Facilitation is the art of creating a safe space for participants, where they can be simultaneously vulnerable and courageous. It's a place where all voices and perspectives matter, and where teams are supported to unleash their potential and address the issues most important to them.
About us
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In a time of disruption and uncertainty we are all being called to rethink the way we do things. The way in which we meet and exchange ideas, thoughts and perspectives is changing rapidly. There is a sense of urgency to find different ways of responding to the many challenges that confront people and planet.
Facilitation is the art of creating a safe space for participants, where they can be simultaneously vulnerable and courageous, where all voices and perspectives matter and where teams of people are supported to unleash their potential and address the issues that are most important to them.
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At The Barefoot Facilitator, we know that you are the content expert in your field. What we offer is support for your content to be translated in creative and accessible ways to all participants. We can support you to ensure that your meeting, workshop, event, or project is designed with conscious intent to meet the objectives that you have set.
Our service is distinguished by the fact that we are a small company, committed to the success of our clients and partners. When we enter into a relationship with your organisation, we strive to ensure that you receive professional service, infused with creativity and that you actually get to enjoy not just the final product but the process of co-creation.
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When you do business with The Barefoot Facilitator, you are also contributing to the community where our home office is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Through the Nyuki Fund, we support a range of activities that are in service to humanity and the environment.
We select assignments that resonate with our values and are committed to:
Authentic Conversation
Celebration of Diversity
Social and Environmental Justice
Respect for Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Creativity
Fun
Engaging Soul, Heart, Head and Hands….
Learn about our services
We pride ourselves on understanding our clients' objectives and offering a vast range of process tools, methodologies, and facilitation support materials to enhance your process of looking back and moving forward.
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Design is the phase in which we work with our partners/ clients to clarify their objectives and co-create an experience that will meet those objectives. We bring a vast array of facilitation ideas and tools that are best suited to your requirements
The heart of our offering is facilitation in which we weave together our expertise to support your meeting, event, project. We ensure that your participants feel relaxed and comfortable. We use a variety of mechanisms so that spaces are democratised and content is accessible to all. We encourage active participation, creativity and fun and pride ourselves on the ability to get people to have authentic conversation through engaging all faculties. We engage head, heart and hands in our facilitation offerings.
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Depending on the nature of your meeting, event or project – we offer a variety of tailored creatively designed visuals, videos and support materials that will ensure that your participants have a memorable and transformative experience.
You could opt to have a creative rendition summary to share with your participants that will leave a lot more impact than a report.
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Rehana has been invited on a range of local and international platforms to share her experiences which span education, community activism, inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue and a 13 year stint as an elected representative in the City of Johannesburg.
She has been asked to share her experiences as a woman politically leading the portfolio of Transport and what it took to lead the team that delivered Africa’s first Bus Rapid Transit project – Rea Vaya.
UBER SA Cezanne Maherali, Head of Policy MEA
"It’s been an absolute pleasure working with you Rehana. We have worked together in a number of ways including advisory services on public policy, support to Innovation Master Classes, approaches to gender-related issues as well as understanding of the evolution of the SA public transport landscape. On all of the above, I find that you have always come with a deep appreciation of the complexities of the environment, you are up to date with the latest developments, and the advice that you provide is thoughtful and relevant for the Uber context. You are also well connected within the South African landscape, and have been very generous with your network. You have also helped us to further our thinking on important issues like taxi and gender – by providing us with the foundational knowledge, and taking us on a journey to bring our strategy together cohesively and collaboratively. Perhaps my biggest appreciation is the way in which you constantly challenged our thinking – so that we don’t stay too conservative, and really look at how we need to plug into the ecosystem to maintain and grow our relevance, and improve the experience for riders and drivers. A big heartfelt THANK YOU for everything you have done for us"
C40 Cities Aris Moro, Senior Manager
"We contracted Rehana and her team to deliver a series of events on walking and cycling for South African cities and for the City of Tshwane. She developed and delivered a series of high-quality, audience-focused engagements which exceeded our expectations and she conducted the assignment throughout with professionalism and dedication. We would recommend her services in a heartbeat."
Kayla Brown, South African Cities Network
“Working with the Barefoot Facilitator has provided a depth and richness to our style of engagement that has deeply defined our way of working. In this way, Rehana’s facilitation does so much more than facilitate engagement, but actually shapes the work itself, facilitating outcomes that are honest, reflective and instructive. The experience of working with the Barefoot Facilitator has allowed the team to grow in ways we could not have imagined. Apart from being a masterful facilitator, Rehana is also highly organised, professional and proactive. Her knowledge of the government space and development industry sets her apart from many facilitators, as she bridges the worlds of emotional and intellectual connection. Rehana has strong views that can sometime take the engagement in a direction that was not planned for. But trusting her and her process, I have found, has always led to deeply enriching outcomes and experiences. Apart from my professional relationship with her, she has impacted me on a personal and spiritual level too. Her daughter, Faheemah, also assists us with creative content and graphic harvesting. Her drawing and design skills are exceptional and she is professional and highly creative. She has complemented Rehana’s facilitation style beautifully. It has been an honour working so closely with the Barefoot Facilitator."
Karen Harrison CSP ED Component Lead
"I really enjoy the perspectives that you bring to our work – the deep participatory approach and techniques, the empathy and human touch, the pushing of boundaries and challenging ideas, the activist approach, your responsiveness and your amazing network and networking ability"
Rupert Barnard, Group Managing Director
What our clients have said
"It has been such a pleasure working with The Barefoot Facilitator on the World Bank and National Treasury partnering projects. Rehana always brings innovative approaches to the design and facilitation of sessions. She has huge amounts of compassion and always remembers who we are ultimately trying to benefit. We have learned a great deal from her and continue to do so. We look forward to working on many other projects together in the years ahead."
