Dr. Heidi Alaskary is the lead co-chair for the T20 Task Force 6 on economy, employment and education in the digital age.
She is US-educated and a trained speech-language pathologist based in Riyadh.
Alaskary is currently the CEO of the Special Olympics Saudi Arabia. Prior to this position she was acting deputy of planning and development at the General Sports Authority. As a director at the Human Resources Development Fund she used her experience to directly impact the lives of people with disabilities by working on legislation and programs that led to suitable and sustainable employment.
She has been director of research affairs at the King Salman Center for Disability Research (KSCDR), where she was an educator, researcher, and advocate for people with disabilities. The position gave her an opportunity to develop her leadership, administrative, and networking skills.
Before joining the center Alaskary was a speech-language pathologist with the Jeddah Institute for Speech and Hearing. She was a lecturer at King Saud University while working part time at the Disabled Children’s Association in Riyadh before becoming an assistant professor in speech-language pathology following the completion of her doctorate.
At KSCDR she was initially coordinator for the National Communication Disorders Program, then associate executive director for research and development before assuming the directorship. She maintains professional certifications and affiliations to support her participation in important projects that impact the lives of people with disabilities.
On Tuesday Alaskary spoke at a T20 Task Force 6 webinar about the economy, employment and education in the digital age.
“The beauty of the topics we’re talking about is that it is not something reserved for politicians, governments, or researchers,” she said. “Many of the topics you’re going to hear touch each and every one of us. Whether we’re children, people with disabilities, women, men, older, younger, or even parents learning to be teachers, trying to teach our children and keeping them safe.
“My call to action for everyone listening is that this isn’t just about policies, this is about the issues impacting you as an individual. What is your role in contributing to the voices that come together that help shape policy? Your voice matters, your thoughts matter. We look forward to hearing them.”
Dr. Heidi Alaskary, Saudi speech-language pathologist
https://arab.news/vvd8s
Dr. Heidi Alaskary, Saudi speech-language pathologist
Kingdom’s ambassador welcomes US counterpart to Saudi Pavilion at Osaka Expo
- Ghazi Faisal Binzagr holds talks with George Glass
- Pavilion boosts US-Kingdom ties, says Saudi envoy
OSAKA: The Kingdom’s Ambassador to Japan Dr. Ghazi Faisal Binzagr welcomed his US counterpart George Glass to the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo on Friday.
Binzagr said it was a pleasure to host Glass and his delegation from the US at the VIP reception.
“Saudi Arabia’s pavilion is not only an important cultural asset where we share our story with the world but also serves as a meeting place where global leaders can come together to deepen understanding of each other, while addressing some of our greatest challenges,” Binzagr said.
The visit between the representatives of Saudi Arabia and the US in Japan comes 10 days after US President Donald Trump’s historic state visit to Riyadh.
The visit reinforces the strategic long-term relationship between the Kingdom and the US and is important for potential future partnerships aimed at mutual growth.
Binzagr and Glass toured the pavilion which showcases Saudi Arabia’s rich cultural history, its transformation as a nation, and global influence on sustainability and innovation.
The US delegation enjoyed the Kingdom’s hospitality over a discussion on shared goals for the expo and the future before exchanging gifts in the Saudi Majlis.
Binzagr, the commissioner general of the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, said it was a productive and collaborative first meeting between the two ambassadors based in Japan.
The Saudi Arabia Pavilion hosts VIP delegations and business events that focus on the Kingdom’s impact on the world.
In addition to hosting over 700 events across the expo program which includes business and investment forums, visitors to the Saudi Arabia Pavilion will see daily dance and fashion shows.
In addition, they can explore seven immersive rooms and galleries, featuring evolving cities, sustainable seas, the potential of human capital and innovation.
Saudi Arabia seeing ‘significant changes’ in women’s advancement, says Tokyo governor
RIYADH: There have been “significant changes” in women’s advancement in Saudi Arabia compared to her previous visits to the Kingdom, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Friday.
Speaking at Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women International Summit in Riyadh, Koike said: “Whatever the gender is, the Saudi Vision 2030 transformed the country and made it comfortable for everyone, including males, females, children and the handicapped.”
The governor has visited Riyadh three times previously but expressed her appreciation that women “can drive and travel alone now.”
Koike is the first elected Tokyo governor and has been appointed three times so far. She told the Fortune panel that her priority was to make “women’s dreams come true.”
She added that free childcare, including tuition and provision of school lunches, was also high on her agenda.
Despite her focus on Tokyo, Koike said the agenda for women’s advancement should be the same in all communities, from small villages to large cities.
“It’s a common agenda we have to face whether for education, industry and for vitalizing the economy,” she said.
After her election, Koike began organizing a network for female mayors and governors.
“When I first started the network with my colleague, we only had 39 female mayors and governors elected,” she said, adding that women should “not wait” until they were elected or appointed to join: “If you don’t a buy lottery ticket, you will not win.”
“The world is so turbulent,” Koike said, adding that women should take on its challenges and achieve whatever they want.
The theme of this year’s conference is “A New Era for Business: Partnering for Global Prosperity.” Other speakers included Nigeria’s former minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, along with Prof. Hanan Abdulraheem Alahmadi, assistant speaker of The Shura Council of Saudi Arabia, and Farah Ismail, deputy minister of sectoral and regional development of the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning.
