Opening

Jacques Avril du Toit is a former Chairperson of the HELTASA Writing Centres (SIG), former Deputy Chairperson of the Performance Arts Network of Southern Africa (PANSA) Western Cape, former Chairperson of the Board of the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) and is currently holding the position as Executive Leadership strategist and  Interim Chairperson of the  Pride Shelter Trust, a safehouse focusing on GBV and LGBT human rights support in Cape Town, South Africa. The Pride Shelter Trust is the only safehouse, which provides dedicated personal and professional psychosocial support for the LGBT+ homeless community in Africa. 

Academically, Jacques holds the position as a Regional Academic Coordinator and is based at the Unisa Western Cape. Jacques holds a master’s degree in modern foreign languages (educational technology) focusing on writing development, socio-cognitive processes of language learning and academic discourse socialisation. He is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany, whilst reading for his PhD in Forensic Linguistics.  

In his personal and professional capacity, Jacques has made a conscious and persistent effort to further discourse and policy-change around matters of social justice, language rights and inclusion. He is a proud South African human rights activist, working with a variety of organisations - both locally and abroad - on matters such as sustainability, gender-based violence and impact of change within marginalised communities. He is a proud champion for language diversity, gender equality and the arts and seeks to build the communities of Southern Africa through a range of learning opportunities, interventions and mentorship initiatives.