Edd and I went to San Francisco, home of Burning Man HQ, to attend this year’s Global Leadership Conference. The conference is dedicated to bringing together the movers and shakers of the Burnerverse to discuss best practices, new developments, and furthering collaboration in the many varied regions.
There are a lot of people who are genuinely surprised that there is so much effort put into the logistics around running Burning Man. Yes, many of us are hippies partying in the desert. However, even more of us create art and work together to create something beyond the individual. The Global Leadership Conference brings in local experts and know-it-alls to discuss topics such as Cross-Regional Collaboration, Risk and Liability Mitigation, and Organizational Structures. Yes, you read that right, risk mitigation for burners. Sure, we like to light things on fire and create crazy interactive art. We also like to ensure that all of those things don’t blow anyone up.
My biggest takeaway from this conference was interacting with the most interesting cross-section of collaborative, creative people I will ever have the pleasure of meeting. Each person, representing a different region in the world, has a different take on how things could be executed to create an amazing community.
During the conference it occurred to me that KindleArts is doing it right. When it has taken some regions years to develop a culture of participation and collaboration Victoria has fostered and embraced these values from the very beginning. There was some valuable knowledge and tips that I took away from this conference and am excited to implement in the Kindle Arts Society.
Attached is my post-conference presentation to the KindleArts Board of Directors.