We are living in a time of great upheaval and unrest. Every day, we are bombarded by the news of different calamities and human struggles taking place around the globe. At times, the sheer magnitude and complexity of the challenges we are facing as a global society can feel overwhelming. And in many ways, the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has become synonymous with these struggles – from conflict, war, poor governance and youth unemployment to the absence of human rights, marginalization of women and minorities and the suppression of free expression.

The intense focus on these challenges, however, often overlooks what individuals, activists, organizations and social enterprises across the region are doing to try to build more open, inclusive and just societies. The events of the Arab spring thrust the role of technology in this process to the forefront of global attention. But technology by itself is a neutral space; It can be used by governments as a tool of oppression and it can be used by individuals and movements to create spaces of freedom and mobilization and to create accountability. Technology by itself is not an answer. But when leveraged for social good, it can be a powerful tool in the hands of people addressing the challenges facing the MENA region.

This report aims to highlight initiatives across the MENA region that are using technology for social good in the fields of political participation, human rights, freedom of expression, marginalized communities, gender, education and development. Its scope is broad, and we quickly found that there was no way that we were going to be able to create a comprehensive database of these initiatives. There is simply too much going on. Instead, this report aims to provide a snapshot of projects on the frontlines of the intersection of technology and social good in the MENA region. We hope it will be a launching point for further research and investigation and a useful tool of inspiration and information for people looking to transform their societies with the help of technology. The fact that we did not come across any reports or databases documenting these types of initiatives in our research speaks to the necessity of creating one.

The report was published as part of the Samir Kassir Foundation's Tech4Freedom program, supported by UNESCO.