shifra will spearhead a project on creative arts and expressive therapies as part of amplifying and expanding integrated mental health practices and education. Shifra has a range of professional qualifications including attending London’s, Goldsmith College, at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance and qualified as a movement specialist. Whilst in London Shifra obtained a diploma in Urban Community Studies at the London School of Economics. In 1988 Shifra obtained an advanced diploma in adult and popular education at the University of the Western Cape. She then went on to do a postgraduate diploma in women and gender studies at UWC. She then joined UCT’s Medical Sciences Department doing a 2-year study in addiction care.

Shifra is a trained facilitator and underwent leadership training at the Desmond Tutu Peace centre. Shifra has taken part in 5 courses on Mindfulness. Shifra was a professional contemporary modern dancer until the age of 28.