"Bridge Summit 2025"..The largest global event in the media, content and entertainment sectors, launching from the Emirates, with the attendance and follow-up of thousands from all over the world
Abu Dhabi, 8 December / WAM / With the participation and viewing of thousands of attendees from around the world, the activities of the “Bridge 2025” Summit were launched today in an official opening that established an unprecedented level of coordination and integration between countries, institutions and content makers in the media, entertainment and content industry sectors.
With the meeting of diplomats, ministers, international delegations and sector leaders in Abu Dhabi, the summit confirmed the status of the United Arab Emirates and its role as a comprehensive global center and platform for innovation, the convergence of ideas, and attracting talent.
The opening ceremony outlined the directions of the summit, which extends over three days, as a unified international arena in which countries, creators, innovators, and institutions meet to reshape the future of media, expand the horizons of cross-sector cooperation, and build a more confident, interconnected, and forward-looking global system.
His Excellency Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of Bridge, stressed that the Bridge Summit presents a living extension of the spirit of the UAE that is open to the world, which has made rapprochement between peoples an identity, communication a message, and building bridges between civilizations a responsibility, based on its belief that the world does not need more dividing walls, but rather more open windows and open doors.
His Excellency said: Through the Bridge Summit, we seek to establish a new phase in the role of the media in the future. During the coming decades, we will see artificial intelligence creating parallel worlds with which humans interact. But we in the UAE believe that technology, no matter how advanced it is, cannot replace the human value that constitutes the essence of true media. Values are what give the word its meaning, credibility is what gives the news its weight, and responsibility is what gives the media its legitimacy before people. Without these values, the media will become an echo of chaos instead of a voice. For awareness.
His Excellency Abdullah Al Hamed added: The Bridge Summit is a renewed platform that seeks to establish a global dialogue about the future of the media and its ethical and societal responsibilities. We believe that the media is the one that maintains the highest degree of credibility. The influential media is not the one that makes noise, but rather the one that leaves a noble impact on minds and hearts. We have learned from our wise leadership that leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege, that the future is not waited for, but rather built, and that true success is not measured by precedence, but rather by impact. From this standpoint, we believe that the future media industry must be based on three pillars.
His Excellency continued: “The first pillar is the reliable media, which puts the truth above any calculations, and gives people the right to know without manipulation or distortion. The second pillar is the innovative media, which employs modern technologies, from artificial intelligence to graphic analysis, to serve awareness, not manipulate it. The third is the humanitarian media, which sees the world from the angle of compassion and understanding, and celebrates difference as a value, not as a threat.”
He concluded his statement by emphasizing that the summit is a new step in a long path that the UAE is building to raise the value of dialogue and enable the media to play its role in strengthening ties between people. He expressed his confidence that the visions and partnerships that will emerge from the summit will contribute to establishing a more cooperative media future, stressing that the bridges built today will give future generations a broader future.
His Excellency Abdullah Al Hamed had opened the Bridge Summit with a message addressed to the whole world in seven languages, in a symbolic indication of the summit’s message based on connecting peoples and civilizations through dialogue, technology and a common goal. He said in his message: “Let us create the future we aspire to… where the stories we tell are bridges that bring us closer… no barriers that divide us… Thank you for joining us… and welcome again to the Bridge Summit.”
His Excellency Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi, Vice President of BRIDGE, welcomed the summit guests, saying: “One day before the opening, the BRIDGE application numbers spoke for themselves: 14,618 messages exchanged, 425,000 searches, more than two million interactions, 7,000 communications, in addition to 871 pre-booked meetings. In technology language, these numbers are called; product-market fit, and as the (Bridge) team likes to say: We launched before The virtual opening of the summit. Today, we start with an audience that is already connected, learning and moving, but communication alone is not enough. Trust alone is what maintains it and gives it meaning, and this trust grows through the stories that move the world.
He added: “Over the months leading up to the summit, (Bridge) listened to inspiring stories from the capitals of the world; from Washington to London, from Cannes to Tokyo, from Seoul to Shanghai and Cairo. When we take the time to listen to the stories of others, we begin to understand their journeys, their challenges, and their dreams. And in that moment, their story becomes our story as well. When we truly understand each other, we find common ground. From this understanding, new ideas are born, new partnerships are built, and new bridges are built.” This is one organisation’s story, a global story, and we are writing it together.
He continued: “On behalf of the Bridge Alliance, thank you for your trust in us. We are not united by chance, but by a shared belief that media, content, and entertainment are forces for good that the world needs. Today, we are laying the foundations for a comprehensive transformation in the global media sector.”
He said: “Eight months ago, (Bridge) was an idea born from a fundamental question: Why are the leaders of the radical transformations that are reshaping media, technology, and culture globally still working in isolation? From here was born the idea of creating a single space where creators, innovators, and leaders meet as a unified global force, not as separate sectors.”
He added: The Bridge Summit did not start from a rigid plan, but rather from faith, and faith is what creates real change. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before the world and said: I have a dream. He did not say: I have a strategy or a road map, but rather a dream. Because great human achievements begin with faith, but plans come later. That’s why we’re here today.
The Vice President of Bridge concluded his speech by saying: “Media, content, and entertainment are no longer just economic industries. Rather, they have become influential forces in building confidence, stimulating growth, and enhancing human unity. However, these sectors have always lacked a unifying home until the Bridge Summit. At this summit, radical change is not the goal in itself, but rather the tool. When change is consistent with the goal, it turns into tangible progress.”
In turn, Richard Attias, strategic advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bridge Alliance, said: “We had a simple but strong conviction: the global media community does not have a real home, nor a space for creative thinking, communication, imagining the future, building partnerships, or understanding what is really happening in our world. Today, that idea is turning into reality. The Bridge Summit is no longer just a perception, but has become an alliance and an integrated environment born from need, nourished by creativity, and elevated by your presence.”
Atias added: “The Bridge Summit was built with passion, generosity, and love by more than a thousand people from the UAE. It is a gift from Abu Dhabi to the world, to be the first media platform in the world, because the world needs it. Through the Bridge Summit, we contribute to building a sustainable future. Welcome to the Bridge Summit, where the media finds the world for the first time a home, a voice, and a future.”
The opening ceremony of the summit witnessed the showing of a short film that reviewed the development of human communication from primitive signs and cave drawings, through the birth of language and writing in the civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Library of Alexandria, printing, cinema, radio, and television, all the way to the pivotal moment in 1969 when the first message was transmitted between two computers and changed the course of the world. The film also addressed the challenges of the digital age, the rise of virtual empires, the spread of misinformation, and the accelerating development of artificial intelligence.
Tomi Makgabo, the host of the ceremony, highlighted the expansion of the content landscape, as the gaming industry is comparable to cinema and television combined, and 67% of content creators use artificial intelligence, and she pointed to the increase in cross-border partnerships by 340% in just 3 years.
The Bridge 2025 Summit continues its activities with the participation of 60,000 participants from 132 countries, and the presence of 430 speakers from 45 countries representing an elite group of senior innovators, policy makers, investors, technology experts, media institutions, and cultural leaders, who present more than 300 dialogue sessions distributed across the seven tracks of the summit: media, content creation economy, art and music, electronic games, technology, marketing, and film making.
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