RIYADH: Ignite The Sound concluded its activities on Saturday with the participation of over 9,000 digital audio content creators and 300,000 virtual attendees. The event, organized by the Digital Content Council, was held with the aim of enabling pioneers of the audio content sector to reach advanced levels of inspiration, influence, growth and change. In its first edition, the event hosted more than 75 speakers, 35 partners representing local and international companies, 30 panel discussions, and 80 workshops attended by more than 2,400 persons. Ignite The Sound supports digital audio content and podcast creators and provides them with the necessary skills to grow their businesses and projects, thus contributing to the Kingdom’s leadership in this industry with returns on knowledge and cultural, scientific and economic gains. Mohammed Al-Rubaian, secretary of the Saudi Digital Content Council, said that the event succeeded in attracting digital content creators and linking them with their global counterparts and other experts in the field. The event included rich and constructive discussions on innovative ideas, he said, which represent an important step in strengthening the Saudi presence in the world of digital audio content. One of the panel discussions held on the final day regarded sustainability in podcast-making. Abdulaziz Al-Hediyan, CEO of MICS, a network for Arabic podcasts, said during the discussion: “The first time I ever made a podcast, I didn’t find the existing environment and atmosphere helpful. I found many people like me who have unique content and want to show it through podcasts. “Therefore, I decided to build an infrastructure that helps content creators and a business model that can achieve sustainability in this field. We worked with several agencies from the private and government sectors, such as Misk, STC (Saudi Telecom Company), and Aramco, to produce their podcasts,” he added. At the final ceremony, Al-Rubaian called on digital content creators to engage in continuous dialogue to develop Saudi content in an effort to strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a leading country in digitization and other fields.