Theme Camps as Ambassadors of Culture
Theme Camps are often some of the most resilient communities that exist in the Burning Man Global Network. It makes sense right? Theme Camps are often decentralized, know how to manage, recruit, and acculturate volunteers, often own their own infrastructure, and have strong community identities.
We’ve found that over the years many Theme Camps have decided to get involved in projects beyond orange trash fence of Black Rock City and bring their skills to communities and civic projects around the world.
For those of you who have, or are even thinking about embarking on this journey- we salute you! And we’re here to lend a helping hand when its needed too.
Ways to get involved:
1. Create a Project:
What do you care about? What kind of project would you like to see in your community? Different problems require different solutions. To start, think about the concerns you have for your own community. What sort of creative solutions could be used to create new outcomes? You are invited to take some time and look at some of the projects on our website and get a feel for what others have done. Find ways to bring as much creativity and fun to the project as possible. You can also check our our kick-starting local civic initiatives document to help you start to plan.
Once you have a project let us know by filing out our Project Proposal Form and we can take it to the next step!
2. Get Support
Maybe you’ve already got a project or initiative that’s underway? We’re here to support you too! We have a vast network of volunteers, regional communities, tool-kits, resources and best practices to share. We can help promote your project to the wider Burning Man and BWB Communities and get the word out there too.
Shoot us an email to let us know what you’re up to and how we can support you: bwb@burningman.org
3. Become a BWB Resource Partner
Many theme camps have infrastructure that’s sitting dormant for a majority of the year- and many theme camps are interested in this resource being used to create a better world. Because of the many conversations we’ve had with theme camps over the years- we’ve decided to create a ‘BWB Resource Partner’ asset map. This is a resource available to key BWB Stakeholders listing resources around the globe that might be available for projects while not being used for regularly scheduled Burning Man activities.
Each year we’ll ask our Resource Partners to ‘renew’ their interest so that we can keep our asset map fresh and updated.
We’re interested in kitchens, shade, containers, tools, and anything else you might want to share with the world! Want to add your assets to the list?
Fill out this google form for Theme Camps & Resource Partners.
4. Join the BWB Network
The network works when the right people are involved and paying attention. Just like Black Rock City, BWB is only as powerful as the people who decide to show up and participate in it. So having leaders or members of your theme camp join our larger network to listen for calls of action and opportunities is great way to get involved. Here’s a few simple ways you can plug in:
– BWB Facebook Page
– BWB Volunteers Worldwide Group
– BWB Newsletter (seasonal)
– Join a local BWB Working Group or Chapter.
(email: bwb@burningman.org to get connected!)
