Held beneath the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the three-day summit is organised by the UAE Authorities Media Workplace and can happen throughout Emirates Towers, DIFC and the Museum of the Future beneath the theme Content material for Good.
Saeed Al Eter, Deputy Minister of Cupboard Affairs for Strategic Initiatives and Chairman of the UAE Authorities Media Workplace, stated the summit has grown quickly since its launch, evolving into what he described as “the world’s largest gathering for content material creators.”
1 Billion Followers Summit 2026
He was talking at a press convention held at Creators HQ in Emirates Towers, attended by Alia AlHammadi, Vice Chairperson of the UAE Authorities Media Workplace and CEO of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, alongside representatives from main world social media platforms and native, regional and worldwide media organisations.
Al Eter stated: “In its inaugural version, audio system on the summit totalled 1 billion, a quantity that grew considerably to achieve 3.5 billion followers within the 4th version. It’s the actuality of our time that content material is the driving drive of media.
“By way of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, our mission is to harness the optimistic influence of content material creators throughout all sectors”.
Al Eter stated the upcoming version will give attention to two principal pillars, the primary being a shift from content material creation to influence creation.
He stated: “A part of this effort is our collaboration with TikTok on an education-focused initiative designed to drive edutainment content material and recognise one of the best training creators. The initiative has attracted 610,000 contributors creating 320,000 academic movies which have collectively amassed 1.8 billion views on the platform.”
Content material creators within the UAE
He added that the summit has launched 5 strategic partnerships with YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, X and Meta to help impactful content material.
The agenda contains greater than 580 periods and content-focused workshops, with over 500 audio system protecting subjects from monetary literacy and training to healthcare and entrepreneurship.
Beneath this pillar, the summit and MrBeast launched the 1 Billion Acts of Kindness marketing campaign. Al Eter stated the initiative has already impressed greater than 170,000 acts of kindness, producing over 100 million views in three weeks.
“Our objective is to shift the angle of content material creators, empowering them to make a significant influence inside their communities. We search to be a optimistic drive within the content material panorama, supporting creators who produce materials that advantages each communities and nations,” he stated.
AI, movie and the way forward for media
The second pillar focuses on integrating synthetic intelligence into content material creation. Al Eter stated: “To spearhead this effort, the 1 Billion Followers Summit, in partnership with Google Gemini, has launched the AI Movie Award with a grand prize of $1m.
The award has already established itself as a landmark initiative, attracting over 30,000 contributors from 116 international locations and culminating in 5 movies being shortlisted for the ultimate stage.”
He added: “The 1 Billion Followers Summit is dedicated to driving tangible change in new media by supporting content material creators. The world is present process speedy modifications, with content material, media, and cinema evolving at a better tempo. If we’re not on the coronary heart of this evolution, we danger being left behind. Our objective is to actively form this trade.”
Alia AlHammadi stated the summit acts as a testing floor for world new media developments and performs a central position in stimulating expertise, accelerating technological adoption and increasing funding alternatives throughout the creator economic system.
“In its fourth version, the 1 Billion Followers Summit writes a brand new chapter of worldwide success within the coronary heart of the UAE, transferring ahead with a transparent imaginative and prescient to solidify the nation’s standing as a worldwide hub for the creator economic system,” she stated.
World influence
The summit will host greater than 15,000 creators and influencers from the Arab world and past, alongside over 500 audio system, together with greater than 150 CEOs and world specialists.
Excessive-profile audio system embrace:
- Will Smith
- MrBeast
- Lara Trump
- Max Amini
- Simon Squibb
- Mohamed Alabbar
The occasion options 400 keynote periods, workshops, roundtables and debates throughout three tracks: Financial system, Content material and Know-how. It can additionally announce the winners of a number of flagship initiatives.
These embrace the Creators Ventures Accelerator, organised by Creators HQ in collaboration with 500 World, which affords funding of as much as AED50m ($13.6m) to profitable pitches.
The programme obtained 1,131 functions from greater than 70 international locations.
On the ultimate day, the summit can even reveal the winner of the world’s largest AI Movie Award, valued at $1m, in addition to the winners of the 1 Billion Acts of Kindness marketing campaign, supported by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum World Initiatives and the Varkey Basis.
