Round table dialogues enrich the activities of the fourth edition of "Top 1 billion followers" It examines the future of the content industry sector

Dubai, 11 January / WAM / The fourth edition of the One Billion Followers Summit, the largest global summit in the content industry economy, witnessed 6 roundtable discussions, in which experts and specialists from major technology companies, global communication platforms, and the most important global influencers and content makers, discussed the developments witnessed by many content industry sectors in new media, and the most important challenges they face and the opportunities they present.

The roundtable dialogues also discussed the latest trends and directions that shape the future of the content industry in the world, the paths it takes, and the most prominent practices in this sector, allowing talented content makers and trainees to develop their skills and enhance their opportunities to expand and spread, reach the target audience, and double the number of followers.

The roundtable dialogues aimed to enrich the experiences of current and future content makers, and provide them with practical knowledge and skills in various aspects of content creation, thus refining their experiences and enhancing their presence on social media platforms.

More than 15,000 content creators and influencers, in addition to more than 500 speakers and 150 CEOs of major international companies, followed by more than 3.5 billion followers from around the world, participated in more than 580 dialogue sessions and workshops. Interactive work.

Alia Al Hammadi, Vice President of the UAE Government Media Office and Director of the One Billion Followers Summit, stressed the importance of round table dialogues in shaping the future of the new media industry, and building bridges of cooperation between various actors in the content industry sector and the creative economy.

She said: “Roundtable dialogues constitute a true platform for open dialogue and the exchange of creative ideas that contribute to developing the content industry sector and enhancing its sustainability, and enabling content makers, brands, investors and entrepreneurs to face challenges and exploit promising opportunities, in light of the rapid technological transformations.”

The roundtable dialogues began with a rich panel discussion, entitled: “Investors and Content Creators: Building and Funding Future Ideas,” which aims to link creative ideas with financiers and investors, through practical visions to confront challenges and find solutions to them. Participants in the dialogue discussed how content makers develop their ideas and turn them into investable companies, and investors evaluate content makers and the projects they lead before providing support to them and investing in their ideas, in addition to encouraging dialogue between the two parties to enhance cooperation between them.

The participants reviewed how to transform creativity into a business, and how content makers can shape their ideas and turn them into scalable business models. They also discussed the concerns of financiers and investors, which are the continuity of revenue sources, the feasibility of the idea, how it can be transformed into a viable project, the extent of the market’s need for this project, and what makes a content maker capable of becoming an entrepreneur or investor.

The investors participating in the dialogue also reviewed their demands before entering into investment, which include a realistic business plan, a clearly defined road map, financial projections with methods of generating income, the work team and the role of each of them.

They discussed the challenges that constitute an obstacle for both content creators and investors, as the first party faces weak financial literacy, including lack of knowledge in financial planning, budgeting, preparing income and loss statements, and studying operations, in addition to the difficulty of translating ideas into official work programs or presentations, the fear of losing creative control and being exposed to exploitation, revenue fluctuations based on trends or algorithms, and reliance on the personal brand and its impact on the work.

While investors face the challenges of heavy reliance on a creator’s personal brand, making it a risky asset, unpredictable revenue patterns associated with platforms and algorithms, reputational risk, and a lack of clear structure, investors have also expressed concerns about long-term scalability if the business relies too heavily on personality.

The fourth edition of the One Billion Followers Summit 2026 also witnessed a roundtable dialogue entitled “Global Tourism Bodies and Content Creators… A New Era of Promotional Campaigns for the Tourism Sector,” during which representatives of tourism boards in Malta, Switzerland, Britain, Germany, and Hong Kong participated, in addition to creative content makers in the tourism and travel sector, during which they explored the challenges and opportunities of tourism campaigns led by creative content makers.

The session focused on identifying the most prominent obstacles to cooperation, exchanging best practices, and developing practical solutions to strengthen partnerships between various actors in the tourism and travel sector. It also highlighted emerging trends in tourism content, including sustainability, local experiences, and digital storytelling, with the aim of creating innovative, authentic, and scalable campaign ideas.

The session explored how travel content makers transform their experiences around the world into an impact that extends across cultures and borders, learning about the role of visual narrative, honesty, and human connection in building a global community that trusts and interacts with content, and how trips turn into messages that inspire the audience and change their view of the world.

