You can keep up with the latest project developments from the people on the ground making them happen via the BWB Blog. We want to hear from you and welcome your comments.
BWB Spring Newsletter 2021
| Any trouble viewing this page? Read the original newsletter here 🙂 As it starts to warm up in the Northern Hemisphere there’s a feeling of lightness and new life that spring up, a feeling of a new hope just around the corner. The news of increased vaccination numbers is hopeful, while the new variants are worrisome. The warmer weather brings comfort, yet there’s the memory of the intense fire and hurricane seasons of the last few years. It seems the newly announced Burning Man Theme ‘The Great Unknown’ is a perfect description of our view into both the near and long-term futures. Whatever is to come, we find solace in the fact that unknown territories and dust obscured vistas places that Burners thrive. BWB has had a busy spring launching our partnership projects, A Little Piece of Home with Alight and the Cultural Synergy work with the United States Institute of Peace. We’re excited about the Fly Ranch LAGI Design Challenge announcements, as well as the continued work with the BWB Chapter and Working Group Networks. You can read about all of that below. In Solidarity. Thank you for being you. Stay connected and let us know what you’re up to in the world. Join the BWB Volunteers Worldwide Group for regular updates, check out our Global Slack Workspace, and consider donating to BWB. We are community-led and community-supported. |
| Upcoming: Civic Activation: ‘Working with Civic Institutions’ |
 |
| BWB is hosting a community call ‘Working with Civic Institutions’ Tuesday, March 30th 2021 6p PT / 9p ET. Register on Kindling or RSVP on Facebook. Have you ever wondered how to work with your city to get a piece of art in a public space, or navigate the bureaucratic process to bring a public project to life? Many of us have big ideas to serve our communities, but the path to collaborating with the government can be intimidating. Join us for a conversation with past collaborators from different civic institutions to discuss the tips, tricks, and best practices to Working with Civic Institutions. |
| Report Out: LAGI 2020 Winners Announced & Upcoming Event |
 |
| We are excited to announce the winners of the Fly Ranch Design Challenge: LAGI 2020. These designs focus on the infrastructure areas of food, water, power shelter, and waste. Over the last two years BWB has been working on the challenge as a community partner, and are excited that Fly Ranch received 180+ proposals through the challenge. Join us on Monday, April 19th from 12:00p PST / 3:00p EST for Ecosystem Activation: ‘Prototyping a Sustainable Future’ LAGI Design Challenge Results. This event is an opportunity to talk with LAGI jurors, representatives from projects shortlisted, and hear reflections and advice from BRC Sustainability Team members.Want to learn more now? Check out this article in Forbes, or this article in Reno Gazette Journal. |
Report Out: USIP Partnership ‘Cultural Synergy’ We are thrilled to share the Culturally Attuned Podcast and Cultural Synergy Curriculum, the result of a multi-year collaboration between Burning Man Project, BWB and the United States Institute of Peace.The podcast and course share real-world stories and practical advice for people working in a range of settings around the world, who may find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. You’ll hear from experienced global practitioners, including a few familiar voices from Burning Man and Burners Without Borders.The curriculum is an 8-chapter asynchronous course that you can take alongside members from the global community. The podcast is an ‘edu-tainment’ sister piece of content meant to be listened to in short spurts, which will introduce you to the meta-themes in the course. Please let us know if you value this content, as we explore expanding on these topics in future offerings. |
| Report Out: A Little Piece of Home Toolkit |
 |
| In February, we joined hundreds of friends at a global, decentralized (virtual) table for a unique experience. As we thought about what it means to be “home” we shared recipes, learned about food, and broke bread together. We premiered a short-form documentary on the building of a horno (brick oven) in Nogales, Sonora, while celebrating the launch of Pedacito de la Tierra (A Little Piece of Home). Pedacito de la Tierra is a global movement, co-created by Burners Without Borders and Alight, to create sustainable spaces of hope and refuge for people in migration. If you weren’t able to join us live, you can still experience this project and join the movement by visiting pedacitodelatierra.org or using our Pedacito de Tierra toolkit to host a similar event with your household or community:Cook a recipe shared by folks in the migrant community (with an option to cook along with our recorded demonstrations).Share in meaningful conversation with your own friends and family, using the conversation prompts to help explore topics such as home, belonging, and access.Watch the short film, Pedacito de la Tierra, inspired by the people and places at the heart of this initiative. |