Elsona van Huyssteen
CSIR
This is a reference to attest to the lasting value, excellence, innovation, integrity and high levels of personal commitment brought by Rehana Moosajee and her company, The Barefoot Facilitator, to the people and initiatives where they are involved in. The distinguishing factor is that Rehana and The Barefoot Facilitator not only leaves the project or event, but each participant and the world, with experiences and results that contributes to the outcomes set, as well as outcomes that contributes to our collective future.
She has through her facilitation of National Urban Conference and South African Cities network related events illustrated her ability to work with small and big, local and international groups. Her knowledge of the South African local, national and built-environment governance space is incredible, infused with her experience as Councillor in the City of Joburg.
Rehana and The Barefoot Facilitator is not just a facilitator of an event, but much rather a of a high impact experience, who also becomes an active leader and collaborative innovator in the design of the process and experience from conceptualization to implementation and reporting.
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Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport
Rehana‘s voice was featured along with global change makers in “Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport 2023”, which was launched in Berlin on 2 March 2023. The launch was the culmination of a high level study tour.
The event was organized under the banner of Women Mobilise Women – Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative supported by GIZ.
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Women who Make a Difference Interview
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Safetipin 10th anniversary celebrations in Delhi
Rehana was one of the Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport invited by Women Mobilize Women to join the Safetipin 10th anniversary celebrations in Delhi. She participated in a number of events these included: Pathways to Sustainable Mobility on 1 November, Shaping Our Cities: Towards Gender Responsive Policy and Practice on 2 November and Building Feminist Cities:Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Transport on 3 November.
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Reflecting on 2023 – Rooted like a tree, moving like water.
As we reflect on the work we have been a part of in 2023 we are immensely grateful for our amazing clients who trusted us to create
opportunities for teams to unleash their energy and creativity. We throughly enjoy our work that helps connect people to each other, to ideas, to themselves.We remain rooted like a tree, embedded in our values while being able to flow into different
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Facilitation Feature: RAISING THE BAR FOR ACTIVISTS – ARMOUR (Action for Responsible Management of Our Rivers)
“The Human Rights Festival at Constitutional Hill on Saturday 25 March was the beginning of a new era for environmental activists: a determined step to build a new coalition of community voices that will stand together to affirm the rights of the environment in all its expressions,” reported Kristin Kallesen, chair of the GEKCO – Greater Kyalami Conservancy and Anthony Duigan of ARMOUR (Action for Responsible Management of Our Rivers)
As the session drew to a close, the skilled and energetic facilitator, Rehana Moosajee, gathered the 100 or so people present in a mighty circle to commit to establishing the network of networks, a coalition of activist organisations that will uphold the environment is all its forms."
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Champion Spotting: Humanitarian work Rehana Moosajee does in the informal settlement of Slovo Park.
Champion Spotting: Founder of The Barefoot Facilitator Rehana Moosajee gives insight on the humanitarian work she does in the informal settlement of Slovo Park.
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The future of work is a moving target: Industry experts
NOBODY could say they knew exactly what the future of work looked like because it was a moving target, chairperson of Productivity SA Professor Mthunzi Mdwaba told an Uber Future of Work round table held on Tuesday.
The founder and owner of The Barefoot Facilitator, Rehana Moosajee, said it could well be that the future of work becomes screen-based with no access to the natural environment and people got increasingly cut off from others and themselves and nature.
“All of this could be problematic because it is new and we do not understand what the implications are. Whilst it moves very fast and whilst it has quickened its pace, we need to remember that we are talking about human beings,” Moosajee said.
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What are South Africa 5 biggest priorities ? #ChampionSouthAfrica
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Poster Series to capture highlights for the Transforming Slovo community initiative 2022
The report captured the projects undertaken by the Slovo Community in 2022 highlighting challenges faced as well as lessons learnt from various community initiatives
- Growing Greatness: Re-establishing the food garden and creating a garden at Slovo Space
- Forming Relationships: Creating partnerships with various individuals and organisations to realise the goals and directions for SCYD- it takes a village
- Working with New Technology: Robotics kits, tablets, software and lessons in digitalisation
- Learning through Play: Play in the Park- the second Saturday each month
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Honouring the diverse sides to community activist and founder of the Barefoot Facilitator Rehana Moosajee
Listen to an audio interview on Salaam Media: Life as an educator, activist and local government member.
Honouring the diverse sides to community activist and founder of the Barefoot Facilitator Rehana Moosajee
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A community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020 – February 2022
A community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020 – February 2022
Transforming Slovo: a community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020 – February 2022: Rehana Moosajee, Founder of the Barefoot Facilitator, elaborates.
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Transforming Slovo: a community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020- February 2022
This report documents the experience of the Slovo community youth collective, working with the Barefoot Facilitator, to transform the informal settlement within which the community resides.
It tells the broader story and journey of the collective that has come together to make the work of the Slovo Community Youth Desk possible. It captures why and how the initiative came about, what has been done since March 2020, what resources it has taken, and what some of hte lessons have been.
The report is intended for communities, development practictioners and government partners who have an interest in informal settlement upgrading or community development work.
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From Flow to Balance: reflecting on the year
In 2020, we at The Barefoot Facilitator, fully embraced the notion of flow as shared in our Art of Flow publication. We are truly grateful for the opportunities that flow has brought us, with the ebbs and flows of trying to serve, people, place and planet in the midst of a global pandemic. For most of 2021, the current has felt strong and we have felt completely immersed in supporting the work of our partners and clients.
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Women and redefining an alternate society and women empowerment. #WomensDay2021
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We’ve been divided by military men for too long — women need to redefine an alternate society
“The planet’s state of crisis calls for women to show with clarity, conviction and creativity how an alternative is possible: individuals, communities, countries and a world characterised by compassion, social justice, honesty and community.”
