The His Majesty King Hamad Academic Chair in Digital Education at Arabian Gulf University participated in the Second Arab Forum on Smart Transformation Applications in the Nonprofit Sector for 2026, which kicked off in Manama under the patronage and in the presence of His Excellency Osama bin Saleh Al-Alawi, Minister of Social Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Chair was represented by Prof. Dr. Al-Ajab Mohamed Al-Ajab, Professor of Digital Education and Learning Technology and Supervisor of the Chair, who presented a paper titled “The Role of Smart Transformation in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Toward a Digitally Enabled Arab Nonprofit Sector” as part of the scientific sessions accompanying the forum.

The paper addressed the role of smart transformation in enabling the Arab nonprofit sector to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and reviewed the most prominent challenges it faces, including limited resources, weak digital infrastructure, a shortage of human capital, the absence of impact measurement systems, and weak legislative frameworks governing digital operations.

The paper employed a descriptive, analytical, and comparative approach, analyzing the content of peer-reviewed scientific literature and comparing eight Arab and international case studies of smart transformation in the nonprofit sector.

It concluded that smart transformation contributes to achieving sustainable development through five key mechanisms: precise targeting, improved efficiency, impact measurement, enhanced transparency, and expanded inclusivity. It presented a proposed framework for digital empowerment based on six integrated dimensions: strategy, data, technology, competencies, governance, and partnerships, with specific quantitative indicators for each dimension.

It recommended adopting phased strategies for smart transformation, developing standardized indicators to measure impact, and strengthening partnerships between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to support the transition from partial digital transformation to comprehensive smart transformation based on impact and sustainability.

This participation is part of the contribution of the His Majesty King Hamad Chair in Digital Education to enriching the scientific discourse on smart transformation and exchanging Arab expertise and experiences in leveraging modern technologies to serve the nonprofit sector and achieve sustainable development.