The first week of January 2026 saw Dubai transform into the world’s epicentre for content creators. The fourth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit brought together over 30,000 creators, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers from across the globe.
For three days—from January 9 to 11—they were held up at the Emirates Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre, and the Museum of the Future, buzzing with ideas, collaborations, and bold visions for the future of the creator economy.
Organised by the UAE Government Media Office, the theme for the summit was “Content for Good.” Over 580 sessions, including keynotes, panels, roundtables, and workshops, featured more than 500 international speakers and experts, whose combined social media following exceeds 3.5 billion.
Emmanuel Umahi
The UAE’s vision: creators as global economic and cultural actors
From the opening session, it was clear that the UAE is doing more than simply hosting the 1 Billion Followers Summit. The country is intentionally positioning itself as a global hub for digital content creation.
According to Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, the summit positions the UAE as a global leader.
“The summit achieved exceptional leaps in its fourth edition, positioning the UAE as a global leader in the content economy, with a special focus on meaningful content that drives positive societal change,” Al Gergawi said.
Global collaborations and social impact: 1 Billion Acts of Kindness
One of the summit’s marquee initiatives was the 1 Billion Acts of Kindness campaign, launched in collaboration with YouTube superstar MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson). The campaign challenged creators worldwide to engage in acts of kindness in their own communities.
“I hope my videos inspire more creators to do good. We tend to try things we are passionate about. We did a lot of work in healthcare too, and I hope our content inspires others,” MrBeast said at the summit.
The results from the initiative were staggering. Over 170,000 acts of kindness were reported within three weeks, garnering some 100 million views. 20 creators were selected to travel to Ghana to work on humanitarian projects, including building schools, providing clean water, and improving healthcare access. These projects would be supported by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and the Varkey Foundation.
Recognising excellence: awards at the summit
The summit also celebrated innovation, creativity, and education through several award programs:
- AI Film Award (in partnership with Google Gemini): This inaugural $1 million award went to filmmaker Zoubeir Jlassi for his film Lily, spotlighting AI-driven storytelling as a frontier in content creation.
- Educator Award (in partnership with TikTok): This contest engaged 610,000 participants, producing 320,000 videos that collectively amassed 1.8 billion views. Matt Green took first place, winning $100,000 for his impactful educational content on TikTok.
Infrastructure, AI, and the business of creation
Beyond social impact, the summit spotlighted tools and systems that allow creators to monetise, scale, and own their work. Companies like Fourthwall, Outfit Alliance, Dawrati, Sayy.ai, Mbank, Halo, and Social Cash demonstrated how creators can productise their brands and directly engage audiences.
Halo AI, a full-suit marketplace that helps creators collaborate, showcased its upgraded platform, blending agentic AI with human oversight to help brands manage multiple campaigns without sacrificing creative control.
Vito Strokov, the co-founder and CEO of Halo AI, said “We learnt that brands don't want AI that replaces their teams; they want AI that makes their teams extraordinary. Halo is built on that insight: give humans superpowers, not a replacement notice.”
Conversations that matter: creators as agents of change
Beyond conversations about technology and monetisation, the summit pushed creators to think more deeply about purpose, responsibility, and the impact their work has on society.
Khalid Al Ameri, an Emirati creator and ambassador for the summit, encouraged creators to move past the constant chase for followers and likes, stressing that authenticity and originality are what truly sustain long-term success.
“We’re at a stage where the creator economy is growing so fast that it’s clearly not a short-term trend, this is the future…The real question is: how do we build creators for the next thirty years?” he said.
He added that focusing too heavily on growth metrics creates pressure to compromise values and identity. “Followers, likes, and engagement are always moving targets. When numbers become the only goal, we start doing anything to get them, regardless of what it does to our message or how it makes us look.”
On the creative side, Will Smith spoke about the importance of turning big ideas, fear, extremes, sustainability, and resilience into powerful stories. He shared how these themes have shaped his own work, particularly his upcoming documentary series, Pole to Pole with Will Smith.
The seven-episode project, filmed over the past two years, follows Smith’s journey from the South Pole to the North Pole, taking him through some of the most extreme environments on Earth. The series documents him skiing across polar ice, scuba diving beneath frozen seas, exploring jungles and deserts, climbing mountains, and venturing into remote caves with wildlife experts. The documentary is set to premiere on January 14 on Disney+ and National Geographic.
“I have always learnt to understand people around me. This is because people around me, and around you, are going through things, and you have no idea... It is important to turn all of these into what will cause a change, and that’s what I have done with my next series,” he said.
Why does @willsmith love Dubai? It’s not the skyscrapers or the luxury, it’s the shared humanity that places like the Sustainable City masterfully exemplify!#1BillionSummit pic.twitter.com/Q2ldIKLKiv
— 1 Billion Followers Summit (@1billionsummit) January 10, 2026
David Dornick, Max Amini, Adam W, Preston Arsement, Vlad & Niki also dropped by at the summit.
Emmanuel Umahi
