More related content on the BRIDGE
- Creator Economy Panel 10 December 3:40 - 4:05PM
After the Peak.. What’s Next for the Biggest Creators?
When you’ve built one of the biggest audiences in your region, where do you go next? This session unpacks what growth really means after success, expanding to new languages, new platforms, or deeper impact within communities. This session explores how the top creators are reinventing themselves beyond views and followers, and what it takes to stay relevant, authentic, and inspired when you have already won the game.
Forum StageSpeakers
Moderator
- Creator Economy Workshop 9 December 1:00 - 1:30PM
Strengthening Digital Wellbeing: A Deep Dive into TikTok Safety
Have a look at how TikTok keeps its community safe. Explore our Community Guidelines, the principles behind our safety policies, and the tools we use to promote positive online interactions. Learn about TikTok’s in-app safety features, account controls, and available resources designed to help users create, connect, and engage confidently.
Workshop Room 3 - Media Panel 9 December 3:55 - 4:25PM
Longform’s Next Act
In a media environment dominated by sensationalism and short-form content, longform journalism has struggled to keep its grip. According to the 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 62 percent of online news consumers now prefer bite-sized updates. Yet platforms like YouTube and Substack show renewed demand for depth, with Substack alone reporting a fivefold rise in paid subscriptions since 2020. The question is no longer whether audiences have the attention for longform, but whether the industry is delivering it in ways that resonate. Publishers and creators are now reimagining longform for a global, digital-first audience, using new distribution models and partnerships to balance reach with resonance, and to define the next era of credible, enduring media.
Forum StageSpeakers
- Media Panel 8 December 2:55 - 3:20PM
Money Talks: The Power Sources of Modern Media
Media today is powered by a complex mix of hedge funds, billionaires, global conglomerates, and platform-era kingmakers. Each is shaping not only what gets made, but what gets seen. From entertainment mergers to private-equity rollups of local outlets, the incentives behind media ownership increasingly influence creative choices, cultural priorities, and public trust. As financial influence deepens and independence is tested, this session asks: what funding models and accountability mechanisms can keep our modern media, across news, entertainment, and creator platforms, serving audiences and culture, not just its proprietors?
Forum StageSpeakers
- Creator Economy Workshop 9 December 12:30 - 1:10PM
Influencers & Community: The Symbiotic Relationship
Influencers serve as catalysts in community engagement, leveraging their reach and credibility to attract members and drive interaction. Communities, in turn, provide influencers with a dedicated audience eager for authentic content and connection. This session delves into how influencers and communities mutually benefit, fostering growth and engagement in the digital landscape. Trainer: Ahmed Qassem, Sky News Arabia
IMI Academy - Technology Panel 8 December 4:10 - 4:25PM
Hand-Crafted Content in the Age of AI
In a world increasingly shaped by automation and generative tools, a creative counter-movement is gaining momentum: a return to the tactile, the hand-made, and the unmistakably human. From Blinkink’s clay-animated BBC campaign for the Women’s Euros 2025 to the large-scale mural culture documented and championed by Global Street Art, physical craft is becoming a powerful signal of authenticity in an AI-saturated age. Whether it’s clay, paint, textile, or movement, audiences are gravitating toward work that carries the imprint of real hands, real texture, and real emotion. This session explores why hand-crafted aesthetics, from murals and stop-motion to independent street culture, are resonating across film, fashion, advertising, and public art, and what it means when the most futuristic work is the work that feels the most human.
Central Stage