How Saudi Arabia is embracing AI to drive healthier lifestyles in line with Vision 2030
- From smart hospitals to intelligent PE planning, the Kingdom is harnessing tech to improve public health outcomes
- King Faisal Specialist Hospital uses AI to streamline patient care and educate families on managing long-term health conditions
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is leveraging artificial intelligence to build a healthier, more active population — a central objective of Vision 2030, which commits to raising the quality of life for all citizens through physical wellbeing.
AI is playing a pivotal role in this national transformation, with its applications extending across the healthcare sector, educational institutions and even mobile fitness apps that support healthier daily habits.
One leader in this field is the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, which uses AI to streamline patient care, support post-treatment recovery and empower families through personalized health education.
“Today, we live in a golden digital innovation ecosystem in the Kingdom,” Dr. Ahmad AbuSalah, director of the Center for Healthcare Intelligence at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, told Arab News.
“It is a golden time for entrepreneurs, for innovators, for organizations and for researchers. In the hospital, we have a digital transformation journey that we take really seriously.”
Driven by the healthcare transformation program of Vision 2030, the hospital’s strategy focuses on lowering costs, expanding access to care and delivering outstanding services — all supported by AI.
However, Dr. AbuSalah said that adoption of these new technologies must be strategic and sustainable if they are to have the desired effect on patient outcomes and medical practice.
“Some organizations build AI models, keep it for a couple of years, and then shut it down. Why? Because it wasn’t bringing value,” he said.
One of the most impactful uses of AI at King Faisal Specialist Hospital is operation intelligence, which helps to guide the patient journey from admission to discharge. The system uses predictive analytics to inform patients about their health and encourage targeted lifestyle changes.
“We built a system that will proactively predict a patient’s experience three days before their appointment for the cancer treatment unit,” Dr. AbuSalah said.
This helps doctors anticipate outcomes, manage expectations and intervene early where needed.
The hospital’s AI tools also alleviate administrative burden on medical staff — a major cause of burnout. “If we remove the noise around the doctor, the care quality will be enhanced by itself,” Dr. AbuSalah said.
“You always hear the term ‘physician burnout’ because they are spending a lot of time on non-clinical tasks, on documentation, submitting orders here and there, generating reports. How can they focus on patients?”
By automating those tasks, AI frees up time for direct patient care, improving both staff wellbeing and service quality.
Outside the hospital setting, the same technology is helping Saudis to make better everyday health choices. AI-enabled apps now track sleep, diet and exercise, offering personalized insights to encourage small, achievable steps — such as walking or cycling.
In fact, walking and cycling are now the most popular forms of physical activity among Saudi adults, according to a 2024 General Authority for Statistics report.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Predictive AI can forecast patient experiences before appointments, enabling more personalized treatment.
• AI-powered apps help users to track their sleep, diet and activity for smarter, healthier daily habits.
• Schools are using AI to plan tailored PE lessons, making physical activity more engaging for students.
However, the report also noted a gender gap, with 23.2 percent of men being physically active compared to just 14 percent of women.
AI could help to close that gap, offering flexible, accessible ways for women to engage in exercise from home or within their communities.
Meanwhile, in schools across the Kingdom, AI is transforming physical education by helping teachers to tailor activities to individual students’ needs. This has made PE more engaging and inclusive — and part of a broader campaign to instill lifelong habits of fitness.
In a landmark move last year, the Ministry of Education introduced rugby as an elective sport — an initiative that underscores the growing importance of physical activity in the national curriculum.
But technology alone is not enough. To ensure lasting impact, experts say that the Kingdom must continue investing in infrastructure, educator training and custom tools that align with Saudi culture and goals.
Through such initiatives, Saudi Arabia is turning AI into more than just a technological leap — it is becoming a public health revolution, helping the nation move, live and feel better every day.
KSrelief chief meets UNICEF official in Brussels
BRUSSELS: Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, adviser at the Royal Court and supervisor general of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, recently conducted high-level discussions with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell during the European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels.
The meeting, which included Saudi EU Ambassador Haifa Al-Jedea, focused on joint humanitarian and relief initiatives designed to enhance child welfare programs across global crisis zones.
Russell praised the ongoing partnership between UNICEF and KSrelief, highlighting how their collaboration has successfully delivered aid to millions of vulnerable children worldwide. She described the relationship as “an outstanding example of international humanitarian cooperation dedicated to serving children globally.”
Madinah university launches ‘Legacy and Impact’ project
MADINAH: The Islamic University of Madinah has launched the “Irth Wa Athar” (Legacy and Impact) project, which aims to document its graduates’ educational impact and rectify data digitization.
The university said the initiative included documenting and rectifying graduates’ certificates from 1961-97 and collecting the data of 173,000 international scholarships offered by the university to its graduates from 179 countries since its establishment in 1961.
The international scholarships include more than 41,000 awarded to students in the fields of religious sciences, in addition to over 15,000 granted for studies in the principles and skills of Islamic preaching.
Some 27,000 scholarships were granted to students of Arabic language education, while 24,000 were offered for training specialists in other scientific fields.
