Stav Shaffir was the youngest woman ever elected as a member of parliament in Israel, where she served for seven years. Previously she was one of the leaders of the Israeli social movement that brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets in the summer of 2011, and became Israel's biggest-ever protest. The movement focused on housing, social services, equality and democracy. A year after the protests, Shaffir ran for a position on the Labour party list, and got elected in a nationwide primary.
She became an MP at age 27 and a member of the Finance Committee, where she led a reform for budgetary transparency, exposed the government's secret money transfers, and fought to end corrupt usage of tax-payer money.
Two years later, she won the second seat on her party list, and founded the Transparency Committee of parliament, where she served as chairperson for four years. In 2017 she became the chair of the OECD parliamentary committee for transparency and anti-corruption. She also led the parliamentary collaboration for sustainable cities and social justice.
In 2019, Israel entered a political turmoil of four consecutive elections leading to no result. Shaffir realized that the only way to stop the attack on democratic institutions would be to create a cross-party, democratic union between fractions on the center-left. She fought to establish that union – and eventually gave up her own seat for it to be built. The establishment of the Democratic Union paved the way for the diverse, unity government Israel has today.
Two years later, she won the second seat on her party list and founded the Transparency Committee of Parliament, where she served as chairperson for four years. In 2017 she became the chair of the OECD parliamentary committee for Transparency and Anti-corruption. She also led the parliamentary collaboration for sustainable cities and social justice.
In 2019, Israel entered a political turmoil of four consecutive elections leading to no result. Shaffir realized that the only way to stop the attack on democratic institutions would be to create a cross-party, democratic union between fractions on the center-left. She fought to establish that union – and eventually gave up her own seat for it to be built. The establishment of the Democratic Union paved the way for the diverse, unity government Israel has today.
Today, Shaffir is focusing on social entrepreneurship. She is the founder of the Shira Center; a unique program for young adults with autism and special needs. In Israel, like in most countries, there are almost no opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to continue to learn, work and receive therapy after they finish high school, and most remain fully dependent upon their families. Shaffir created the Shira Centers in order to provide young adults with autism and special needs an opportunity to be included in a university environment while continuing to study and work according to their desires and abilities.
The Shira Centers are located on university campuses and create ongoing collaboration between neurotypical and special-needs students, aiming to increase empathy and leadership skills among participants and the surrounding community. This groundbreaking model has quickly gained traction among academic institutions around the world, and Shaffir is now building a research institute for autism, music and the brain, in order to develop therapeutic technologies for the broader special-needs community.