More related content on the BRIDGE
- Creator Economy Panel 9 December 11:15 - 11:35AM
The New Powerbrokers of Philanthropy
Public figures are reshaping philanthropy, blending entertainment with impact and challenging traditional giving models. MrBeast’s YouTube charity has raised millions, while TikTok fundraisers now rival institutional campaigns in reach and speed. As creators build direct pipelines to donors and causes, what standards, partnerships, or guardrails could help ensure transparency, effectiveness, and lasting impact? Could creator-led giving become a new blueprint for global generosity at scale?
Impact StageSpeakers
- Media Fireside 10 December 10:00 - 10:30AM
Advancing Human Possibility in the Agentic AI Era
Exploring the Agentic AI Era, where AI reasons, adapts, and collaborates with humans to transform media and business. This fireside examines how AI amplifies human empathy, creativity, and storytelling while safeguarding authenticity, equity, and trust.
Central Stage - Picture Panel 9 December 12:00 - 12:20PM
Presence Is the Actor’s Invisible Chemistry
Presence is the actor’s invisible chemistry, the fusion of emotion, awareness, and truth that makes fiction feel real. In this conversation, we explore how stillness, conviction, and empathy can dissolve performance into presence, transforming the craft of acting into a quiet form of alchemy.
Forum StageModerator
- Technology Presentation 8 December 2:20 - 2:30PM
Building Bridges Between Physical and Digital Worlds
As the boundaries between the physical and digital blur, realism is no longer the destination—it’s the starting point. Hao Li, CEO of Pinscreen and Associate Professor at MBZUAI, reveals how advances in generative AI, facial synthesis, and neural rendering are enabling lifelike avatars, real-time communication, and new dimensions of creative expression. From film and gaming to education and social interaction, he shows how these technologies can bridge not only worlds but also people, turning pixels into presence and transforming how we connect, collaborate, and trust in an increasingly virtual age.
Academy StageSpeakers
- Picture Panel 8 December 1:30 - 2:00PM
An Era of Reinvention for On-Demand
Streaming platforms face a reckoning with plateauing subscriber growth slows and content costs climb, studios and OTT services are rewriting their playbooks, prioritizing profitability, partnership, and purposeful programming over scale at all costs. This conversation examines how on-demand models are evolving in the MENA region and beyond, from the economics of live sports and premium storytelling to localization, data-driven distribution, and hybrid monetization. Together, they explore what it will take to sustain relevance in an era where every viewer—and every minute—matters.
Central Stage - Media Panel 10 December 3:00 - 3:20PM
Building a New Backbone for Journalism
In a fragmented information landscape where politics is both a content and commodity, the role of a journalist is being fundamentally rewritten. Veteran broadcaster Chuck Todd and award winning correspondent turned tech startup founder Jane Ferguson, reflect on how platforms, algorithms, and polarization are reshaping the craft of reporting, and what it will take for political journalism to remain credible and relevant in an era of speed, spectacle, and suspicion.
Forum Stage