Read full article published on the Daily Maverick
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Rehana Moosajee in conversation with Nafeesa Dangor about Crosby I Care #TBF
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City Economic Development Managers’ Forum
City Economic Development Managers’ Forum
Rehana is part of the Partnering for Inclusive Growth Team that have been assisting in facilitating the City Economic Development Managers’ Forum since March 2020. On 6 April Deputy Minister of Finance Dr David Masondo launched a publication that recounts the journey of the collective of city economic development practitioners.
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Crosby I Care collecting signatures and Saturday Afternoon Activities
Crosby I Care collecting signatures and Saturday Afternoon Activities
Today we started to collect signatures for Crosby I Care and Slovo Community Youth Development to adopt the park. We had a lovely afternoon with the children where some of The Barefoot Facilitator facilitation materials kept the children thoroughly busy – from blocks to building a city to art.
We are inspired to get more play materials for the children and create a regular Saturday programme that allows children to explore their creativity and play.
An apt start to a Human Rights Weekend. The right of children to play in a clean and safe environment.
Thanks to the Crosby I Care team!
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Virtually Barefoot: Guidelines for life in the virtual world
Download the virtually barefoot guide below
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The Art of Flow. The Barefoot Facilitator 2020 in Review
In November 2019 our company retreat and strategy session left us with the theme of flow. Little did we know that 2020 would bring circumstances that would allow us to practice flow in the most extraordinary of ways.
Read the full version below
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A look back at 2020 and the work of South African Cities Network Built Environment Programme
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Lockdown- Behind The Mask – An Anthology – Review by Rehana Moosajee
Lockdown- Behind The Mask is an amazing collection of stories by women writers, that moves seamlessly from the macro to the micro. With the mask being the symbol of 2020 the anthology moves beyond the literal mask, removing the layers at the level of the personal and the collective.
Each story told in a distinctive style, some fictitious others weaving facts and fiction together give glimpses into the issues that the advent of a global pandemic has brought to the fore.
From the deeply personal to the sense of communal anxiety, the stories deal with diverse issues that focus on everything from revelations of long held secrets, to the economic impact of Covid 19 to the varying responses of individuals, families and communities.
Words flow effortlessly to weave together stories of birth and death, love lost or reignited, fears felt individually and collectively as each author gives depth and colour to the people and themes covered.
As I read these stories my own experiences of this period shaped my relationship to the characters in each story who I felt like I knew intimately.
The themes of communal prayer spaces that men take for granted, of dress codes that assumed a new meaning,of people retreating into internal spaces to find their connection to what truly matters recur throughout the collection.
This anthology is a must read that is likely to be read for a long time to come. Capturing the immediacy of living through a global pandemic, it will serve as a snapshot to a moment in the history of humanity, one that fundamentally transformed so much for so many.
This is a book you want to own. It will be relevant for generations to come. I suspect that as the pandemic progresses, each reading of the stories is likely to give them new depth and meaning.
Congratulations to the amazing team who used the lockdown experience to bring together their love and joy for writing, as a processing mechanism for the multiplicity of issues every human-being has faced in this period. Your collective pens have held up mirrors for many souls.
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Crosby I Care t-shirts and caps make us feel like a team! These were handed over on 2 November.
Crosby I Care and the Nyuki fund received generous unsolicited donationsfrom Kayla Brown and Zaheera Jina.
Their generosity enabled us to get the team branded gear. The embroidery on the T-Shirts was done by Schoolwear Specialists – a small family owned and run business in Brixton. We hope that seeing Crosby I Care volunteers in their T-Shirts and caps will inspire everyone to care for each other, the environment and our neighborhood.
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Rehana was a moderator at Mobilize 2020
Rehana was a moderator at Mobilize 2020
Rehana was a moderator at Mobilize 2020 which is a global event hosted by the Institute for Transport Development Policy.
The title of the session Rehana moderated was “Dismantling Racist Practices in Mobility” – in conversation with Professor Julian Ageyman from TUFTS University, Paola Castaneda a doctoral candidate in transport Studies from the University of Oxford and Daniel Teixeira from the Research Centre on Labour Relations and Inequalities in Sao Paolo.
The discussion included issues of Urban Planning as racist in orientation, identity and social justice as well as global racism as experienced in mobility – especially time use, money spent and spatial dislocation.
The session was a firm call for the courage to continue the struggle for social justice in mobility and place-making and for more participatory and inclusionary practices.
The winner off the Mobilize Sustainable Transport Award 2030 is Pune in India.
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Moderating a session at the Uber tech for safety summit
Rehana has been working hard virtually during lockdown- 22 October was the first live assignment she has done since mid-March 2020. Moderating a session at the Uber tech for safety summit focusing on tech for safety in the new normal.
Rehana was in conversation with Rebecca Harrison – CEO and Founder of Africa Management Initiative, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala – Vice Chancellor of University of Johannesburg, Emmanuel Lunanzadia – Head of Public Policy Sub- Saharan Africa – Twitter, Eyitemi Egbejule – Cybersecurity Analyst and Gretchen Wilson-Prangley – Founder of PlayAfrica.
The event was live from Johannesburg with guests joining from Nairobi, Lagos and Dublin.
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Citopoly at Urban Festival 2020
Watch the launch of South African Cities Network designed for Built Environment Practitioners
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Crosby I Care – Slovopark Clean Up
Monday 5 October saw the Nyuki Fund and Crosby I Care working with residents for the clean up of the area around the chemical toilets in the settlement.
10 people had the opportunity to get grocery vouchers in exchange for cleaning up the area.
The intention is to continue with ongoing cleaning initiatives in the informal settlement.
“Even though The Barefoot Facilitator is a very small business, we are committed to giving back to the community that surrounds us. Restoring dignity, civic pride and care for our shared public spaces is something we are committed to,” said Rehana.
