Firestarters is an exciting and innovative virtual festival designed to ignite a million conversations and raise money for leading mental health charity Rethink Mental Illness and the youth support charity UK Youth.

Firestarters will bring together expert insight from over 500 industry leading professionals, this free virtual gathering will help people learn more about – and develop – their passions, goals and interests at a time when we are all disconnected and lacking in human interactions. It all takes place on video conversation platform URfeed and kicks off over four weeks in March by addressing Wellbeing & Fitness, Music & Entertainment, Lifestyle & Culture, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. 

Insight at these unique events comes from professionals with years of experience including Anthony Rose founder of Seedlegals, Jon Salmon from Byte Entertainment, Chef Andrew Clarke, Sky Fitness Presenter Marvin Ambrosius, Manchester United Women’s Footballer Jess Sigsworth, Dan J Lee who is GM at NoCopyrightSounds, Hope Virgo, Dump The Scale campaigner, author of Stand Tall Little Girl and eating disorder mental health campaigner, Jenni Cochrane CEO & Co-Founder of mental health and wellbeing non-profit Getahead, Julie Weir – Label Head at Music For Nations, Sony Music, musicians Laura Fowes & Ben Santiago, Mike Kill, CEO of Night Time Industries Association, Rob Stephenson, Founder of InsideOut Leaderboard and CEO of Formscore, Consultant Dietitian and Nutritionist Ro Huntriss, Robbie Murch from Facebook’s Identification of Music group, Emma Marshall, a Holistic Health Consultant, Chevy Rough, the Wellbeing and Performance Coach, DJ Pete Gooding, Scott Morrison, Founder at The Boom, Liam Norval, Founder at Posh Cockney and Co-Founder of Hospitality Titans, Pete Warden – Hospitality Director, LXA / Co- Founder Hospitality Titans, Mint Club resident Bobby O’Donnell, Data Transmission’s Grahame Farmer, Alex Jukes from Jukebox PR, Music Journalist Sean Griffiths, DJ Mag Tech Editor Declan McGlynn, Dazed’s Charlotte Cliffers, Tristan Hunt from Association of Electronic Music, Futurebound Owner’s & founders of Viper Records and many more to be announced over the next week.

Feeling isolated and lonely is a stress factor that poses a health risk comparable to smoking, alcoholism, or obesity. This is where Firestarters steps in. Humans are inherently social animals, who suffer when cut off from communities and the subtle sources of happiness they bring.  Firestarters‘ aim is to connect strangers and ignite conversation fueled by shared passion, interests, and goals to bring about a positive change.

Expect to hear from experts picking through topics like “the future of live events” to “kick-starting a business”. There will be opportunities to put your questions and opinions to the experts as well as discuss the events of the day with other people tuning in. There will also be select spaces for group mentoring sessions with some of the experts that will be speaking during the Firestarters event.

URfeed is a video conversation platform that provides a place for groups of people to connect for ‘face to face’ conversation and its unique video messaging system lets people take part in multiple group conversations, without the need to have everyone online at the same time. People can drop in, watch what others are saying and ask questions or say their piece when it’s convenient for them.

Gareth Ingham, URfeed CEO, says, “URfeed is on a mission to bring people together around their passions, interests and goals… enabling people to grow a knowledge network. We are excited that URfeed will help people come together and talk to new people ‘face to face’ in a bid to beat loneliness and it’s great we are able to support these two charities.” 

Many of the fundraising channels that charities rely on have been taken away. As such, every video posted in “Firestarters” will carry a donate button so viewers can donate directly from the app to UK Youth and Rethink Mental Illness.

Everyone can get involved with this free virtual event. Simply sign up free here to discover talks and discussions that match your passions, interests and goals. What’s more, if you have a great idea, you can submit a talk, discussion, or interview that you would like to be scheduled at Firestarters by registering online, and of course you can  start an impromptu conversation any time.

Visits the official website here.