Varkey Foundation at the 1Billion Followers Summit

Following a highly successful 1 Billion Followers Summit and the global 1 Billion Acts of Kindness campaign, education pioneer Sunny Varkey, Founder of GEMS Education and the Varkey Foundation, has reaffirmed the power of content creators to drive meaningful social change through education, compassion, and collective action.

Launched in partnership with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), philanthropist and global digital creator MrBeast, and the 1 Billion Followers Summit, the campaign set out to inspire one billion acts of kindness worldwide. The response from the global creator community exceeded expectations, demonstrating how digital platforms can be mobilised to amplify empathy, service, and real-world impact at scale.

During the campaign, content creators from across the world shared videos highlighting acts of kindness — from volunteering and community service to charitable giving and awareness-raising — engaging millions of people and encouraging audiences to take action in their own communities.

The momentum culminated at the 1 Billion Followers Summit, held in Dubai from 9–11 January 2026, the world’s largest gathering of digital creators. The Summit brought together creators representing more than 2.3 billion followers, reinforcing its role as a powerful platform for positive societal change. At the event, MrBeast announced the top 10 creators selected to join him in Ghana, where they will help build an entire village — including schools, clean water infrastructure, and access to life-saving healthcare — creating lasting impact for future generations. The journey will be shared with MrBeast’s global audience of over 450 million YouTube subscribers, inspiring millions more to engage in acts of kindness worldwide.

Reflecting on the campaign’s success, Sunny Varkey said:
“Education is the greatest gift we can give — it transforms lives, families, and entire communities. This campaign has shown that when creativity, compassion, and purpose come together, even small acts can spark extraordinary change.”

The initiative builds on the Varkey Foundation’s decades-long commitment to expanding access to quality education, particularly for underserved communities. Through global programmes such as the Global Teacher Prize, Global Student Prize, and Global Schools Prize, the Foundation continues to elevate the voices of educators, students, and communities driving change on the ground.

Building on the success of the campaign and Summit, 1 Billion Acts of Kindness stands as a powerful example of how education, digital creativity, and collective goodwill can come together to create lasting global impact — proving that progress is driven not by chance, but by people, ideas, and compassion in action.

Global Education Challenge
+100 global influencers including creators like Noor Stars, Majd Alzakout, Priya and Sid in the room as Sunny Varkey joined H.E. Saeed Al Eter and MrBeast on stage, using creator platforms to help make education go viral for the 270 million children still out of school. Average reach: +50M.

#CallOfKindness
+200 creators completed +200 real kindness calls, with creators including Khalid Al Ameri (Emirati lifestyle Influencer with +3M Followers), Heba Ibrawish (Fashion and Lifestyle Influencer), Leen Omer (Lifestyle influencer and public figure with 2M followers), and Renad Al Behairy (Egyptian silver screen actress with +5M in followers), showing how small acts can create meaningful moments at scale. Average reach: 20M