Crosby I Care will continue to work on initiatives that encourage productivity, civic pride and a sense of community.
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Crosby I Care
Monday 5 October saw the Nyuki Fund and Crosby I Care working with residents for the clean up of the area around the chemical toilets in the settlement.
10 people had the opportunity to get grocery vouchers in exchange for cleaning up the area.
The intention is to continue with ongoing cleaning initiatives in the informal settlement.
“Even though The Barefoot Facilitator is a very small business, we are committed to giving back to the community that surrounds us. Restoring dignity, civic pride and care for our shared public spaces is something we are committed to,” said Rehana.
Crosby I Care will continue to work on initiatives that encourage productivity, civic pride and a sense of community.
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Authentic Conversations and Cities with Deep Human Connection
Rehana Moosajee is the founder at The Barefoot Facilitator and a past Member of the Mayoral Committee of the City of Johannesburg. We chat about her background and work at The Barefoot Facilitator, her work with SA Cities Network and National Treasury, NLTA of 2009, having authentic conversations, stakeholder collaboration, Covid-19 and future cities with deeper human connection.
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Talking Transformation features Beryl Khanyile
Talking Transformation features Beryl Khanyile
The Barefoot Facilitator has been walking a journey with the members of the Built Environment Integration Task Team convened by South African Cities Network. This podcast hosted by Talking Transformation features Beryl Khanyile – Deputy City Manager of eThekwini and Geoff Bickford Programme Manager for Built Environment at South African Cities Network sharing parts of the journey.
There are many spatially transformative proposals in the plans and programmes of local government. National, provincial and local government are all committed – on paper at least – to “Spatial
Transformation”. But what does it actually mean? Why is success of government frequently measured only in numbers – the auditors having an increasingly powerful role in the space and outcomes of municipalities?What about the “softer” issues and the numerous dependencies across municipalities and between spheres of government?
Listen to the full version below
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Play It Forward Launch Event
South African Cities Network is a membership based NPO of Metropolitan Municipalities + Msunduzi who do research in relation to city governance and development. Citopoly is based on the work of the Built Environment Integration Task Team – City practitioners working on built Environment Integration projects who are grappling with transformation of space and society in democracy. 4 cities put forward 4 case studies of different scale and proportion. Zanemvula in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mabopane Precinct Hub in Tshwane, Cornubia in eThekwini and Paterson Park in Johannesburg. The research was not an evaluation of the projects but rather an attempt to understand the internal workings between departments in a city, between spheres of government and between municipalities and communities. Given that most people are too busy to read the research team were looking for creative ways to engage the research findings and CITOPOLY was born. The game consists of actual practitioner quotes from experience and each quote has a consequence. The aim of the game is to build towers – one represents institutional value the other societal value. There are 4 themes emerging from the report which are covered in the game: Leadership/ Interaction/ Rules of the Institution and Skills and Capacity. The game aims to show that our cities are being hamstrung by the obsession with supply chain management, clean audits and financial indicators whilst trust is being eroded with society. Also that the performance systems are measuring silo mentality whilst articulating the need for collaboration. Despite this – many practitioners are delivering against the odds. The launch also showcased practitioner profiles understanding the men and women who work in these institutions and what gets them up in the mornings. The launch event was called Play It Forward! We had the mayor of NMB addressing people who were flopping into bean bags, the mayor playing Citopoly with members of the community and the mayor creating a t shirt slogan and hanging it on a waving line. The entire launch event was aimed at showing an alternative way of having authentic conversation.
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Metropolis Strategic Meeting in Barcelona
Metropolis Strategic Meeting
2 Days of seminar in Barcelona on Metropolis activities with experts from Brussels, Montreal, Sydney, Johannesburg, Washington, Mexico City, Dakar, Mashhad, Montevideo, Istanbul, Paris, Barcelona, Guangzhou and with Metropolis and UCLG team.
Rich, dense debates on the future of metropolises, the role of states and international organizations vis-a-vis large metropolises, the tools to be developed at the service of metropolises, the partnerships to be developed. Great prospects for the global association of major metropolisesRehana facilitated the Metropolis Strategic Meeting on 26 and 27 November in Barcelona. Once again the program was highly participative and engaging. From the Metropolis team organizing a cooking class to marketplace stalls and dynamic engagement- participants contributed a lot to shape Metropolis at service to its members going forward.
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Seeding Facilitation Skills Amongst Urbanists
In celebration of International Facilitation Week – The Barefoot Facilitator in conjunction with South African Cities Network, Constitution Hill and Play Africa Children’s Museum hosted “Seeding Facilitation Skills Amongst Urbanists “. It was an event that gave participants the opportunity to experience a facilitated session and also learn the tools to create a facilitated experience. Infused with fun, creativity and laughter the event also saw people leaving with practical tools that they can try out in their daily environments. We at The Barefoot Facilitator were excited to be part of the international energy of sharing the art of facilitation.
The experience was an offering and there was no cost to attendees thanks to our partners, a few testimonials and photogallery can be viewed below.
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Amplifying Youth Voices for Africa’s Transformation
71 young people, representing youth network organizations from over 15 countries in the SADAC region convened for 2 days at the TajPamodzi Hotel in Lusaka Zambia, under the auspices of the African Youth Networks Movement. Supported by ABSA / The Graca Machel Trust and the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS). Rehana was invited to facilitate the event. Youth from across Africa shared their ideas for how to amplify youth voices for Africa’s Transformation in the fields of Education, Entrepreneurship, Peace and Security and Political Participation. Youth also gained from the insights of Mama Machel, Dr Moyo (MINDS), Mthunzi Mdwaba (ILO) and Sazini Mojapelo (Absa). A variety of creative methods kept people connected in conversation and creating goals for the ongoing strengthening of the network for a transformed continent.