Members of tourism bodies participating in the discussion discussed, with tourism content creators, the challenges they face when working with tourism bodies, and the restrictions that hinder their creativity, and together they explored the best implementable solutions to enhance cooperation between the two sides, and continue the successful partnership between them.

They reviewed the renewal of innovative creative ideas, and the focus on new emerging trends in the travel and tourism content industry, which highlights local experiences by telling innovative stories to explore potential travel experiences that enrich the content and attract more followers.

The roundtable dialogues also witnessed a session entitled “CEOs and Content Creators: A Sustainable and Impactful Partnership,” which brought together a number of CEOs and marketing officials of major international companies with a number of the most important creative content makers to discuss the best ways to build sustainable partnerships between all parties that have a positive impact.

The session aimed to open a strategic dialogue between senior brand leaders and prominent content creators. To explore how to build stronger collaboration models, define meaningful KPIs, and raise the bar for sustainable, long-term partnerships between content creators and brands.

The attendees discussed how brands and content creators work together, what are the relevant key performance indicators between the two parties, and the future of the relationship and the sustainability of the partnership between them.

Marketing executives and CEOs spoke about the challenges they face in the difficulty of identifying content creators who match the brand’s values ​​and long-term vision, the lack of uniform standards for their key performance indicators across campaigns and platforms, in addition to limited visibility into content creators’ internal processes, timelines, and content production and management capabilities.

While content creators reviewed the challenges they face in working with brands, which are limited creative freedom, underestimation of the time and resources required to produce high-quality content, delayed communication with brand teams, in addition to budget restrictions, the difficulty of building long-term partnerships, and the difficulty of balancing creativity and commercial performance.

A roundtable dialogue entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Influence: Power, Intellectual Property, and the Future of Content Creators” brought together experts in artificial intelligence and technology, and the most prominent global content makers specialized in this sector, who discussed how artificial intelligence is reshaping intellectual property, what is its economic value, does it enjoy the trust of the public, the extent of its impact on the economy of content creation, and how content makers can survive and continue in a future led by artificial intelligence.

They reviewed the most important challenges facing the content industry in light of the spread of artificial intelligence, which is intellectual property, as there are no guarantees that can prevent the unauthorized use of the content creator’s works by artificial intelligence, and the exclusion of content creators from the scene. They also raised questions about data and privacy, as the content creator’s data is often used without consent or compensation.

In a roundtable dialogue, entitled “Talent Managers and Content Creators: Synergy, Sustainability, and the Future of the Content Industry Economy,” talent managers and content creators discussed the future of the content industry economy, the challenges it faces, possible solutions, and how the relationship between content creators and talent managers can be strengthened.

The session participants answered many questions: Do content makers really need talent managers today, or can they manage their businesses themselves? What is the unique value that a good talent manager brings that content makers cannot replicate on their own? How can both parties clearly define roles, boundaries, and expectations? What are effective ways to improve workflow and reduce stress?

Speakers at the session reviewed methods for complete financial transparency between content creators and managers, how prices, commissions, and standard payment structures in the industry should be defined, how content creators can ensure that they are receiving fair compensation, systems that can prevent misunderstandings about money, and how both parties can negotiate smarter, not harder.

They also discussed the mental health pressures that content creators and talent managers face, and how managers can help content creators avoid burnout and maintain balance.

Among the roundtable sessions was a dialogue titled “The Future of the Economy of Creative Content Creators,” which brought together an elite group of content makers and international experts specialized in the economy of content creation, during which attendees discussed the role of content makers in the economy and society, and how to build a more comprehensive and ethical creative economy that constitutes a driving force for positive change in societies.

The audience answered questions: How can governments rely on content makers as digital ambassadors? How should governments act regarding intellectual property rights in the age of artificial intelligence? How can they support the financial well-being of content makers? What role should they play in enabling the content makers’ economy? Do government regulations and laws obstruct or support the content industry?

During the discussions, they also discussed the missing infrastructure today, how content makers can protect their savings for the future and generate income beyond advertisements and brand deals, the pressures that content makers face that the public does not know about, how they can expand from emerging markets to the global, how they can confront “avatars” and automation based on artificial intelligence, and will artificial intelligence change the content creation process?

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