Page 239 - FDF QUARTER 2 REPORT 2025 (ENGLISH)

FDF organises dialogue sessions to enhance quality

of life for senior citizens in Abu Dhabi

By PR News Desk 04/06/2025
The Family Development Foundation (FDF) has launched a series of interactive dialogue forums for
2025, exclusively for senior citizens. The key objective of this move is to increase the contributions
of elderly people in shaping the future of social services and support them to express their
requirements and dreams.

Last year, FDF organised nine dialogue forums, which had the active participation of 273 members
from different community categories. In 2025, seven out of planned 16 forums has already been
conducted, engaging 154 senior citizens, their companions and partners. This initiative
underscores the pivotal role of elderly people in designing social services to serve them.

These forums seek to improve community participation in future planning processes, understand
the needs of senior citizens for programs and services and create supporting policies for elderly
community in collaboration with strategic partners. Furthermore, it evaluates the preparedness of
families to meet the psychological, health and social needs of senior citizens while contributing to
creating comprehensive, high-quality services in line with FDF’s dedication to support this
significant category of society.

His Excellency Abdulrahman Al Baloushi, Director of the Strategic Planning and Institutional
Development Department at FDF, emphasised that the series of interactive discussion forums’
focus on this vital community group aligns with the Foundation’s recently updated mandates and
its continuous efforts to improve social services for senior citizens.

In addition, H.E. Al Baloushi pointed out that these forums seek to reinforce community
engagement in future planning, identify the service and program needs of seniors and ensure that
comprehensive, high-quality services are offered. This move comes in alignment with the vision
and directives of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, ‘Mother of the Nation,’ Chairwoman of the
General Women’s Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood,
and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), who constantly
supported the provision of a supportive environment for elderly community which boost their
societal role, safeguard their dignity and ensure continued contributions.

H.E. Al Baloushi also reaffirmed that those forums stand as a vital platform for direct
communication with special community groups, ensuring a deeper understanding of their
challenges and aspirations. They offer an ideal stage for the exchange of ideas and proposals,
supporting evidence-based decision making. Such a participatory approach contributes to the
development of social policies and programs that shows the actual needs of the local community
and highlights FDF’s unwavering commitment to ensure innovation and integration in offering its
services.

In addition, H.E. Al Baloushi highlighted that FDF has employed the focus group method as a
structured tool for collecting qualitative data from participants. He explained that each session

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