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The Struggle to be Ordinary
On Friday 16 August Rehana facilitated a fishbowl conversation on the “The Struggle to be Ordinary” – a documentary aimed at raising the issues faced by women living with disabilities in informal settlements as regards sanitation. The event was hosted by SERI – The socio-economic rights institute in conjunction with South African Cities Network, the National Upgrading Support Programme and Constitution Hill. The conversation between representatives of government, the film maker, community members, research institutes and rights based organizations was generative and an important start to changing the conditions in informal settlements. It will however need to move from talk to implementation.
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Workshop against Climate Change
Workshop against Climate Change
Rehana was asked to share ideas on how technical officials can interface with politicians to influence them in relation to Climate Change Action.
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Strategic Session for Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (WCEDP)
Rehana was requested to facilitate a strategic session for the board and team members of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership WCEDP on 19 July. The WCEDP are a team who are committed to showing a different way of solving some of the intractable problems in society. They are bridge-builders between public sector departments, private sector and communities. They have worked on varied issues – amongst others: agriculture/ the water crisis and township economies. They thrive on encouraging people to leave their offices and boardrooms and understand firsthand how people experience frontline government services and how policy does not always translate into practice. Even though the methodology was fun and light-hearted the team covered serious ground and charted a way forward together.
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Rehana Published in Lead Magazine
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Rehana was the lead facilitator of “Capturing Hearts For Truly Inclusive Cities”
On the 15th and 16th April 2019, Rehana was the lead facilitator of “Capturing Hearts For Truly Inclusive Cities”. An initiative of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs – COGTA – the workshop was a follow on from the Urban Conference In 2018. Representatives of all 3 spheres of government worked together to discuss moving the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) off the words on paper to a whole of government approach.
A variety of creative activities included model-building, fishbowl conversations, timeline and reflection. The workshop was co-facilitated by the team from Economic Development Partners of Cape Town. The feedback received from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Even Deputy Minister Andries Nel got in on the action!
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A Year of Joy: Reflections from Our Play in the Park Children
This collection captures the heartfelt reflections of the children who participated in Play in the Park. Through their eyes, we revisit their favorite moments and activities from a year filled with laughter and learning.
These reflections shine a light on the joy, wonder, and inspiration made possible by a community of caring individuals who generously shared their knowledge, time, expertise, experiences, and resources to create and spread happiness. This initiative was lovingly spearheaded by The Barefoot Facilitator in collaboration with Crosby I Care Outreach, whose dedication and vision turned the park into a vibrant hub of growth, creativity, and connection.
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Eco Art Jam
As part of the Crosby I Care and Play in the Park efforts, the Barefoot Facilitator had the wonderful opportunity to take 10 children from Slovo to join an unforgettable Eco Art Jam with students from Wofford University (USA)!
It was a day filled with creativity and meaningful moments, bringing together young minds from different parts of the world.
A heartfelt thank you to Aunty Debbie for organising transport and providing snacks – your kindness truly made this day extra special!
Media
Social Outreach
Features
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Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport
Rehana‘s voice was featured along with global change makers in “Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport 2023”, which was launched in Berlin on 2 March 2023. The launch was the culmination of a high level study tour.
The event was organized under the banner of Women Mobilise Women – Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative supported by GIZ.
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Women who Make a Difference Interview
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Safetipin 10th anniversary celebrations in Delhi
Rehana was one of the Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport invited by Women Mobilize Women to join the Safetipin 10th anniversary celebrations in Delhi. She participated in a number of events these included: Pathways to Sustainable Mobility on 1 November, Shaping Our Cities: Towards Gender Responsive Policy and Practice on 2 November and Building Feminist Cities:Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Transport on 3 November.
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Reflecting on 2023 – Rooted like a tree, moving like water.
As we reflect on the work we have been a part of in 2023 we are immensely grateful for our amazing clients who trusted us to create
opportunities for teams to unleash their energy and creativity. We throughly enjoy our work that helps connect people to each other, to ideas, to themselves.We remain rooted like a tree, embedded in our values while being able to flow into different
-
Facilitation Feature: RAISING THE BAR FOR ACTIVISTS – ARMOUR (Action for Responsible Management of Our Rivers)
“The Human Rights Festival at Constitutional Hill on Saturday 25 March was the beginning of a new era for environmental activists: a determined step to build a new coalition of community voices that will stand together to affirm the rights of the environment in all its expressions,” reported Kristin Kallesen, chair of the GEKCO – Greater Kyalami Conservancy and Anthony Duigan of ARMOUR (Action for Responsible Management of Our Rivers)
As the session drew to a close, the skilled and energetic facilitator, Rehana Moosajee, gathered the 100 or so people present in a mighty circle to commit to establishing the network of networks, a coalition of activist organisations that will uphold the environment is all its forms."
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Champion Spotting: Humanitarian work Rehana Moosajee does in the informal settlement of Slovo Park.
Champion Spotting: Founder of The Barefoot Facilitator Rehana Moosajee gives insight on the humanitarian work she does in the informal settlement of Slovo Park.
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The future of work is a moving target: Industry experts
NOBODY could say they knew exactly what the future of work looked like because it was a moving target, chairperson of Productivity SA Professor Mthunzi Mdwaba told an Uber Future of Work round table held on Tuesday.
The founder and owner of The Barefoot Facilitator, Rehana Moosajee, said it could well be that the future of work becomes screen-based with no access to the natural environment and people got increasingly cut off from others and themselves and nature.
“All of this could be problematic because it is new and we do not understand what the implications are. Whilst it moves very fast and whilst it has quickened its pace, we need to remember that we are talking about human beings,” Moosajee said.
