Debut MENA Content Creator Awards to honor home-grown digital talent

The Content Creator Awards kicked off in Dubai on Wednesday with the spotlight focused on the Arab world’s emerging digital talent, influencers and creatives.

“This is a $350-million industry and the region has so much talent. There was just no system to recognize it so we decided to be on the full front of that, award and be rewarded in return,” Tanaz Dizadji, the founder and CEO of Brand Ripplr, told Arab News.

The winners will be announced at a gala event in the emirate next week. Winning categories include male and female content creator, social queen and king content creator, lifestyle trendsetter, and tech guru.

“The GCC market has a high demand for influencers and brands which is why we’ve decided to launch the MENA awards,” one of the panelists said.

The first-of-its-kind event was sponsored by YouTube and backed by Brand Ripplr and Mediaquest.

While the creators did not attend the session on Wednesday, their content was presented to a panel of judges spread across several different rooms, with over 20 categories showcased.

The winners will be chosen according to performance metrics where public votes are factored in. The voting is open for a worldwide audience and has so far racked up millions of responses.

Judges will also base their decisions on what they call the NICE technique: How natural, innovating, creative and entertaining the content is.

Judges include Jad Bitar, brand manager at Arab News, Noor Starz, a YouTube trailblazer, and Hadia Ghaleb, a fashion icon.

This is a $350-million industry and the region has so much talent. There was just no system to recognize it so we decided to be on the full front of that, award and be rewarded in return.