Report Out: Green Theme Camp Community Videos and Website Last October around 100 Theme Camp leaders came together to explore how they could support the Burning Man’s 2030 Environmental Sustainability Roadmap. The result is the creation of the Green Theme Camp Community– a working group focused on the infrastructure areas of Power, Water, Food, Waste, Shelter and Transportation.The Green Theme Camp Community invites you to get involved:Watch the recordings from the SummitGet Updates from the http://www.greentheme.camp/Join the FB Community |
BWB Regional Updates: BWB Second Life On February 14th BWBSL built an art installation called “Moments In Time”. In addition, the community volunteered as greeters at One Billion Rising, a Global Campaign to stop violence against women and girls.From February 20th until June 14th we are RelayingForLife in SecondLife. RelayForLife is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. We are participating in multi-team events, and have an information booth at H&G Expo! We will be walking the relay track on Relay Day on June 12 and 13 for the ‘Teams Lap’ and everyone is welcome to join! |
 BWB Portland BWB Portland‘s current project “JEDI”, or Burners for Joy Empowerment Diversity and Inclusion in PDX, is supporting local nonprofits R2D2 (Right to Dream Too) and C3PO (Creating Conscious Communities with People Outside) by building 40-foot geodesic domes in three intentional communities for neighbors living outside in downtown Portland. The domes will serve as meeting spaces for village residents to socially distance while they strategize about the future of their communities. They will also be used as venues for skills and arts workshops. We’d like to extend a special thank you to Camp Beaverton for helping us fund the Queer Camp dome through their grant program! |
 BWB Brazil Welcome to BWB Network’s newest Working Group – BWB Brasil (Corumbau region). “521 years later, after the first contact between colonizers and indigenous peoples, our group of Corumburn Burners chose this place, the birthplace of BRAZIL to live with the commitment to re-signify relations and create a multicultural city of mutual development. We, white and privileged, need to abandon our colonizing gaze. Faced with a pandemic world, we realize that we can help, but mainly we need the help of indigenous and native peoples, as they are the ones who can create with us new ways of life that respect and live in harmony with nature. We believe that only harmonious cultural integration will take humanity on the path of the New Age. We believe in the power of the utopian revolution that we live in Black Rock City, and we chose the Burner culture to present and represent the 10 Principles that guide our actions. We let the magic of the Principles happen.” BWB Brazil has completed seven gatherings so far including: Leave No Trace actions, creation of marine sanctuaries, signage creation, cinema in the square, and cultural processions. |
 BWB San Diego BWB SD is happy to report that we had a successful cross-border series of donations drives and collaborations. Led by Tina-Nomad, and partnered with LuvWorx and the IPHP, we successfully collected and distributed many truckloads and trailers full of supplies for the Kumeyaay tribe, women’s shelters, orphanages, and families in need in Mexico. With Semana Santa upcoming, we’re looking to get some more stuffed animals, as those were a hit. We’re also looking to start some artistic cross-pollination, with a potential iteration of the Flow Nexus installed permanently at a shelter in Tijuana. Those interested in participating can join the BWB SD Facebook Page, where we will be posting updates in the coming weeks. |
 BWB New York City: BWB NYC has two active initiatives: Helping Hearts Feeding At-Risk Groups Helping Hearts is created by The Deep End, a burner-owned bar and restaurant, providing free, hot meals to New York’s most at-risk groups. Since the beginning of the pandemic they have cooked and delivered over 25,000 meals. The program has shifted to organizations and mutual aid groups serving communities hit hardest by COVID and the economic issues it has caused, particularly for immigrants, the elderly, the unhoused, and LGBTQ youth. As a bar and restaurant already struggling to survive, Helping Hearts is sustained through donations from the community. They can make a difference, but not without our support. Visit www.helpinghearts.nyc to donate or read more about the mission. Connecting Peer-To-Peer BWB NY has started a Google Doc where folx may list their projects, and how they can support. Folks can also list the resources they have to potentially give, such as skills, funds, locations, or tools. We hope this can be a simple away for burners to communicate directly and find collaborators, resources, and causes to support. We like that this exists off social media, in one location, that can be linked in multiple places, and that it can serve as a way for folks to connect directly. Find us on the BWB website, Instagram, and Twitter |
 BWB Corpus Christi March 26th-28th was the second virtual safety training for Flipside, the oldest regional burn.There were a multitude of break-outs and training topics, including an international BWB-spotlight with multiple Chapters.It is so awesome that we’ve been able to keep safety training certifications up to date during a pandemic. We discussed how we’ve been practicing Civic Responsibility during COVID, and the events we’ve been hosting, as well as each Chapter’s projects. |
