Join Beijing’s First Ever Wellness Festival This Saturday (Jun 3)
After the past few tumultuous years in the capital, it has been encouraging to see an emerging wellness community forming here, along with more mental health awareness. Beijing is now home to numerous different wellness-related groups, communities, and organizations, and this Saturday (Jun 3) will see the forming of one new such community: Connected Wellness Community.
This brand new endeavor is made up of some of Beijing’s best wellness professionals, and they are putting on the first-ever Beijing Wellness Festival. Ahead of the event, I reached out to the main event organizer, Matan Malavski, founder of Youman Potential, to find out more.
Firstly, could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the Connected Wellness Community and when it was formed?
My name is Matan, I’m originally from Israel but have been living in China since 2009. After graduating in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Studies, I came here to intern at a local hospital. During the Covid period, I was looking for a way to help more people. I established several communities where I hosted many amazing speakers about various wellness-related topics. Now that we are going through another transitional period, many people find themselves in need of support, inspiration, or new opportunities. That’s where the “Connected Wellness Community” comes in. The community aims to answer people’s needs and connect wellness professionals with anyone who needs support. It’s a brand new endeavor that is emerging through the collaboration of all those who take part in this (and future) events.
This is Beijing’s first Wellness Festival. Why did you decide to create this event?
The idea behind the event is simple:
- Raise awareness of mental and physical health.
- Provide leads for support by introducing local professionals in Beijing.
- Create a community where people can collaborate, help one another, and together promote everything the community stands for.
In recent years it feels like there have been more mental health-related events in China. How and why do you think awareness has grown?
Whenever someone is ready the opportunity arises. The past three years emphasized the necessity of professional help and the importance of community. People are realizing more and more that vulnerability isn’t a weakness but rather a potential strength, and that mental health is not a “dirty word” but rather an empowering one. We live in a place that has been through a lot of suffering – I believe that the generation of people who are now in their 20s-30s is an “in-between” generation, it struggles with the old paradigm of its parents’ and grandparents’ generation, and wants to break free without causing pain so it can live a more fulfilling life. As such it has the opportunity (if it chooses to) to heal the old generations, break the cycle and raise a new thriving generation. But it will need the appropriate support to do so.
Can you tell us about some of the workshops and speakers that will be at the event?
Sure, I am blessed to have such amazing support for the event. We have 20+ speakers from various fields of wellness. There is a beautiful combination of inspiring stories, impactful workshops, and integration of Eastern and Western philosophies and practices. Some of the speakers have been through hell and back, and overcome life-threatening disabilities; others have healed from mental and physical abuse, and they come to inspire us and give us tools to overcome our challenges.
We have speakers who’ve spent years learning and honing their skills, to help hundreds of people. They come to share their knowledge and offer support. I will avoid specifics because, with 20+ speakers, I don’t want to leave anyone unmentioned, but our official account provides all the details about the speakers and their workshops [see this article or scan the QR code below to follow the Connected Wellness Community official account]. Let’s just say that we will have a mix of talks, workshops, performances, and even lucky draws with amazing prizes.
Can you introduce us to the main team behind the event?
I consider anyone who contributes to the event a crucial part. Shanghai Guijiu has provided us with the venue, all of the speakers are helping to promote it, and our promotional sponsors connected us with their resources and communities, even this very interview is part of the effort to serve people, raise awareness and provide support. Many people and organizations provided us with articles for our online magazine (which can be found on our official account here). It’s not a team, but a community!
Lastly, what main goals do you hope to achieve with this event?
My objectives are simple:
- Create a connected community of professionals and leaders from all fields of wellness in China. This Beijing event is the starting point.
- Use these events and the promotion attached to them to:
A: Reach out and help more people.
B: Massively increase exposure and create new opportunities for events speakers, and
supporters.
I hope this event will set an example of the positive impact we can create if we come together and integrate our resources. And that the “Connected Magazine” and official account will become a platform where we call all grow together, and everybody can get the support and help they need.
The Beijing Wellness Festival will be taking place at the Shanghai Guijiu Beijing Experience Center (上海贵酒北京体验中心) on Sat, Jun 3, 2-8pm. Tickets are RMB 188 until 11.30pm on Jun 2, or RMB 288 afterward, and can be purchased by scanning the QR code in the poster above.
Shanghai Guijiu Beijing Experience Center 上海贵酒北京体验中心
32nd Floor, Middle Building, Zhonghai Plaza, Jianwai Street, Chaoyang District
朝阳区建外街道中海广场中楼32层
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Images: courtesy of Matan Malavski and Connected Wellness Community