-
What are South Africa 5 biggest priorities ? #ChampionSouthAfrica
-
Poster Series to capture highlights for the Transforming Slovo community initiative 2022
The report captured the projects undertaken by the Slovo Community in 2022 highlighting challenges faced as well as lessons learnt from various community initiatives
- Growing Greatness: Re-establishing the food garden and creating a garden at Slovo Space
- Forming Relationships: Creating partnerships with various individuals and organisations to realise the goals and directions for SCYD- it takes a village
- Working with New Technology: Robotics kits, tablets, software and lessons in digitalisation
- Learning through Play: Play in the Park- the second Saturday each month
-
Honouring the diverse sides to community activist and founder of the Barefoot Facilitator Rehana Moosajee
Listen to an audio interview on Salaam Media: Life as an educator, activist and local government member.
Honouring the diverse sides to community activist and founder of the Barefoot Facilitator Rehana Moosajee
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A community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020 – February 2022
A community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020 – February 2022
Transforming Slovo: a community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020 – February 2022: Rehana Moosajee, Founder of the Barefoot Facilitator, elaborates.
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Transforming Slovo: a community perspective on informal settlement upgrading October 2020- February 2022
This report documents the experience of the Slovo community youth collective, working with the Barefoot Facilitator, to transform the informal settlement within which the community resides.
It tells the broader story and journey of the collective that has come together to make the work of the Slovo Community Youth Desk possible. It captures why and how the initiative came about, what has been done since March 2020, what resources it has taken, and what some of hte lessons have been.
The report is intended for communities, development practictioners and government partners who have an interest in informal settlement upgrading or community development work.
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From Flow to Balance: reflecting on the year
In 2020, we at The Barefoot Facilitator, fully embraced the notion of flow as shared in our Art of Flow publication. We are truly grateful for the opportunities that flow has brought us, with the ebbs and flows of trying to serve, people, place and planet in the midst of a global pandemic. For most of 2021, the current has felt strong and we have felt completely immersed in supporting the work of our partners and clients.
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Women and redefining an alternate society and women empowerment. #WomensDay2021
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We’ve been divided by military men for too long — women need to redefine an alternate society
“The planet’s state of crisis calls for women to show with clarity, conviction and creativity how an alternative is possible: individuals, communities, countries and a world characterised by compassion, social justice, honesty and community.”
Read full article published on the Daily Maverick
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Rehana Moosajee in conversation with Nafeesa Dangor about Crosby I Care #TBF
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City Economic Development Managers’ Forum
City Economic Development Managers’ Forum
Rehana is part of the Partnering for Inclusive Growth Team that have been assisting in facilitating the City Economic Development Managers’ Forum since March 2020. On 6 April Deputy Minister of Finance Dr David Masondo launched a publication that recounts the journey of the collective of city economic development practitioners.
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Crosby I Care collecting signatures and Saturday Afternoon Activities
Crosby I Care collecting signatures and Saturday Afternoon Activities
Today we started to collect signatures for Crosby I Care and Slovo Community Youth Development to adopt the park. We had a lovely afternoon with the children where some of The Barefoot Facilitator facilitation materials kept the children thoroughly busy – from blocks to building a city to art.
We are inspired to get more play materials for the children and create a regular Saturday programme that allows children to explore their creativity and play.
An apt start to a Human Rights Weekend. The right of children to play in a clean and safe environment.
Thanks to the Crosby I Care team!
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Virtually Barefoot: Guidelines for life in the virtual world
Download the virtually barefoot guide below
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The Art of Flow. The Barefoot Facilitator 2020 in Review
In November 2019 our company retreat and strategy session left us with the theme of flow. Little did we know that 2020 would bring circumstances that would allow us to practice flow in the most extraordinary of ways.
Read the full version below
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A look back at 2020 and the work of South African Cities Network Built Environment Programme
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Lockdown- Behind The Mask – An Anthology – Review by Rehana Moosajee
Lockdown- Behind The Mask is an amazing collection of stories by women writers, that moves seamlessly from the macro to the micro. With the mask being the symbol of 2020 the anthology moves beyond the literal mask, removing the layers at the level of the personal and the collective.
Each story told in a distinctive style, some fictitious others weaving facts and fiction together give glimpses into the issues that the advent of a global pandemic has brought to the fore.
From the deeply personal to the sense of communal anxiety, the stories deal with diverse issues that focus on everything from revelations of long held secrets, to the economic impact of Covid 19 to the varying responses of individuals, families and communities.
Words flow effortlessly to weave together stories of birth and death, love lost or reignited, fears felt individually and collectively as each author gives depth and colour to the people and themes covered.
As I read these stories my own experiences of this period shaped my relationship to the characters in each story who I felt like I knew intimately.
The themes of communal prayer spaces that men take for granted, of dress codes that assumed a new meaning,of people retreating into internal spaces to find their connection to what truly matters recur throughout the collection.
This anthology is a must read that is likely to be read for a long time to come. Capturing the immediacy of living through a global pandemic, it will serve as a snapshot to a moment in the history of humanity, one that fundamentally transformed so much for so many.
This is a book you want to own. It will be relevant for generations to come. I suspect that as the pandemic progresses, each reading of the stories is likely to give them new depth and meaning.
Congratulations to the amazing team who used the lockdown experience to bring together their love and joy for writing, as a processing mechanism for the multiplicity of issues every human-being has faced in this period. Your collective pens have held up mirrors for many souls.
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Crosby I Care t-shirts and caps make us feel like a team! These were handed over on 2 November.
Crosby I Care and the Nyuki fund received generous unsolicited donationsfrom Kayla Brown and Zaheera Jina.
Their generosity enabled us to get the team branded gear. The embroidery on the T-Shirts was done by Schoolwear Specialists – a small family owned and run business in Brixton. We hope that seeing Crosby I Care volunteers in their T-Shirts and caps will inspire everyone to care for each other, the environment and our neighborhood.
