Are you passionate about Burning Man culture and connecting with your local community? Becoming a Regional Contact (RC) is an exciting opportunity to help nurture Burning Man culture year-round and make a meaningful impact in your region. This role is all about dedication, enthusiasm, and collaboration!
Why Become a Regional Contact?
- Make a Difference: Your efforts help build creative, connected, inclusive communities embodying the Burning Man spirit and ethos year-round.
- Grow Personally and Professionally: The role offers opportunities to develop leadership skills, connect with like-minded individuals, and build meaningful relationships with fellow Burners.
- Be Part of Something Bigger: Join a worldwide network of passionate volunteers contributing to a global movement.
Skills and Qualities to Help You Succeed
While the day-to-day activities of the RC role can vary depending on your community’s unique needs, there are core skills and qualities that can help you succeed.
- Strong Communication Skills: Be comfortable with both written and spoken communication. Engage with your community on various platforms, including online spaces. Clear and effective interactions help build lasting connections.
- Leadership and Teamwork: Experience managing teams or projects is a plus. Embrace working with others, whether leading or supporting. Your ability to collaborate is key to success.
- Passion for Collaboration: This role is about bringing people together. Work well with local and cross-regional team members. As you engage with diverse community members, flexibility and openness to new ideas are essential.
- Problem-Solving Skills: Challenges may arise, and a calm, impartial approach will help you address issues effectively. Mediate and facilitate discussions, both in person and online.
- Community Engagement: Inspire and motivate your community. Help them connect with Burning Man’s values and participate in meaningful projects. While you don’t need to attend every local event, staying engaged is crucial.
- Open-Mindedness: Be ready to consider new ideas and perspectives. Embrace radical inclusion by welcoming diverse viewpoints and working collaboratively.
- Articulate and Inspiring: Share Burning Man’s culture and values with enthusiasm. Help your community understand and apply the Ten Principles in their lives.
The Regional Contact Selection Process
The journey to becoming a Regional Contact is a collaborative one. Here’s how it works:
- Assessment of Needs: The Regional Network team evaluates where RCs are needed across the network. Searches for new RCs typically happen between October and April. We appreciate your patience during our busy event production period.
- Open Call-Out: An invitation for interested individuals is shared via regional announcement email lists and social media groups.
- Community Feedback: After applications close, we gather confidential feedback from the community about each candidate through a survey.
- Interviews: An interview team of active local Burner community members reviews applications and anonymous community feedback, conducts interviews, and provides a recommendation report to the Regional Selection Committee. Please note that the team schedules interviews with candidates who advance in the process – sometimes this includes every candidate. Scheduling and completing interviews can take time.
- Final Decision: The Regional Selection Committee, including Regional Network team members, reviews the recommendation and makes the final decision. All candidates are informed of the outcome.
- Onboarding: Selected candidates will sign the Volunteer Regional Contact Agreement, complete an online orientation, and a formal announcement will be made to the community. In some cases, new RCs may be paired with a mentor to help integrate into the Regional Network and support local community development.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re excited about the Regional Contact role and ready to make an impact, we’d love to hear from you! Here’s how to get started:
- Familiarize Yourself: Read the Ten Principles, Regional Leadership Criteria, and review the Volunteer Regional Contact Agreement for detailed information about the opportunities and responsibilities of an RC.
- Express Your Interest: If you feel the role is a good fit, email us at regional-network@burningman.org. We’ll send you additional information and guide you through the next steps.
We encourage you to apply and bring your own special qualities to enhance your region while growing your community leadership skills.
For any questions about the Regional Network, please reach out to us at regional-network@burningman.org.