Ahmed El-Ghandour, the host and producer of the educational Al-Daheeh YouTube show, has made it to the final list of seven nominees for IBC's 2019 Young Pioneer Award, the first of its kind.

The award is presented to those who "have made a real impact with their passion, ambition and commitment and [are] making an outstanding contribution to the media industry, be it a creative, commercial or a technical one."

El-Ghandour, who first started out in 2014 as a young YouTuber filming 5-15 minute videos on his personal channel, has now become an icon of new media and education in the Arab world with 160 episodes of diverse content.

El-Ghandour has over 3.3 million subscribers to his show on the AJ+ Channel and over 250 million views in total.

Reaching the shortlist is in itself no small feat, as finalists have to meet the judging panel's requirements and are selected after a rigorous filtering process.

"What we were looking for in the shortlist was, most importantly, real talent, a stand-out individual making a real difference in the industry. We were also looking for a lasting legacy, for the Young Pioneer to be a leader today and a media guru of the future," says David Levine, VP for programming for Kids, Europe & Africa/UK & Ireland at the Walt Disney Company and chair of the judging panel.

IBC, a media, entertainment and technology show, holds a conference each year to celebrate excellence in media, in addition to an awards ceremony aimed at recognising the brightest emerging talents.

This year's conference, taking place at the RAI convention centre in Amsterdam, is held between 13 and 17 September. The winner will be announced during the awards ceremony later today.