Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and Director, World Wide Web Consortium, will deliver the opening address at this year's Abu Dhabi Media Summit being held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Berners-Lee, a pioneer and advocate of the Internet age, will speak about the state of the digital planet. The session will be hosted by Matthew Garrahan, from the Financial Times, Los Angeles Bureau.

Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Media Summit and Chairman of twofour54, H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak said: "This year's Summit will focus on the ways individuals and organizations can harness the limitless potential of digital technologies. People like Tim Berners-Lee have made that conversation possible, and I can't think of a better way to open the Summit than with his insights."

Berners-Lee said: "This is a key moment for the UAE and countries in the Middle East region to determine how they can make the best use of the internet and take advantage of all the opportunities it offers. It is with great pleasure that I have accepted the invitation to participate remotely at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, a digital global meeting of minds, where I am looking forward to discussing the potential of the internet and its positive benefits to humanity with such a digitally connected audience."

In addition to Tim Berners-Lee, the opening day of the Summit will also host a session with Andy Bird, Chairman, Walt Disney International, who will speak about the art of emerging market expansion and story telling in a global marketplace.

Hundreds of key influencers from the global media industry will gather at the fourth Abu Dhabi Media Summit 2013, being held October 22 -24 at the Yas Viceroy to examine the latest trends and challenges in the sector, with a focus on leveraging opportunities in the digital age.

The three-day, invitation-only event has established itself as an essential date on the global media leadership calendar. The Forum will analyse the rapid transformation of the media industry and how the industry can capitalise on opportunities in a fully-networked, media-centric world.

The Abu Dhabi Media Summit features a unique combination of high-profile public sessions, off-record forums and private conversations. It brings together top-tier global media, technology, venture capital and creative industry players and their emerging-market counterparts. Selected entrepreneurs and start-up companies are also featured, bridging the gap between established industry leaders and disruptive entrants.

Speakers at this year's event will also include: Mark Hollinger, President and CEO, Discovery Networks International; Shailesh Rao, VP, International Operations, Twitter; Anant Agarwal, President, edX; Konstantin Wolff, Founder, payleven; Dean Kamen, Founder, DEKA; Eric Gertler, Head of NYCEDC; Dan Senor, Author 'StartUp Nation'; Nart Bouran, Director of News, Sky News Arabia; Ahmed El Alfi, Founder and Chairman, Sawari Ventures; Tarek El Kazzaz, CEO and Founder, Qsoft Group; Khaled El Mufti, Head, ELibya; and Usama Fayyad, Executive Chairman, Oasis500.

This year the Summit will also feature new sessions that focus on e-learning, social gaming and give local and regional media entrepreneurs and start-ups unprecedented access to venture capital investors via key sessions and a new competition in association with Orange and Oasis500.

Berners-Lee's opening address will be available exclusively to the Abu Dhabi Media Summit via satellite link.