Arab praise for the “Emirates Volunteer” paper at the Development Forum in Morocco, sponsored by the League of Arab States
The Higher Organizing Committee, Arab delegations, heads of Arab voluntary associations and organizations, representatives of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council praised the work of the fourth session of the Arab Forum for Community Development. , which is organized by the Moroccan Center for Volunteering and Citizenship in Casablanca under the auspices of the League of Arab States and under the slogan “Digital Empowerment as a Means of Pressure to Promote a Pioneering Civil Society,” with the paper of the Emirates Voluntary Association presented by Sahar Ahmed Al. Ebeid, Chairman of the Board of Directors, on “The Effects of Digital Technological Development on the Social Environment.”
Al-Obaid said in her paper, which included an introduction to the association’s achievements, that in light of the Covid-19 (Corona) epidemic and the subsequent preventive measures and home quarantine, the world, especially community work institutions, has become an imperative. To change its priorities, which requires it to look to the future with a view that is more dependent on technology and to benefit from it to the maximum extent to achieve effectiveness, efficiency and the desired goals during crises, especially since our Arab region is always fraught with various risks. levels.
She added: The digital empowerment processes were not the result of the Corona pandemic, but the epidemic enhanced the speed of its implementation. Appeals to the importance of digital empowerment existed years earlier, but they were not implemented and remained confined to papers and meeting rooms, just as digital transformation was a luxury option compared to decades of traditional work. On which many relied in the performance of its activities, and the epidemic’s support, the importance of digital empowerment in society’s institutions, and others, as an important means in confronting the crises that we felt during the years of intensification of the epidemic.
Al-Abed added that the most important challenge facing digital empowerment in charitable institutions is information security in cyberspace, especially in light of the acceleration of technology, represented by the limited budget, which is the obstacle facing all non-profit organizations and foundations. The purchase, provision and use of advanced technologies and data protection is expensive, and the lack of technically qualified human resources allows volunteer work institutions to accelerate the process of digital empowerment in all of their activities.
Regarding the mechanisms for achieving digital transformation in organizations, the Al-Obeid study monitored the adoption of 50% of organizations on cloud technologies to enable their operations during the pandemic period, and the percentage of remote work technologies reached 40%. The rate of use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies reached 33%, while Internet of Things technologies recorded 31%.
Al-Obaid added: The Information Unit at the United Arab Emirates University issued in 2023 the relationship between technology, the business environment, and people during the period of the Covid 19 epidemic – a comprehensive study of how to develop and the employee rate. Engagement at the technical level increased from 24% during the pre-pandemic period to 36% during the COVID-19 period.
The process of digital transformation in charitable organizations has made it possible to choose, sort and target supporters and volunteers with specific characteristics and characteristics that are commensurate with their general orientations and goals through the analysis of personal and geographical information provided by these technical tools, as digital empowerment saves a lot of costs while conducting many activities, and it also reduces the cost With more digital empowerment.
Al-Abd revealed the great benefits of digital empowerment in community work institutions through the experience of the Emirates Voluntary Association, which is the speed of completing work, keeping pace with technological development, quality of implementation, performance, transparency and accuracy in all procedures.
