Visually Impaired Empowerment Through Zayed Authority Inaugurates AI Room For Education

The Zayed Authority for People of Determination has opened an Artificial Intelligence Room at its headquarters, creating a dedicated space that uses smart tools to support visually impaired individuals. The facility targets around 1,000 beneficiaries, including children, youth and parents, and is designed to strengthen educational progress, workplace readiness and daily independence.

The initiative uses artificial intelligence applications to help visually impaired users build academic and professional skills while managing everyday tasks more confidently. The Artificial Intelligence Room offers an interactive digital setting that encourages active learning and creativity, while also promoting self-reliance in multiple life areas, from study and employment to personal activities and communication.

The Artificial Intelligence Room is presented as part of a wider digital empowerment strategy at Zayed Authority for People of Determination. Al Humaidan stated: "At Zayed Authority for People of Determination, we believe that digital transformation is a fundamental pillar of comprehensive empowerment. Providing smart technologies to the visually impaired represents a qualitative step toward improving their quality of life, enhancing their educational and professional independence, and building a more inclusive and sustainable educational and rehabilitation ecosystem that opens new horizons for participation and productivity."

The Authority links the Artificial Intelligence Room with its long-term vision of using modern technology in service of society and future skills. The project also carries a community message, stressing that technology should support people, and that People of Determination can use advanced tools to realise potential and increase visible participation in social and economic life.

The inauguration of the Artificial Intelligence Room brought together leadership from Zayed Authority for People of Determination, including Director-General Abdullah Al Humaidan, Executive Director of the People of Determination Sector Abdullah Al Kamali, and Director of the Department Naeema Al Mansoori. The programme also featured the launch of the Visually Impaired Museum at the Department of Care for the Visually Impaired headquarters, showcasing cultural heritage and the historical development of learning tools.

Educational activities during the Artificial Intelligence Room launch included an interactive workshop aimed at young visually impaired children, designed to strengthen reading abilities, imagination and creative thinking. A chess training session supported the development of strategic thinking, mental skills and social interaction, while an adaptive tools corner allowed beneficiaries and parents to test and understand the latest educational devices tailored for visually impaired users.

Artificial Intelligence Room and sustainability-focused initiatives

Sustainability was highlighted during the Artificial Intelligence Room opening through a project involving 250 sunglasses manufactured locally in partnership with Eco Modular. The sunglasses were produced from used bags collected at the official celebration site of the UAE’s 54th Eid Al Etihad, then cleaned and recycled according to environmental standards, with the full batch donated to Zayed Authority for People of Determination.

From a practical standpoint, the Artificial Intelligence Room functions as an integrated digital learning model where visually impaired users train directly on smart technologies. The space is intended to prepare participants for future demands in education and the labour market, supporting independent study, innovation and problem-solving, and aligning with the Authority’s approach to comprehensive and sustainable empowerment.

For her part, Al Mansoori emphasised that the Artificial Intelligence Room reflects the department’s commitment to developing innovative educational environments that place the needs of the visually impaired at the heart of design and implementation. "Through this initiative, we were keen to provide an interactive educational space that enables beneficiaries to acquire technical and cognitive skills that enhance their self-reliance and support their readiness for future requirements, affirming that true empowerment extends to identity, knowledge, creativity, and building self-confidence," she said. Together, these elements support a structured ecosystem for visually impaired people to access education, employment opportunities and community life on more equal terms.

With inputs from WAM