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Rehana was a moderator at Mobilize 2020
Rehana was a moderator at Mobilize 2020
Rehana was a moderator at Mobilize 2020 which is a global event hosted by the Institute for Transport Development Policy.
The title of the session Rehana moderated was “Dismantling Racist Practices in Mobility” – in conversation with Professor Julian Ageyman from TUFTS University, Paola Castaneda a doctoral candidate in transport Studies from the University of Oxford and Daniel Teixeira from the Research Centre on Labour Relations and Inequalities in Sao Paolo.
The discussion included issues of Urban Planning as racist in orientation, identity and social justice as well as global racism as experienced in mobility – especially time use, money spent and spatial dislocation.
The session was a firm call for the courage to continue the struggle for social justice in mobility and place-making and for more participatory and inclusionary practices.
The winner off the Mobilize Sustainable Transport Award 2030 is Pune in India.
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Moderating a session at the Uber tech for safety summit
Rehana has been working hard virtually during lockdown- 22 October was the first live assignment she has done since mid-March 2020. Moderating a session at the Uber tech for safety summit focusing on tech for safety in the new normal.
Rehana was in conversation with Rebecca Harrison – CEO and Founder of Africa Management Initiative, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala – Vice Chancellor of University of Johannesburg, Emmanuel Lunanzadia – Head of Public Policy Sub- Saharan Africa – Twitter, Eyitemi Egbejule – Cybersecurity Analyst and Gretchen Wilson-Prangley – Founder of PlayAfrica.
The event was live from Johannesburg with guests joining from Nairobi, Lagos and Dublin.
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Citopoly at Urban Festival 2020
Watch the launch of South African Cities Network designed for Built Environment Practitioners
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Crosby I Care – Slovopark Clean Up
Monday 5 October saw the Nyuki Fund and Crosby I Care working with residents for the clean up of the area around the chemical toilets in the settlement.
10 people had the opportunity to get grocery vouchers in exchange for cleaning up the area.
The intention is to continue with ongoing cleaning initiatives in the informal settlement.
“Even though The Barefoot Facilitator is a very small business, we are committed to giving back to the community that surrounds us. Restoring dignity, civic pride and care for our shared public spaces is something we are committed to,” said Rehana.
Crosby I Care will continue to work on initiatives that encourage productivity, civic pride and a sense of community.
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Crosby I Care
Monday 5 October saw the Nyuki Fund and Crosby I Care working with residents for the clean up of the area around the chemical toilets in the settlement.
10 people had the opportunity to get grocery vouchers in exchange for cleaning up the area.
The intention is to continue with ongoing cleaning initiatives in the informal settlement.
“Even though The Barefoot Facilitator is a very small business, we are committed to giving back to the community that surrounds us. Restoring dignity, civic pride and care for our shared public spaces is something we are committed to,” said Rehana.
Crosby I Care will continue to work on initiatives that encourage productivity, civic pride and a sense of community.
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Authentic Conversations and Cities with Deep Human Connection
Rehana Moosajee is the founder at The Barefoot Facilitator and a past Member of the Mayoral Committee of the City of Johannesburg. We chat about her background and work at The Barefoot Facilitator, her work with SA Cities Network and National Treasury, NLTA of 2009, having authentic conversations, stakeholder collaboration, Covid-19 and future cities with deeper human connection.
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Talking Transformation features Beryl Khanyile
Talking Transformation features Beryl Khanyile
The Barefoot Facilitator has been walking a journey with the members of the Built Environment Integration Task Team convened by South African Cities Network. This podcast hosted by Talking Transformation features Beryl Khanyile – Deputy City Manager of eThekwini and Geoff Bickford Programme Manager for Built Environment at South African Cities Network sharing parts of the journey.
There are many spatially transformative proposals in the plans and programmes of local government. National, provincial and local government are all committed – on paper at least – to “Spatial
Transformation”. But what does it actually mean? Why is success of government frequently measured only in numbers – the auditors having an increasingly powerful role in the space and outcomes of municipalities?What about the “softer” issues and the numerous dependencies across municipalities and between spheres of government?
Listen to the full version below
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Play It Forward Launch Event
South African Cities Network is a membership based NPO of Metropolitan Municipalities + Msunduzi who do research in relation to city governance and development. Citopoly is based on the work of the Built Environment Integration Task Team – City practitioners working on built Environment Integration projects who are grappling with transformation of space and society in democracy. 4 cities put forward 4 case studies of different scale and proportion. Zanemvula in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mabopane Precinct Hub in Tshwane, Cornubia in eThekwini and Paterson Park in Johannesburg. The research was not an evaluation of the projects but rather an attempt to understand the internal workings between departments in a city, between spheres of government and between municipalities and communities. Given that most people are too busy to read the research team were looking for creative ways to engage the research findings and CITOPOLY was born. The game consists of actual practitioner quotes from experience and each quote has a consequence. The aim of the game is to build towers – one represents institutional value the other societal value. There are 4 themes emerging from the report which are covered in the game: Leadership/ Interaction/ Rules of the Institution and Skills and Capacity. The game aims to show that our cities are being hamstrung by the obsession with supply chain management, clean audits and financial indicators whilst trust is being eroded with society. Also that the performance systems are measuring silo mentality whilst articulating the need for collaboration. Despite this – many practitioners are delivering against the odds. The launch also showcased practitioner profiles understanding the men and women who work in these institutions and what gets them up in the mornings. The launch event was called Play It Forward! We had the mayor of NMB addressing people who were flopping into bean bags, the mayor playing Citopoly with members of the community and the mayor creating a t shirt slogan and hanging it on a waving line. The entire launch event was aimed at showing an alternative way of having authentic conversation.
