Dubai: The organising committee of the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit, organised under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced a series of innovative activities alongside the Summit, which will take place on March 17-18 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The committee said these activities will add considerable value to the Summit, which is the first event of its kind in the region for influencers on social media channels.

One of the major events is ‘DardaChat’, which will provide an innovative model for sharing of best practices and successful experiences. The sessions will provide an opportunity for social media influencers from various Arab countries and across the world to communicate directly with each other.

The list of international speakers includes Brandon Stanton, author of the blog ‘Humans of New York’ who has more than 12 million followers on Facebook; Chris Messina, inventor of the hash tag concept in social media; and Gabe Zichermann, an international expert in ‘gamification’, who will highlight the future of smart games and how they can be used in other sectors such as health and education. The sessions will be moderated by comedian Bader Saleh.

On the first day of the Summit, the winners of the Arab Social Media Award will be announced. The Award honours individual and institutional innovations in social media channels that have helped establish a positive environment for innovation and creativity. The Award also aims to boost engagement and communication across social media channels and encourage creative thinking to contribute to the development of individuals and communities by increasing awareness of issues of concern to the Arab community in a responsible and positive manner.

‘Buthoor,’ a platform that provides access to mentorship through accelerators as well as funding through investors, will feature a competition where start-ups, each representing an Arab accelerator, are required to pitch their business models to a panel of expert judges. Each start-up will deliver a five-minute pitch followed by a five-minute Q&A session by the judges.

On the second day of the Summit, the Arab Social Media Influencers Forum will be organised on the sidelines of the Summit as the first event of its kind featuring more than 500 active Arab influencers on various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.