YouTube creators meet Pope Francis to discuss promoting understanding and empathy

YouTube has helped millions of people see that we have a lot in common, despite our differences. Building these bridges can start with a simple conversation, and over the past 11 years, we've seen YouTube creators use the power of video to do just that. From Hayla Ghazal encouraging women in the Middle East and around the world to speak up, to Dulce Candy sharing her own story as an undocumented immigrant and military veteran, creators from around the world have used our platform to express themselves, encourage new perspectives, and inspire solidarity within global fan bases.

We want to continue empowering people to come to YouTube to tell stories and form connections that encourage empathy and understanding between diverse communities.

That's why today 11 international YouTube creators met with Pope Francis, who cares deeply about bringing young people together. This first-of-its-kind dialogue took place during the VI Scholas World Congress, which the Pope created to encourage peace through real encounters with youth from different backgrounds.

The YouTube creators who participated in this conversation represent more than 27 million subscribers globally. They come from ten different countries and diverse religious backgrounds: Louise Pentland (United Kingdom), Lucas Castel (Argentina), Matemática Río (Brazil), Hayla Ghazal (United Arab Emirates), Dulce Candy (United States), Matthew Patrick (United States), Jamie and Nikki (Australia and Sudan/Egypt), Greta Menchi (Italy), Los Polinesios (Mexico) and anna RF (Israel).

During the conversation with the Pope, these creators raised topics that they are passionate about as role models, including immigrant rights, gender equality, loneliness and self-esteem, and greater respect for diversity of all kinds.

We're inspired by the many conversations these creators have sparked throughout their YouTube journeys. To hear more about what they discussed at the Vatican today, tune in to each of their channels for personal videos in the coming weeks. We hope to continue helping people share their stories - the more we can all understand, the more we can come together as a global community.

Juniper Downs, Head of Policy for YouTube, recently watched “I am a Muslim, hug me if you trust me.”

YouTube brings E3 to you wherever you are

Last year, millions of gamers came together on YouTube for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). We watched as Bethesda unveiled “Fallout 4,” and many of us had our prayers answered when Square Enix shared a first look at the “Final Fantasy VII” remake. For more than a few gamers, E3 is the must-see gaming event of the year, an annual moment that defines the industry (and our collective wallets) for the coming 12 months.

YouTube will give gamers around the world front-row access to everything E3 again this year with dozens of live streams scheduled throughout the week. To make moments like this even better, we are launching event pages in YouTube Gaming, which serve as destinations for watching the biggest gaming and eSports events. Kicking things off, we'll have a unique event hub for E3, available at gaming.youtube.com/e3 in June.

A home for live streams and on-demand videos, the YouTube Gaming E3 hub will put all our E3 coverage in one place. You'll be able to browse videos and streams, chat live with fellow gamers, vote for your favorite trailers in the legendary Trailer Battle, and catch up on announcements you might have missed.

Coverage begins on Sunday, June 12, with early press conferences from EA and Bethesda. Stay tuned on YouTube after the press conferences because you won't want to miss post-coverage from our friends at Rooster Teeth - who will be streaming from the conference throughout the week.

The play-by-play coverage continues on Monday, June 13 at 9 a.m. PT, with YouTube Live at E3, an exclusive 12-hour stream hosted by Geoff Keighley and brought to you by Samsung. Live at E3 will bring you the live coverage of press conferences you crave along with developer interviews, live let's plays of new games you won't find anywhere else, and surprise guests like MatPat, iHasCupquake and CaptainSparklez.


Speaking about MatPat, if you're in L.A. before E3, make sure to stop by the YouTube Space LA for a fan event on June 8 and a peek at MatPat's Game Lab. RSVP here.

See you at E3!

Ryan Wyatt, Global Head of Gaming Content, recently watched “Game Lab: TEST Games In Real Life then EXPERIENCE them in VR!”

A YouTube experience like nothing you've seen before

Ever wish you could swim with sharks, ride in an Indy Car, or go on a world tour? Well, later this year you'll be able to experience these events and more as if you were really there with the YouTube VR app.

For more than a year, we've been adding support for new video and audio formats on YouTube like 360-degree video, VR video and Spatial Audio. These were the first steps on our way toward a truly immersive video experience, and now we're taking another one with the YouTube VR app for Daydream, Google's platform for high-quality mobile virtual reality, announced today at Google I/O.

We're creating the YouTube VR app to provide an easier, more immersive way to find and experience virtual reality content on YouTube. It also comes with all the YouTube features you already love, like voice search, discovery, and playlists, all personalized for you, so you can experience the world's largest collection of VR videos in a whole new way.

And thanks to the big, early bet we made on 360-degree and 3-D video, you will be able to see all of YouTube's content on the app-everything from classic 16x9 videos to 360-degree footage to cutting-edge VR experiences in full 3-D. Whether you want a front row seat to your favorite concert, access to the best museums in the world, or a midday break from work watching your favorite YouTube creator, YouTube VR will have it all.

To bring even more great VR content onto YouTube, we've been working with some amazing creators to experiment with new formats that offer a wide range of virtual experiences. We're already collaborating with the NBA, BuzzFeed and Tastemade to explore new ways of storytelling in virtual environments that will provide valuable lessons about the way creators and viewers interact with VR video. Stay tuned!

We've also been working with camera partners to make Jump-ready cameras, such as the GoPro Odyssey, available to creators, to help make the production of VR video more accessible. And today, we're officially launching our Jump program at the YouTube Spaces in L.A. and NYC and we will it bring to all YouTube Space locations around the globe soon.

We're just beginning to understand what a truly immersive VR experience can bring to fans of YouTube, but we're looking forward to making that future a (virtual) reality.

Kurt Wilms, Senior Product Manager, YouTube Virtual Reality, recently watched "Insane 360 video of close-range tornado near Wray, CO yesterday!"