Al-Ummah Canada | Inspired for Life!
Al-Ummah Canada is a 15-day residential program held at St. John's Academy, in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. This program is for youth between the ages of 15-17, from across Canada and Jamats worldwide. This year’s Al-Ummah Canada staff team will continue to build memorable experiences and create a lasting impression on participants.
"I love how you can be open with everyone here and how fast we all became a family, everyone should attend this program."
- Previous year al-Ummah participant
Program Objectives
- Provide a deeper meaning of society, community, faith, responsibility and self-identity
- Enhance participants’ understanding of, and comfort with, the Ismaili Tariqah and Islam in general
- Allow participants to explore, express and debate issues of importance to them in a safe learning environment
- Promote life-long learning
- Provide an opportunity to build meaningful, lasting friendships and a strong community network
Program Components
The goal of Al-Ummah Canada is to strengthen and nurture the sense of comfort and belonging within our community, develop leadership capacity and facilitate personal growth. The program also encourages the learning of new skills and talents and fosters lasting friendships that cross boundaries of culture, gender, age and nationality. Al-Ummah Canada is all about experiential learning – whether through art, science, nature, poetry or sports, youth will have fun and be challenged in the process. During workshops and modules, participants will explore the notion of community, pluralism, history, perceptions of Islam and relationships through creative mediums such as skits, dance and art. Participants will have the opportunity to experience outdoor activities such as swimming, hiking, basketball and soccer.
By participating in morning and evening prayers and engaging with guest speakers and scholars, participants will be encouraged to reflect on what they have learned to further their understanding of their faith and their own self-identity. All the Majalis activities will allow participants to develop skills such as critical thinking, communication, creativity, self-expression and problem solving. Every effort is made to make the Majalis content relevant to the participants within the context of their daily lives.
During evening activities, youth will have the opportunity to learn and explore with their peers in a safe and controlled environment. They will be asked to express themselves through a variety of reflective and stimulating activities and engage in meaningful debate and discussion.
Program Information
Location: The program is held at St. John's Academy, in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia.
Program Dates: The program will be held from August 6th to August 20th, 2020.
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Program Cost: This year we are introducing a tiered program cost structure. This formula takes into account that participants not living in British Columbia will have to fly to Vancouver/ Victoria for the program. Airfare has been removed from the price of the program to keep the program costs as low as possible.
| British Columbia | $1,800 |
| Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba | $1,625 |
| Ontario (incl. Ottawa) | $1,450 |
| Quebec, Maritime Provinces | $1,450 |
| Outside of Canada (International) | $2,000 |
Please note that the program cost does not include travel to Vancouver/ Victoria, British Columbia. Travel to Vancouver/ Victoria will be up to each participant/family to arrange. Airport pick up/drop off and transportation to and from the site will be provided by the program.
Eligible Participants: Participants must be 15-17 years of age prior to the summer program. Click here for additonal criteria.
Application Deadline: The deadline to submit completed application is May 4th, 2020.
Applications payments can only be made online. Note: Tax receipts will not be issued for any funds paid.
UPDATE APRIL 9, 2020
Thank you for your ongoing patience. Due to the current coronavirus pandemic an the uncertainty that the next few months will bring, we have made the difficult decision to not hold Al-Ummah Canada 2020.
In following current health advisories, we felt that the health, safety and well-being of our volunteers, participants and staff was most important, and that meant not holding our program this summer.
We are currently working on offering virtual programming for Ismaili youth for the summer months, we hope your support will continue as we take a new directions.