Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the Ten Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception.
– The Burning Man Project
The AZ Burners community strives to uphold the ethos of Burning Man and The 10 Principles, and we have added our 11th Principle: Consent. We expect community members to uphold these principles when attending our events and in the default world.
The 10 Principles of Burning Man
Radical Inclusion
Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.
AZ Burners pro tip: Refrain from creating cliques. We all have close Burner friends we enjoy being with. Including others can make lifelong friends. Remember, at one point we were all Newbies.
Gifting
Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
AZ Burners pro tip: Offering items and services for sale at regional events is prohibited. Vending and commercial activity is not allowed. Your money is no good here.
Radical Self-reliance
Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.
AZ Burners pro tip: Bring everything you need to survive in a harsh desert environment. There will be no water, no food vendors, and no merch. The only amenity provided will be portapotties.
Radical Self-expression
Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
AZ Burners pro tip: Acceptance of other cultures and lifestyles is required. We celebrate the differences between us but in the end we are all Burners. Individuality and radical self expression is part of the culture of Burning Man.
Communal Effort
Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
AZ Burners pro tip: VOLUNTEER!
Civic Responsibility
We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
Leaving No Trace
Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
AZ Burners pro tip: Pack it in pack it out and clean up after yourself. Leave nothing behind. Trashing someone’s land during a gathering or tossing trash, cups, bottles and cigarette butts on the ground or floor is a big No.
Participation
Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
AZ Burners pro tip: No spectators, Participate…Don’t Spectate. Create and share.
Immediacy
Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.
The 11th Principle
Consent
Boundaries are defined by each individual person and interaction. It is everyone’s responsibility to seek and communicate definitive consent. One must not assume consent by perceived group behavior or past experience. Consent applies to one’s experience, body and property.
Click here to Learn about consent