"I want internet". Picture by Ramy Raoof. Flickr. Some rights reserved CC BY 2.0. Capitalizing on the digital window of opportunity, philanthropic and humanitarian organizations operating in the region are engaging with donors and charity supporters through websites, online social platforms, mobile apps, videos, photos and infographics. A 2014 survey on Arab social media trends organized by the Mohammed bin Rashed School of Government in collaboration with Bayt.com showed that 79 percent of 3373 survey respondents believe that the internet has made them more responsive to the community.
Charitable giving through mobile applications is also on the rise. Megakheir, one of the first Egyptian mobile applications for charitable giving, raised around EGP 25.5 million in mobile donations in 2016, which despite the economic slump facing the Egyptian economy, is a steady increase from the 2015 levels (EGP 24.3 million). According to Maissera Allaithy, Product Manager of MegaKheir, philanthropic organizations of different operational scales and different charitable sub-sectors are increasingly embracing this digital platform.
Over 60 percent of the Arab population are youth, of which the majority are disgruntled about the lack of participatory and somewhat exclusionary political processes and institutions.
