A Network of Networks Burning Man is a year-round worldwide creative culture, sustained by formal and informal networks. These networks facilitate the spread of information, the sharing of ideas and meaningful stories, hard-won skills and best practices, and help to keep Black Rock City and regional events around the globe energetic and vibrant. For the […]
11May
Burning Man Storytelling Moves From the Fringes to the Main Stage
I am in the Bedroom on a hot, humid summer afternoon in Washington, D.C. Although the city being built on a swamp is just an urban legend, it is days like this that make me question if it might actually be true. The windows are closed, and there are about sixty of us in a […]
04May
GLC 2017: What Is Burning Man’s Secret Mission?
When Burning Man participants talk about “getting it” or “doing it right,” what is the “It?” Is it “transformation?” Is it “permission?” Is it a particular philosophy or way of life? At the 2017 Burning Man Global Leadership Conference in Oakland, founding board member and Chief Transition Officer Harley Dubois contends that the “it” is […]
06Apr
GLC 2017: And That’s a Wrap
Another Global Leadership Conference (GLC) has ended, and the last of its participants are trickling out of the city and back to their homes and communities across North America and the world. In the wake of the energy and intensity of this year’s conference, there is a quiet listlessness amongst the tired but happy conference […]
03Apr
GLC 2017: Burning Man Challenges Participants to Step Up with Project Citizenship
Last year, once the dust had settled on another Burning Man event, Operations Director Charlie Dolman didn’t focus on the nuts and bolts of how things had gone. He found himself focusing on a paper cut. The paper cut belonged to a participant who had rocked up to RAMPART for treatment — along with 12,000 […]
02Apr
GLC 2017: Women Leaders You Should Know
The Regional Network hums with many unsung heroes. Who are some leaders you didn’t see on the GLC’s Plenary stage, but are no less boss in their passion, vision and determination? I met seven women from the Burning Man community around the world who made me snap with pride and glee.
01Apr
GLC 2017: GLC First-Timers Jump Right In
Call them “GLC Virgins” — Burners who are attending the Global Leadership Conference for the first time. You can’t identify these special unicorns from the outside, but inside they are perhaps the most porous of sponges as they soak up inspiration, knowledge and the whole experience of this once-a-year gathering among hundreds of Burning Man […]
31Mar
GLC 2017: City of Oakland’s Roberto Bedoya on Burning Man’s Role in Creative Place-Making
On Friday, the City of Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager, Roberto Bedoya, will help open the Global Leadership Conference (GLC) with a talk on “stewardship of imagination” and creating civic well-being. His presence on the opening plenary panel not only illustrates the variety of voices at this year’s GLC, it also highlights the City of Oakland’s […]
29Mar
GLC 2017: Politics, Picket Lines and the Ten Principles
Burning Man’s 11th Global Leadership Conference begins in Oakland on Thursday, with over 630 Regional Contacts and community leaders converging from around the globe to swap skills, shoot the shit, and share the successes and challenges of their events, projects and communities. Knowledge exchange is the name of the game at this annual conference. But […]
20Apr
Burners Making Real Changes in the World? Game on!
It may be a game, but Andrea Gini plans to “maker” a world of difference with it. Andrea, a Regional Contact for Europe and a long-time tinkerer, has joined forces with three other Burners, Nathan Parker, Ian Collingwood and Ben Ahmed, to create the Make It Go project. The project, which kicks off in May, […]