AI, employment top disability inclusion debate at Dhofar forum

SALALAH: Technology and artificial intelligence are becoming a central route to independence for people with disabilities, the Ministry of Social Development said on Wednesday as a two-day forum on independent living opened in Salalah.

The fourth edition of the Living Independently Initiative for Persons with Disabilities, running on September 16 and 17, brings together government officials, Arab and international organisations, companies, universities and people with disabilities. Discussions cover digital accessibility, inclusive employment and assistive technology.

The opening was held under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Marwan bin Turki Al Said, Governor of Dhofar.

“Technological tools and innovative solutions are no longer simply additional options,” said Dr Abdullah bin Hamoud Al Harthy, the ministry’s Undersecretary for Persons with Disabilities Affairs, delivering the ministry’s address.

He said Oman’s approach links national legislation with Oman Vision 2040 and Arab and international frameworks on disability rights, and that progress depends on cooperation between government, the private sector and civil society.

“People with disabilities are not merely the subject of this initiative; they are its partners, its compass and the measure by which the value of everything we discuss and seek to achieve should be judged,” he said.

He called for independent living to become “a principle in policymaking, a standard for evaluating services, a direction for innovation and an established culture within society.”

The League of Arab States, the Executive Bureau of the GCC Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs, the Union of Arab Chambers and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization are taking part.

The first day’s sessions examine governance of digital access and data security in Oman, the commercialisation of AI innovations by Arab entrepreneurs, and the effect of AI on employment policy.

A further session covers public-private partnerships in hiring people with disabilities, including an Omani case study on workplace integration and digital and physical accessibility. The programme also features an Arab corporate social responsibility index intended to increase private-sector backing for disability-related projects.

An accompanying exhibition features more than 25 entities and projects, 11 of them international, according to forum material. They comprise four government bodies, five university and youth projects, eight assistive-technology companies, and 10 entrepreneurs and institutions.

Among the university projects is Basira, which the programme describes as an AI agent designed to support inclusive student activities.

The forum concludes on Thursday with parallel workshops, one on financing and training for entrepreneurs and another on linking vocational rehabilitation with AI and assistive technologies.