Dubai: The first Arab Social Media Influencers Summit, an initiative launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has named Google, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Yahoo as partners of the summit.
The support of these high-profile global companies is set to significantly enhance the importance of the summit and encourage social media influencers to think innovatively and bring about positive changes that contribute to sustainable development. It also reflects the capabilities of social media as a nation-building platform.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of The Executive Office, said: “His Highness Shaikh Mohammad views the summit as an important milestone in the field of social media that contributes to the development of the society by creating an opportunity for constructive dialogue on initiatives that serve individuals in the Arab society, spreading a positive spirit within the community.”
The Arab Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS), which will take place on March 17-18 in Dubai, is the first event of its kind in the region and will allow delegates and partners to network, share trends and support the positive use of social media platforms. It will also help identify best practices in the use of these channels.
Over the course of two days, a number of events will take place to create an interactive environment honouring innovation and creativity. These include the Arab Social Media Influencers Award, the Arab Social Media Influencers Forum and social media discussion sessions as well as the launch of the Arab Social Media Report and a ‘Seeds Initiative’ initiative to support innovation on this platform, said organisers.
Tarek Abdullah, Head of Marketing - Middle East & North Africa at Google, commented: “We have observed special interest in internet users on social media channels, especially YouTube platform that has succeeded in encouraging young Arabs and content creators to create innovative materials and promote new business opportunities in this area. We are pleased to partner with the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit and we look forward to enabling more programmes for the development of entrepreneurial skills on the Internet.”
Ahmad Abu Ammo, Head of Media Partnerships, Mena, at Twitter, said: “With more than 500 million Tweets a day and 288 million active users, people turn to Twitter to bring them closer to the things they care about. We are delighted to partner with ASMIS and social media influencers across the Arab world to confirm our commitment to continuously support initiatives that spread awareness on how to communicate positively via Twitter.”
Ali Mattar, Head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Mena, said: “We are proud to partner with the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit, and consider it an honour to help promote the significant benefits of social media to professionals in the region. We have a strong commitment to the region, and recently announced the availability of LinkedIn in Arabic to our 14 million members across Mena. The content and networking opportunity afforded by LinkedIn is proving valuable support to professionals, employers and marketers across the Arab world. We’re excited to see more and more professionals join the platform, establish their professional identity, and share their knowledge and expertise.”
Hussain Freijeh, Managing Director MEA - Yahoo, said: “This partnership is within the framework of Yahoo’s commitment to support development efforts and enhance Arabic language content availability on the internet. The increasing prevalence of internet service accessibility to more categories in the Arab world stresses the importance of having an Arabic award to converse with the users and urge them to make the most of social media’s unlimited capabilities that would contribute towards development, and hence came our support for the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit.”
