As part of the activities of the Second Forum of Young Arab Leaders, held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo on September 29 and 30, 2026, under the slogan “Generations Preserving the Unity of the Nation,” Dr. Reda El-Kerdawy’s experience in the field of community digital education stood out as one of the experiences that brought together education, technology, community service, and empowering students with the tools of the future.
The forum, organized by the Arab Council for Integrated Development under the auspices of the League of Arab States, was attended by a number of Arab and youth leaders and personalities, representatives of civil society organizations, as well as honoring a number of pioneers of joint Arab action, young Arab leaders, and community and youth initiatives.
The spotlight on Dr. Reda El-Kerdawy comes in light of a journey that has extended for years, from 2020 until the present, in the field of digital transformation and technological education, with a particular focus on making digital knowledge and skills available to students and opening the way for the groups most in need to benefit from technological development and artificial intelligence.
The Story Began in Al-Asmarat
El-Kerdawy began her experience in the field of inclusive digital education in 2020, with Al-Asmarat City serving as an important starting point for this experience. She worked on training students in technology skills and digital transformation, as well as utilizing their abilities to produce digital educational content.
During her speeches at the Arab Forum, El-Kerdawy spoke about the establishment of the Inclusive Digital Education Initiative in 2020, explaining that the experience began with students from Al-Asmarat City and that the objective was to prepare students for future jobs, rather than merely teaching them how to use the technological tools currently available.
The experience expanded to include schools in other areas, including Al-Asmarat, Rawdat Al-Sayeda, and Ahalina, which are alternative areas to informal settlements. Models of digital transformation were implemented in cooperation with scientific institutions, including Cairo University and the Faculty of Computers and Artificial Intelligence, in addition to benefiting from the capabilities of Helwan University, the National Research Centre, the Electronics Research Institute, and the City of Science affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The number of students reached 70,000.
From a Student Who Uses Technology to a Student Who Innovates
El-Kerdawy’s experience was distinguished by its attempt to transform technology from merely a means of accessing information into a tool for creativity and production. Students participated in transforming school curricula into animated videos using animation, motion graphics, and whiteboard techniques, in addition to using virtual laboratories and artificial intelligence programs.
The students participating in the project also succeeded in producing digital stories, creating virtual studios, and preparing filmed news bulletins and news programs, in an experience that attracted the attention of and received recognition from educational institutions. The experience was also distinguished by its effort to help students move beyond the cycle of poverty, as students worked as trainers for students enrolled in new levels and received compensation for their training. This embodied a new concept: the student trainer, after receiving TOT training courses.
Artificial Intelligence as Part of the Future of Education
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, the experience became increasingly focused on preparing students to deal with these technologies, considering them an essential part of the future of education and work.
El-Kerdawy emphasized in her statements the importance of introducing artificial intelligence concepts at early educational stages, explaining that teaching students these concepts at a young age can help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Her experience was also linked to training students in programming, robotics, and modern technologies.
The latest technologies were also used to employ artificial intelligence in providing education that is more adaptable to students’ needs, in addition to training teachers to produce interactive content, manage virtual classrooms, and conduct digital assessments, as well as introducing students to technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence tools.
Digital Education in the Service of the Community
The philosophy behind Reda El-Kerdawy’s experience is not limited to the technical aspect, but is connected to a broader concept based on making digital knowledge available to students at different social levels, particularly groups that need greater educational and training opportunities.
Through this vision, digital education has become a means of community empowerment and a tool for opening new opportunities for students in programming, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and digital skills, helping them prepare for a rapidly changing world.
In 2025, El-Kerdawy’s experience moved to a broader level through the presentation of the “Development Sukuk for a Sustainable Future” project during the Arab Sustainable Development Day event at the headquarters of the League of Arab States. She presented the concept of development sukuk through three tracks: the Education Sukuk, the Work Sukuk, and the Science Sukuk, with the aim of strengthening the contribution of civil society and the private sector in supporting these areas and closing the related funding gaps.
The “Education Sukuk” was a central component of this vision, based on the consideration that education is the foundation of development. The idea later developed into the “Digital Education Sukuk” initiative, which was announced at the League of Arab States in 2026. It aims to help students who are unable to continue their education, in addition to training them in programming, robotics, the fundamentals of e-learning, and providing the digital tools necessary for innovative projects.
Sustainability of the Project
As part of her efforts to transform digital education from a temporary initiative into a sustainable project, Dr. Reda El-Kerdawy established the Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship Center at the Cairo Directorate of Education in 2023. The center serves as an institutional entity that ensures the continuity and development of the project. It works to train students in digital transformation skills, entrepreneurship, and the sciences of the future, and to prepare them to deal with the requirements of the era and the labor market, ensuring that the experience moves from an individual effort to a sustainable and scalable educational system.
A Journey Carrying an Arab Message
The recognition of Reda El-Kerdawy’s experience comes within the framework of an Arab forum that focused on the role of youth and civil society, innovation, entrepreneurship, and joint Arab action, areas that intersect with the nature of her experience in community digital education. The forum organizers announced the honoring of a number of pioneers of joint Arab action, young Arab leaders, and distinguished community and youth initiatives.
Reda El-Kerdawy’s journey summarizes an experience that began in 2020 through working with students in Al-Asmarat, then expanded to other schools and areas, eventually reaching the use of programming, robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality in the educational process.
The experience carries a clear message: technology should not be the exclusive domain of those who can afford it, and access to digital education can be a means of creating new opportunities for students, particularly children from the most vulnerable groups, and transforming them from technology users into learners, innovators, and knowledge producers capable of contributing to the creation of their future.
Reda El-Kerdawy, Pioneer of Community Digital Education in the Arab World
Through this journey, presenting Dr. Reda El-Kerdawy as the “Pioneer of Community Digital Education in the Arab World” represents a title celebrating an experience that began within the community and among students, placing technology and artificial intelligence at the service of education and continuing to develop its tools and initiatives to keep pace with the requirements of the future.
The fundamental value of this experience remains in its connection between three main pillars: education, digital transformation, and community service, presenting a model that seeks to make digital knowledge accessible to the largest possible number of students and to prepare a generation equipped with the tools that enable it to participate in building a future increasingly based on knowledge and technology.
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