Opportunities/ Get Involved [Worldwide] Opportunity: Join Burner Amateur Radio Community (B.A.R.C) Want to learn a cool way to connect with Burners year-round right from your home? Tired of the same old internet? Using SDR (software-defined radio), digital modes and local private user networking, ham radio (also known as amateur radio) has evolved far into the future. Being able to talk to both cell phones and radio users around the world, and in real time, is as simple as getting a license and downloading an app.Come explore the B.A.R.C. Burner Amateur Radio Community. We are a BWB-based group that wants to provide education on how to use amateur radio communications. From daily general use, to emergency communications when all else has failed, amateur “ham” radio is often misunderstood as a mode of communication. It is quite easy to get licensed, and there are some unlicensed options. The equipment is inexpensive to get started, but can range up to whatever you can afford. We are radically inclusive and open to everyone. We want to have a distributed group of individuals who can talk and have fun in “normal” times as well as groups who are prepared to respond in times of need. |
 [Worldwide] Opportunity: Participate in the Thrival Guide with Green Theme Camps The Thrival Guide is a dynamic, interactive, open-source directory of solution-based ideas and green infrastructure projects. The Guide is meant to inspire and educate as we work towards a more sustainable event and a more conscientious global community. The six main focus areas are: Power: Migrating towards more efficient power usage and renewable energy generation. Waste: Reducing, Reusing, recycling, pre-cycling, upcycling, and composting.Food: Purchasing, serving, and promoting sustainable food and food systems. Water: Closed-loop water management systems, for efficient water usage and disposal. Shelter: Efficient structure designs that require fewer resources to transport, store, build, heat, and cool. Transportation and Emissions: Reducing and offsetting emissions due to travel,to and from the event. |
 [Mexico, Remote] Opportunity: Placemaking/Design for Shelters Building on our partnership with Alight in Nogales, we’re bringing Pedacito de la Tierra (A Little Piece of Home) to shelters in Tijuana this Spring. This is a project devoted to creating sustainable spaces of hope and refuge for people on a journey of migration. We’re seeking space designers or other handy people to join our team and help bring spaces to life, either in-person in Tijuana or virtually. We’d love to find skilled or interested folks in placemaking and interior design, who are resourceful, can work fast, and have deep empathy for others. If this sounds like you, we’d love to chat. Please send all inquiries to: Jessica Phinney www.wearealight.org |
 [USA] Opportunity: Volunteer for COVID-19 Vaccination Sites Vaxvolunteers.org is the only centralized hub for volunteer opportunities at vaccine distribution sites in all 50 states. This grassroots project is operated by individuals determined to connect medical and non-medical volunteers with vaccination sites that need greeters, data entry, traffic control, and vaccinators. Prior to vaxvolunteers, finding opportunities was frustrating for those who wanted to help. In our short existence, we have provided a significantly streamlined way to connect people who want to help with sites in need. Vax Volunteers is a 100% grassroots effort with volunteers helping behind the scenes to update the website daily. Want to help? Visit vaxvolunteers.org to find opportunities in your area. For more information, contact Sharon Leslie at sharon@vaxvolunteers.org. |
BWB Press & Media Video: A Love Letter to Small Events Last month Burning Man Project hosted Event Activation: A Love Letter to Small Events. You can view the video on the Global Activation Series playlist. We celebrated the important, ongoing role small events play in community building and were joined by Athena Demos, Allisu Gerlach, Hampus Lindbald & Benson Ho. |
What We’re Listening To BWB-BRC 2018 Playlist As the cold weather finally starts to break in the northern hemisphere, we’re missing our decentralized BWB family more than ever. Take a listen to the BWB mix that a campmate created from 2018 Build Week. |
| Consider Making a Donation to BWB |
 |
| BWB is funded through BRC ticket sales and donations. Following a year without ticket sales, we are more reliant than ever on the generosity of those who have the means to share.BWB exists because of YOU. Your generous support and participation over the years enables this creative community to accomplish so much around the world. BWB is known for helping people solve real problems by daring to experiment and iterate in challenging environments. The unique gifts this community brings to the international stage are transforming what people think is possible. Thank you for all the contributions you bring, money is just one way to support BWB.To continue doing the work, we do need your help. To donate to the continued success of BWB, click here. Any amount that you can give will help us each our goals, and lets us know our work has impact. Thank you! – The BWB Team |
Comments...