More than €1 million is set to be up for grabs at the first One Spark crowdfunding festival in Berlin this September in the form of prizes, private investments and other funds. The event – which recently celebrated a wildly successful second edition in its home town, Jacksonville – will be taking place in Europe for the first time when it visits Alte Münze from September 12-14.
The idea behind One Spark is to foster creativity and innovation by showcasing artists and entrepreneurs from around the world over the course of five days. Creators from the worlds of art, music, science, technology and innovation will be given a platform to showcase their ideas in the cause of raising funding.
And attendees will be able to vote for their favourite projects, with €100,000 to be divided amongst the most popular (contributions are in US dollars with local partner RocketHub, but will be billed in euros). A further €50,000 is up for grabs in the form of prizes to be awarded by a jury, as well as unlimited individual contributions and private investments which are expected to push the total above the million mark.
Over its first two events in Florida, One Spark has provided access to more than $4.75 million in funding to 1,016 projects and has attracted 390,000 attendees.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the first Berlin event, with entry free of charge, and Elton Rivas, co-founder of One Spark, said expanding it on a global platform was a natural evolution: “We live and work in a global ecosystem. Berlin, an international center for tech, startups, culture, politics, media and science, is the perfect destination for the first international expansion of One Spark.
“Not only is the city’s economy primarily based on a diverse range of tech and creative industries, it is also home to high profile events such as re:publica, Berlinale and Berlin Fashion Week. One Spark Berlin will be a truly transformational event not only for creators, but for attendees as well.”
To sign up to be a creator or a volunteer at September’s event, click here.
Photo credit: Sylvia Woodrum