Shaima Almofadhi is a 28-year-old woman who has Down syndrome. Almofadhi and her family — she has one sister and four brothers — spent many years in the US, moving to Washington, DC, in 1997, when she was seven years old.
In Washington, Almofadhi attended school in Fairfax County and, at home, her mother dedicated herself to her daughter’s education and self-development.
After graduating high school in 2009, Almofadhi attended the S. John Davis Career Center, a school focused on vocational and independent living skills for students with disabilities. Through the center, she landed several jobs, among them working in an IT company and as a chef’s assistant in an Italian restaurant.
After she and her family returned to Riyadh in 2012, Almofadhi attended Saut Society’s School for Down Syndrome. It proved a mutually beneficial move, as Almofadhi thrived — often chosen to be a student speaker at events — and eventually ended up landing a job as assistant secretary. Almofadhi said she enjoys spending time with the children at the school and that she gets great joy from helping them.
In her spare time, Almofadhi said she enjoys cooking, baking, exercising and writing.
She is a passionate advocate for peace, and for awareness of disabilities, and was selected as Saudi Arabia’s speaker at the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in June this year. Almofadhi hopes to build on this experience to become an ambassador for the Down Syndrome Society one day.
TheFace: Shaima Almofadhi, an advocate for awareness of disabilities
TheFace: Shaima Almofadhi, an advocate for awareness of disabilities
- She is a passionate advocate for peace, and for awareness of disabilities, and was selected as Saudi Arabia’s speaker at the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in June this year
SDAIA president says Saudi Arabia is building an integrated AI ecosystem
RIYADH: Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority President Abdullah Al-Ghamdi says that Saudi Arabia is moving steadily to establish artificial intelligence as a trusted national capability, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Guided by the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, Al-Ghamdi said the goal is to use AI to help develop government services, enhance competitiveness, build human capacity and improve quality of life through a comprehensive strategy based on three main pillars that unlock the potential of this technology and achieve sustainable developmental impact.
“The first pillar focuses on building human capacity and enhancing readiness to engage with AI technologies,” he said.
The second pillar is building an integrated national AI ecosystem that drives expansion and innovation by developing advanced digital infrastructure that enables various sectors to adopt AI applications efficiently, consistently and with effective governance, Al-Ghamdi said.
The third pillar, he said, is governance that ensures responsible and measurable AI through a national framework aligned with international standards.
This came during Al-Ghamdi’s speech at a high-level ministerial session held on Thursday on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
He is heading the Saudi delegation, and the session saw broad participation from heads of state, decision-makers and technology leaders from around the world.
Al-Ghamdi also had a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening, discussed AI cooperation and expressed his gratitude for hosting the summit and for the hospitality extended to the participants.
