The first episode of Play it Forward with YouTube will be released tonight, 31 January, on Ana Beeko’s YouTube channel, YouTube Arabia’s YouTube Channel, and major podcast platforms, with a new episode every week.
YouTube announced the release of a special edition of its flagship video and podcast series in the Middle East & North Africa, Hekayat YouTube, focusing on Saudi youth today. The new season brings together top Saudi YouTube creators and influential public figures from Saudi Arabia to help create a platform for dialogue between decision-makers and Gen-Z in the Kingdom on topics that are top of mind for Saudi youth.
The new season includes diverse Saudi creators representing different fields from lifestyle to health, technology, and investment like Beeko, Faisal Alsaif, Sukkari Life, and Faris Alturki who will discuss topics that are top of mind for Saudi youth, such as the future of jobs & artificial intelligence, wellbeing and quality of life, the creator economy and sports. Guests include influential members of the public and private sectors in Saudi Arabia such as representatives from the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (Dr. Raied Aljadaany), the Quality of Life Program (Ms. Noura Alyusuf), and private sector leaders in the creator economy (Kaswara Al-Khatib) and sports (Haya Sawan).
“YouTube is a reflection of what’s top of mind for Saudi youth thanks to our vibrant creator community in the Kingdom,” said Tarek Amin, YouTube’s Director in MENA. “They’ve built communities around topics that matter to them and their audience. This is why we decided to use Hekayat YouTube as a platform for our creators to engage with decision-makers on these topics and to help them share their experiences with the world” he added.
According to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics, 63% of Saudis are under the age of 30. YouTube data found that YouTube reached over 20 million people in Saudi Arabia over the age of 18 in December 2022 and the average person watched over 55 minutes of YouTube per day in June 2022.
The five-episode series is available on YouTube Arabia’s YouTube, participating creator’s channels and Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anghami & Deezer.
