Education pioneer Sunny Varkey, Founder of GEMS Education and the Varkey Foundation, has today called on content creators to submit their entries for the ‘1 Billion Acts of Kindness’ campaign, ahead of the 15 December deadline. The groundbreaking movement, launched in partnership with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, philanthropist and creator MrBeast, and the 1 Billion Followers Summit, aims to inspire one billion acts of kindness worldwide and amplify social impact through education, empowerment, and community development.
The campaign encourages content creators across the globe to mobilise their audiences and spotlight real stories of compassion – such as volunteering at a local shelter, visiting a care home, donating blood, or raising awareness for a local charity.
Creators can participate by posting videos of their acts of kindness and social impact work on their platforms, using the hashtags #1BillionSummit #1BKindness and tagging @1billionsummit @varkeyfdn @mrbeast @mbrinitiatives. They must then submit their posts through the official campaign page before 15 December 2025. Submissions will be evaluated by the 1 Billion Followers Summit, MBRGI, the Varkey Foundation, and Beast Industries.
At the fourth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai – taking place 9-11 January 2026 – MrBeast will announce the top 10 content creators chosen to join him on the ground in Ghana. There, they will help build a village – which will include schools, clean water, and access to life-saving healthcare – to transform the lives of future generations to come. Their journey will be shared on MrBeast’s YouTube channel – which counts over 450 million subscribers – to inspire others around the world to take action in their communities and beyond.
The 1 Billion Followers Summit is the world’s largest gathering of digital creators. In 2025, it welcomed creators representing over 2.3 billion followers, making it the ideal platform to mobilise a movement of this scale. Organised by the UAE Government Media Office, the summit explores how new media can drive positive societal change and fuel sustainable economic growth for nations. It is a key component of the Emirates’ drive to foster a vibrant content creator community.
Sunny Varkey - Founder of the Varkey Foundation
Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation, said, “Education is the greatest gift we can give – it transforms lives, families, and entire communities. Through this campaign, we want to celebrate stories of kindness and compassion, and showcase the many imaginative ways education can open doors, create hope, and expand opportunity. That’s why I’m calling on content creators everywhere to step forward, share their acts of kindness, and use their platforms to help ignite a global movement for good.
“By uplifting inspiring creators and their stories, we aim to remind the world that even small acts of compassion can spark extraordinary change. We’re proud to share our expertise and support the projects that will grow from this global movement for good.”
At the heart of this initiative is the Varkey Foundation’s decades-long expertise in delivering quality education to underserved communities. Through global programmes such as the Global Teacher Prize, Global Student Prize, and Global Schools Prize, the Foundation has helped elevate the transformative power of education and amplify the voices of those driving change in classrooms and communities. This campaign builds on that legacy – championing compassion, community action, and the belief that every individual has the power to make a difference.
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About the Varkey Foundation
The Varkey Foundation, founded by education pioneer and philanthropist Sunny Varkey, believes every child deserves a vibrant, stimulating learning environment that awakens and supports their full potential. The foundation believes nothing is more important to achieving this than the passion and quality of teachers. They support global teaching capacity and seed excellence and innovation in the next generation of educators. They founded the Global Teacher Prize to celebrate the incredible work of educators worldwide—now joined by the Global Student Prize and Global Schools Prize, completing a powerful trilogy honouring teachers, learners, and schools as forces of innovation and change.
For further details: www.varkeyfoundation.org
About GEMS Education
GEMS Education is one of the world’s leading private K-12 education providers, educating more than 200,000 students from 176+ nationalities across its global network of owned and managed schools. With nearly half a million alumni, GEMS has built a legacy of impact that spans generations and continents.
Established in Dubai in 1959, GEMS remains a family-founded and family-led organisation, guided by its visionary founder and chairman Sunny Varkey, and his sons Dino Varkey (Group CEO) and Jay Varkey (Deputy Group CEO).
With a focus on delivering high-quality education to students from all walks of life, GEMS offers a wide range of curricula and learning pathways. Each year, GEMS students graduate into the world’s top universities, including all eight Ivy League institutions and every UK Russell Group university, and go on to become leaders, innovators, and changemakers in every sector.
Through its expanding school network and philanthropic initiatives, GEMS is committed to its mission: to put a quality education within reach of every learner, everywhere.
Learn more at www.gemseducation.com
About Beast Industries
Founded by YouTube creator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), Beast Industries is a global entertainment powerhouse known for its groundbreaking content, viral challenges, and large-scale philanthropic initiatives. With over 450 million subscribers, MrBeast became the most-subscribed YouTube channel in the world in June 2024 and now generates more than 2 billion views each month. The Prime Video series Beast Games became the streamer’s most-watched unscripted series ever and broke 44 Guinness World Records, further cementing MrBeast’s impact beyond digital platforms. Season 2 of Beast Games is out on January 7, 2026. Donaldson was named the #1 creator on Forbes’ 2025 Top Creators List and has been featured on both the TIME 100 and the inaugural TIME 100 Climate list. In 2022, he launched Feastables, a snack brand that quickly became one of the fastest-growing CPG companies in history. A leader in digital-first philanthropy, Donaldson has spearheaded major global campaigns, including #TeamTrees, which raised over $23 million to plant 23 million trees, #TeamSeas, which removed 30 million pounds of waste from oceans, rivers, and beaches, and #TeamWater, which raised over $40 million to provide clean water to people around the world. In 2020, he founded Beast Philanthropy, a 501(c)(3).
About the 1 Billion Followers Summit
With a goal of reaching over a billion people worldwide, the 1 Billion Followers Summit, the world’s largest summit dedicated to the content creator economy, organised by the UAE Government Media Office, brings together top global social media influencers across all online platforms. The summit explores how new media can drive positive societal change and fuel sustainable economic growth for nations. It is a key component of the Emirates’ drive to foster a vibrant content creator community. Alongside business support services, and a globally connected, secure multinational environment, the UAE has committed resources and facilities specifically to fostering content creation, including a million-dollar content creator award being announced at the summit, which takes place from 9 to 11 January 2026.
For more information, please visit www.1billionsummit.com