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Metropolis Strategic Meeting in Barcelona
Metropolis Strategic Meeting
2 Days of seminar in Barcelona on Metropolis activities with experts from Brussels, Montreal, Sydney, Johannesburg, Washington, Mexico City, Dakar, Mashhad, Montevideo, Istanbul, Paris, Barcelona, Guangzhou and with Metropolis and UCLG team.
Rich, dense debates on the future of metropolises, the role of states and international organizations vis-a-vis large metropolises, the tools to be developed at the service of metropolises, the partnerships to be developed. Great prospects for the global association of major metropolisesRehana facilitated the Metropolis Strategic Meeting on 26 and 27 November in Barcelona. Once again the program was highly participative and engaging. From the Metropolis team organizing a cooking class to marketplace stalls and dynamic engagement- participants contributed a lot to shape Metropolis at service to its members going forward.
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Seeding Facilitation Skills Amongst Urbanists
In celebration of International Facilitation Week – The Barefoot Facilitator in conjunction with South African Cities Network, Constitution Hill and Play Africa Children’s Museum hosted “Seeding Facilitation Skills Amongst Urbanists “. It was an event that gave participants the opportunity to experience a facilitated session and also learn the tools to create a facilitated experience. Infused with fun, creativity and laughter the event also saw people leaving with practical tools that they can try out in their daily environments. We at The Barefoot Facilitator were excited to be part of the international energy of sharing the art of facilitation.
The experience was an offering and there was no cost to attendees thanks to our partners, a few testimonials and photogallery can be viewed below.
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Amplifying Youth Voices for Africa’s Transformation
71 young people, representing youth network organizations from over 15 countries in the SADAC region convened for 2 days at the TajPamodzi Hotel in Lusaka Zambia, under the auspices of the African Youth Networks Movement. Supported by ABSA / The Graca Machel Trust and the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS). Rehana was invited to facilitate the event. Youth from across Africa shared their ideas for how to amplify youth voices for Africa’s Transformation in the fields of Education, Entrepreneurship, Peace and Security and Political Participation. Youth also gained from the insights of Mama Machel, Dr Moyo (MINDS), Mthunzi Mdwaba (ILO) and Sazini Mojapelo (Absa). A variety of creative methods kept people connected in conversation and creating goals for the ongoing strengthening of the network for a transformed continent.
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The Struggle to be Ordinary
On Friday 16 August Rehana facilitated a fishbowl conversation on the “The Struggle to be Ordinary” – a documentary aimed at raising the issues faced by women living with disabilities in informal settlements as regards sanitation. The event was hosted by SERI – The socio-economic rights institute in conjunction with South African Cities Network, the National Upgrading Support Programme and Constitution Hill. The conversation between representatives of government, the film maker, community members, research institutes and rights based organizations was generative and an important start to changing the conditions in informal settlements. It will however need to move from talk to implementation.
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Workshop against Climate Change
Workshop against Climate Change
Rehana was asked to share ideas on how technical officials can interface with politicians to influence them in relation to Climate Change Action.
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Strategic Session for Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (WCEDP)
Rehana was requested to facilitate a strategic session for the board and team members of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership WCEDP on 19 July. The WCEDP are a team who are committed to showing a different way of solving some of the intractable problems in society. They are bridge-builders between public sector departments, private sector and communities. They have worked on varied issues – amongst others: agriculture/ the water crisis and township economies. They thrive on encouraging people to leave their offices and boardrooms and understand firsthand how people experience frontline government services and how policy does not always translate into practice. Even though the methodology was fun and light-hearted the team covered serious ground and charted a way forward together.
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Rehana Published in Lead Magazine
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Rehana was the lead facilitator of “Capturing Hearts For Truly Inclusive Cities”
On the 15th and 16th April 2019, Rehana was the lead facilitator of “Capturing Hearts For Truly Inclusive Cities”. An initiative of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs – COGTA – the workshop was a follow on from the Urban Conference In 2018. Representatives of all 3 spheres of government worked together to discuss moving the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) off the words on paper to a whole of government approach.
A variety of creative activities included model-building, fishbowl conversations, timeline and reflection. The workshop was co-facilitated by the team from Economic Development Partners of Cape Town. The feedback received from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Even Deputy Minister Andries Nel got in on the action!
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A Year of Joy: Reflections from Our Play in the Park Children
This collection captures the heartfelt reflections of the children who participated in Play in the Park. Through their eyes, we revisit their favorite moments and activities from a year filled with laughter and learning.
These reflections shine a light on the joy, wonder, and inspiration made possible by a community of caring individuals who generously shared their knowledge, time, expertise, experiences, and resources to create and spread happiness. This initiative was lovingly spearheaded by The Barefoot Facilitator in collaboration with Crosby I Care Outreach, whose dedication and vision turned the park into a vibrant hub of growth, creativity, and connection.
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Eco Art Jam
As part of the Crosby I Care and Play in the Park efforts, the Barefoot Facilitator had the wonderful opportunity to take 10 children from Slovo to join an unforgettable Eco Art Jam with students from Wofford University (USA)!
It was a day filled with creativity and meaningful moments, bringing together young minds from different parts of the world.
A heartfelt thank you to Aunty Debbie for organising transport and providing snacks – your kindness truly made this day extra special!
Meet Rehana
Rehana is the founder and owner of The Barefoot Facilitator. She is passionate about people, places, potential and planet and is committed to creativity, collaboration and connection. Rehana has been invited to various international platforms and her assignments have included amongst others: wellbeing economies, food systems, eco-mobility, place-making and staying connected to nature in rapidly urbanising contexts.
Her style is characterised by bringing the richness of her life experiences authentically into her work–from retreats in Rajasthan, to business principles from Bhutan, to inter-faith/ inter-cultural tour of Turkey. She combines her professional training in education, with her years of community activism and a 13 year stint in local government with the deep learning she has gained from the opportunities that life has brought to her.