Attention Official Regional Event Organizers, Event Leads & RCs who Endorsed Regional Events!
Burning Man Project seeks to support the Regional Network by encouraging peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing around the world. One of the ways we aim to support peer-to-peer hands-on learning is through the “Event Lead Mentorship Program” in Black Rock City, which is open to event leads for official Regional Events in good standing.
The Black Rock City Event Lead Mentorship Program typically begins accepting applications for the current year in the month of March. The 2023 program application period closed on April 24, 2023.
About the Program
The program unofficially began in 2015 when we launched a test run of an on-playa formal program. Four event leads visited BRC and shadowed leads from DPW, Rangers and Gate. In 2016 we had 15 matches, then in 2017, 2018 and 2019 we grew the program to 34 matches. In 2022, to better focus our efforts on bringing back BRC and minimizing stress on our leads, we limited the program to 15 official event team leads. In 2023, we hope to host approximately 25 participants who will have the opportunity to shadow Burning Man event staff in BRC and attend additional orientations as they find helpful. We hope to deepen the co-learning experiences for everyone before and during our event this year.
Those who are not accepted into the formal program may still find valuable learning opportunities volunteering with departments that have not already filled their positions. Our team will be happy to explore such opportunities on their behalf.
Program Goals
The purpose of this program is to support sanctioned official Regional Events by building the professional capacity of their team leads and fostering stronger relationships between BRC leads and Regional Event leads around the world. We do this by connecting key team leads with similar positions in BRC. For example, a Regional Event Placement Lead will be matched with a BRC Placement Lead and shadow them during some of the key parts of their pre-event work.
How to Participate
To participate in this program applicants must
- Be a current event/team lead (or plan to transition into such a role) for a sanctioned official Burning Man Regional Event.
- Complete the Event Lead Mentorship Application Google Form by the application due date.
- Email a letter of recommendation from another member of your Regional Event team to event-lead-mentorship@burningman.org by the application due date.
Applications and letters will be reviewed and matches will be made in the months following the application due date.
If you have any questions about this program, check out our Regional Event Lead FAQ and feel free to contact us via event-lead-mentorship@burningman.org.