Held below 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 below 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, mentioned 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 mentioned: “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 power of media.
“Via the 1 Billion Followers Summit, our mission is to harness the optimistic affect of content material creators throughout all sectors”.
Al Eter mentioned the upcoming version will concentrate on two most important pillars, the primary being a shift from content material creation to affect creation.
He mentioned: “A part of this effort is our collaboration with TikTok on an education-focused initiative designed to drive edutainment content material and recognise the most effective schooling creators. The initiative has attracted 610,000 individuals 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 assist impactful content material.
The agenda consists of greater than 580 classes and content-focused workshops, with over 500 audio system overlaying subjects from monetary literacy and schooling to healthcare and entrepreneurship.
Beneath this pillar, the summit and MrBeast launched the 1 Billion Acts of Kindness marketing campaign. Al Eter mentioned the initiative has already impressed greater than 170,000 acts of kindness, producing over 100 million views in three weeks.
“Our purpose is to shift the attitude of content material creators, empowering them to make a significant affect inside their communities. We search to be a optimistic power within the content material panorama, supporting creators who produce materials that advantages each communities and nations,” he mentioned.
AI, movie and the way forward for media
The second pillar focuses on integrating synthetic intelligence into content material creation. Al Eter mentioned: “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 individuals 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 fast modifications, with content material, media, and cinema evolving at a larger tempo. If we aren’t on the coronary heart of this evolution, we danger being left behind. Our purpose is to actively form this business.”
Alia AlHammadi mentioned the summit acts as a testing floor for world new media traits and performs a central function 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 world success within the coronary heart of the UAE, transferring ahead with a transparent imaginative and prescient to solidify the nation’s standing as a world hub for the creator economic system,” she mentioned.
International affect
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 consultants.
Excessive-profile audio system embrace:
- Will Smith
- MrBeast
- Lara Trump
- Max Amini
- Simon Squibb
- Mohamed Alabbar
The occasion options 400 keynote classes, workshops, roundtables and debates throughout three tracks: Financial system, Content material and Expertise. It’s going to additionally announce the winners of a number of flagship initiatives.
These embrace the Creators Ventures Accelerator, organised by Creators HQ in collaboration with 500 International, which presents funding of as much as AED50m ($13.6m) to profitable pitches.
The programme acquired 1,131 purposes from greater than 70 international locations.
On the ultimate day, the summit may also 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 International Initiatives and the Varkey Basis.
