Dubai: Interactive live-streaming service Twitch delivered a comprehensive lineup of keynote sessions, workshops, and discussion panels at the fourth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, the world's largest event dedicated to shaping the content creator economy. Designed to empower streamers, Twitch's events provided a clear roadmap for streamers to launch, grow, and monetize their channels, reinforcing its commitment to the vibrant digital community.
According to Emirated News Agency, the sessions, held at Twitch House space, were structured to guide streamers through every stage of their journey, from account setup to brand collaborations. They were tailored to address the unique opportunities and challenges of streaming content. Twitch noted the strong growth in the MENA region, driven by an increasing appetite for interactive live content and real-time community engagement. The company emphasized its focus on investing in streamers through tools, education, and localized support to help them launch, grow, and monetize sustainably. Efforts include expanding Arabic right-to-left support across web and mobile and delivering hands-on education to support long-term growth.
A series of foundational sessions were designed to onboard and accelerate the growth of new streamers. The "Starting your Journey" workshop, offered daily during the summit, was led by Roy Alkhoueiry, Senior Strategic Partnership Manager for MENA at Twitch. This workshop provided a step-by-step introduction to the service, covering account setup, safety settings, streaming software, and pathways to Affiliate and Partner status.
Creators explored growth tactics during the "Discoverability on Twitch, Growth, and Tools" workshop, co-led by Roy Alkhoueiry and Maria Komarova, a Strategic Partner Manager for EMEA at Twitch. This workshop explained how to leverage the service's discoverability flywheel, master clipping and VOD strategies, and use data to track progress.
Participating creators learned to transform their passion into a profession through dedicated monetization sessions. "Making Money On Twitch," a session led by Roy Alkhoueiry, aimed to demystify early monetization opportunities, explaining how to use core features like Subscriptions, Bits, and Community Gifting to generate income from day one.
For those ready to scale their monetization, Maria Komarova led "Monetisation through Ads, Brands and Campaigns," exploring how to maximize ad revenue and leverage Twitch's Bounty Board and Creator Sponsorship Network (CSPON) for brand partnerships.
To provide real-world context and advanced skills, Twitch hosted sessions focused on long-term growth and professional collaborations. A panel discussion titled "Creator Insights: What Success Looks like on Twitch" featured successful streamers sharing their journeys and advice on overcoming challenges, successful monetization, and brand collaborations.
The "Brand Collaborations on Twitch" workshop, co-led by Roy Alkhoueiry and Mireille Iskander, used real-world case studies to teach streamers how to craft pitches, negotiate terms, and execute brand campaigns live.
The fourth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, organized by the UAE Government Media Office, took place from 9 to 11 January 2026 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, DIFC, and the Museum of the Future, under the theme "Content for Good." The summit featured over 580 sessions and specialized networks, hosting more than 15,000 content creators and influencers, 500 expert speakers with a collective following of over 3.5 billion, and over 150 CEOs and global experts. The event attracted over 30,000 attendees from around the globe.
Source: Emirated News Agency