New club for social media influencers in Dubai

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, at the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the launch of a new club for Arab social media influencers, it was announced on Tuesday.
In line with the second Arab Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS), the new club will provide a new platform to enhance the role and contribution of influencers in the development of their Arab communities. 
The club will also aim to encourage innovation and creativity in the different fields that influencers undertake, who can in return transfer this innovation to their estimated millions of their followers on social networks.
The main headquarters will be in Dubai, while other branches will be opened in other Arab countries in the future, through partnerships with leading establishments, according to Her Excellency Mona Al Marri, President of Dubai Press Club and Chairperson of the organizing committee of the ASMIS.
She pointed out that the club will be established in other Arab countries under the same goal of expanding the youth's participation in different fields for further developments in the Arab region.
During the ASMIS award ceremony, Al Marri pointed out that the presence of one of the Arab World's most importance social media influencers, Shaikh Mohammed, in the summit is considered an inspiration to all other influencers.
She added that with his future vision and thought as a leader concerned with people's happiness, Shaikh Mohammed has succeeded in attracting more than 15 million followers across different platforms from around the world.
Shaikh Mohammed climbed up two spots to rank as the fourth most popular global leader last year, according to a report released by the Washington-based Digital Policy Council (DPC). He was also listed as the most 'liked' GCC leader on Facebook. 
Al Marri also pointed out to the ruler's faith in the capabilities of young people and their innovative potential as he appointed the youngest minister in the world, Shamma Al Mazroui, Minister of Youth, in the recent UAE cabinet.
"Fortunately, as you know, the Arab World possesses incredible amount of energy as our youth represent 25 per cent of the region's population, where 75 per cent of them are between 18-24 years old," she said referring to the fact that social media is the main source of information for the Arab youth since it is more aligned with their mentalities and fast-paced lives.
"Our trust in [the youth's] abilities has no limits. They are the influencers who will introduce new important dimensions across the expanded social media platforms and will handle the responsibility of making a positive change in the future across these networks to help our Arab youth become more optimistic," she said.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai