About Us

Welcome to Seniors Forum Canada

Who Are We

Seniors Forum Canada (SFC) is an independent and self-supported initiative by seniors for seniors to improve their quality of life, reduce social isolation, and promote active aging through education, fitness, and social programs.

What We Do

We offer a safe space for individuals to learn and grow as individuals, through improving their physical health and fitness, mental health, and participating in a wide array of programs.

Who do we help

SFC is open to all communities and FREE. It’s a non-political initiative, where membership is open to all adults 55 years and older. We welcome seniors of all ages and abilities, including those with disabilities, diverse ethnic backgrounds, religions, cultures, and racialized communities.

Introduction to SFC

For the first time, seniors outnumber children in Canada as the population experienced its greatest increase in the proportion of older adults since the Confederation, according to the latest census data. Seniors may account for over one-fifth of the population by 2025 and could reach one-quarter by 2059. As of 2021, there are 7 million Canadian seniors (approx. 19% of the population) compared to 6 million Canadians under age 14.

Getting older can seem daunting – greying hair, wrinkles, forgetting where you parked the car, etc. However, it is important to recognize that aging brings unique health issues. With seniors accounting for approximately 12% of the world’s population – and rapidly increasing to over 22% by 2050 – it is important to understand the challenges faced by people as they age and recognize that there are preventive measures that can place yourself (or a loved one) on a path to healthy aging.

Human beings are inherently social creatures. Our connections to others enable us to survive and thrive. Yet, as we age, many of us are alone more often than when we were younger, leaving us vulnerable to social isolation and loneliness. Isolated seniors are more prone to serious illnesses like chronic lung disease, arthritis, and impaired mobility. Feelings of loneliness can cause seniors to engage in other unhealthy behaviours, such as over-consumption of alcohol, excess eating, and smoking, to cope with the loneliness. Fortunately, there are ways to counteract these negative effects.

As we age, we are also faced with some other issues such as:

Physiological: about 92% of seniors have at least one chronic disease and 77% have at least two
Psychological: when a person focuses on reflecting back on his life and loss of control
Financial: losing financial independence
Cultural: past and present values
Emotional: impaired family relationships
Quality of life and lifestyle

As we age, we make choices about our lifestyle, health care, personal pursuits, and plans for old age. Unfortunately, immigrants to Canada from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, especially Muslims, have limited facilities to address seniors issues. These people are generally confined to their homes or religious centers.

Certificate of Incorporation

Seniors Forum Canada (SFC) is a registered non-profitable and non-charitable organization. SFC is organized exclusively for non-charitable, educational, physical, and psychological well-being of any seniors, to increase quality of life through education, fitness sessions and social programs which will contribute to all communities.

History of SFC

As a result, in July 2018, with support from Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Canada, we formed Seniors Forum – an initiative to help seniors improve their quality of life, reduce social isolation, and help them achieve active aging through education, fitness, and social programs.

With our primary objectives of “learning” and “socializing,” Seniors Forum launched at ISNA in Mississauga with support from ISNA Management. We started a weekly fitness session in September 2018 led by a qualified volunteer instructor, Amina Mohamed, with 25 participants. We also started conducting learning sessions once a month and providing educational sessions on various seniors’ issues. These sessions were well attended and appreciated as they provided opportunities to meet, network, and socialize. Gradually, we expanded and started offering fitness sessions at Al-Falah Islamic Centre in Oakville in January 2019. We were joined by another instructor, Faryal Zahir, in August 2019, while Amina pursued post-graduate studies in Montréal, Quebec. We also launched our classes at Islamic Community Centre of Milton (ICCM) but were soon hit by the pandemic.

Seniors Forum used this opportunity and started conducting fitness sessions on Zoom in February 2020. We currently have five sessions per week, including two Yoga sessions with four instructors and over 60 participants from various locations, including Canada (Southwestern Ontario, Ottawa, Calgary), the United States of America (Michigan, Virginia), and across the world (England, Pakistan, India).

We appreciate our well-wishers including ISNA, ICCM, Ontario Society of Senior Citizens’ Organizations (OSSCO), Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services, Baraza Toronto, and Sheridan College. We are also thankful to our instructors, supporters, and most importantly, our participants who keep us energized and committed to our purpose.

Shaukat Rizvi – Founder, Seniors Forum Canada

Some Numbers

Members of SFC

Volunteers of SFC

Monthly Programs of SFC

Our Vision

Make a positive impact on the Canadian seniors’ quality of life and lifestyle.

Our Mission

To create an energizing platform for seniors across diverse ethnic backgrounds to engage in learning, to socialize, and to contribute to all communities while improving the quality of life through active aging and reducing social isolation.

Our Values

Our Objectives

Learning

Knowledge eXchange (KX): Provide KX sessions on relevant topics such as health, social, cultural and psychological matters by bringing in speakers from the community and also collaborating with external organisations.
Cultural Integration: Promote dialogue and understanding of the vast cultural and social diversities and the differences between our past and current lifestyles. Conduct intellectually stimulating sessions to engage the youth in bridging the generation gap from a mindset perspective.
Bridge the Gap: Provide a platform for seniors to keep up with technological and scientific enhancements that affect their routines and daily lives.

Socialization

Community Outreach: Build a positive image of our religion by actively participating in social and welfare initiatives across Canada to demonstrate our core Islamic values in action.
Getaways: Organize periodic social meet-ups and outdoor events to help seniors mingle and interact amongst each other.
Seniors helping Seniors: Identify and provide support to seniors from all communities who need assistance and provide volunteering opportunities.

Community Spirit Award of Appreciation

Seniors Forum Canada and Shaukat Rizvi (Founder of SFC) received the Community Spirit Award of Appreciation in October 2021. See the poster below for more details.

Dan Benedict Award Winner

Seniors Forum Canada won the Dan Benedict Memorial Award in March 2021. See the poster below for more details.