scott.kay

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Queerburners had a Town Hall

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How to find the Town Hall recording:

Topic: Queerburners Town Hall
Start Time : Jan 17, 2021 10:57 AM

Meeting Recording:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/q42qtiSg6CM9g0nGBFYUf3KorFbeNaczAWrWg0lMYLh_yozqOWvMhOshXT2OXPOK.3R_UEpX3dAMf401I

Feeling very grateful for the level of participation from this community. Since I started this thing so many years ago there have been a lot of people who have come and gone that took on some of the weight and added to the drive to find our successes. Today was not different and without a filter, the link above is to the whole meeting.

Thank you again to the current members of leadership for Queerburners:

  • Toaster founder of Queerburners – Chair
  • Wink from Tickled Mink – Communications
  • Matt from Land of Monkey – Clerk
  • Starduster from Comfort & Joy / Black Rock City Rangers – Events
  • Sara from Land of Monkey
  • Brace from Burners Without Borders – Treasurer (temporary)
  • Nexus from Comfort & Joy – EID
  • Joel from Gay Turtles – Technology

EMail sent to AOU 2018 Attendees

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The following email was sent out to AOU attendees from 2018 about the future of Queer Burners.

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If you are receiving this it is because you were an attendee of ALL OF US 2018. We want to reach out to the community about a new focus and new future for this platform that is made with all of you in mind. You can participate as well… and I am genuinely reaching out to people (but read the following first)

Queer Burners has been around since 2008 and was created as a grounding for LGBTQ+ burners to be able to connect without boundaries. Sometimes camps and regions can seperate us, but this platform was always meant to cross borders, limits and hopefully spawn collaboration.

The mission is/has been: Building Community and Leadership Together.

We even have an updated logo for 2020 you can see at www.queerburners.com!

Queer Burners is working on a 501.c3 status with a board and a new strategy. It is absolutely neccessary to put our events and activities on solid ground. This way nothing is dependant on a single person and community is 100% in focus. 

With this 501.c3 status we can:

  • harness a better leadership structure for all matters ahead
  • set standards and operate within a space of people commited to our culture

There is a huge perk with this change! I am excited to be able to sponsor artists and performers and offer them the perks of our status. We will have a chance to network with other groups for the promotion of creativity in 10 principle based events and more.

Sounds good so far? EVERYONE receiving this is … yes EVERYONE is welcome on this journey. Our goal is to have diversity on the board and we are struggling with that. We are also looking to you for some insight into helping foster that future. 

To signal your desire to participate pleae complete this: https://forms.gle/izbER4vMq77SpEiGA

To join in on the Queer Burner Leadership Network: https://www.facebook.com/groups/queerburnersleadershipnetwork

On Twitter:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/queer.burners

All Queer Burners Links: https://blog.queerburners.org/go-to-burning-man#regional that include regional groups on and off Facebook, because not everyone depends on it. However, most of the links are on Facebook still. 

THANK YOU for taking the time to look this over. Feel free to submit feedback we for anything I might have missed in this message and reply to info@queerburners.com. 

The Comms Team meet on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.

The Events and Entity Team meet on tbhe 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Sincerely,

Scott aka Toaster
Queer Burners
toaster@queerburners.com

Ignore all this outdated stuff below  – – – – – – – – – – – – – 

The future as a 501.c3 Organization

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Queer Burners has been around since 2008 and has hosted Community and Leadership events over the years. It has also produced patches, created a network for LGBTQAI Burning Man participants to engage each other, and is always evolving.
At the same time the web page and service have often been static, has largely depended on a single person, and struggled to be financially solvent and stable to meet lofty goals. The good news that this is changing right now.

2 Teams have been meeting bi-weekly since May to prepare for a brighter future. It has been very exciting and inspiring so far. We are actively looking for stakeholders in leaders of today and tomorrow who want to be part of something brighter.

  • Events Team – Planning for ALL OF US 2021 and other new events over time.
  • Comms Team – Updating and evolving the web site, social media and communications.

We are also working towards becoming a 501.c3 which opens the door for us to do new and amazing things that is also so very exciting. By doing that we will need more people at the core to bring their talents to the table so we can establish a Board. Those roles have not been specifically defined yet so the field is open. However, there are a couple skill sets we are seeking right now (see below).

  • Lawyer and / or Law Student to be a Board Member in the role of Clerk & Clerk Assistant
  • CPA/Accountant to be a Board Member in the role of Treasurer
  • Writer/Editor to possibly be a member of the Board who will be the funnel for all external communications, press release, and promotions as Comms Manager.

Every interest is appreciated! If you want to go deep or to be a helper at an event we are embracing it all. If so please complete this form or share it with friends who you think might be a good fit: https://forms.gle/uFW62AE4yZJeKmos8 . Some of you might have filled this out already.

More news! With our 501.c3 status we will actively be looking to support artists with sponsorship for their work! For me personally this is one of the most exciting rewards for moving in this direction. It opens doors for art and performance in our community.

Is there compensation for joining the Board? Right now we are not in a position to offer remuneration for these roles. This is a community driven project still and we will be raising money for the costs to establish our legal status and start. No one has ever benefited financially with their involvement, but Queer Burners has paid some people for their services and work on a contract basis. 

Thank you for your time and attention! This is a call to action.

Queer Burners Mission Statement: “Building Community and Leadership together”

Ways leadership in this community is evolving.

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With this shift in the Burnerverse and the community facing COVID-19 we have taken this as an opportunity for positive change. So we are dumping some things with Queer Burners that have not worked so well, improving some things that did, and then bringing on a few nice additions that are designed for the betterment of the community.

So far there are two teams working on the process and given the plan there is room for more. Queer Burners was initially created in 2008 to network queer participants and camps to promote community and leadership. This service has had some pretty big successes and offers a platform to keep building better and stronger.

You can be a part of it as well. There are opportunities on the horizon while we are working on other things. In short, the goal is to make Queer Burners an entity led by a board of which if anyone on that board leaves the team it can survive and thrive. Also, that we provide better resources for the community through social media and the web site. And, plan events and activities that we can build on like “ALL OF US”.

Current Teams

  1. Comms Team: We are currently filtering and highlighting some of the social media and content that could be more helpful. The Queer Burners Page on Facebook was eliminated to make the Queer Burners Group the main focal point of the community reducing some confusion.
  2. Events Team: We are working on an event post COVID-19 just to get people together if all works out, but additionally we are working on a new ALL OF US for 2021.

Our meetings begin with an agenda and notes are taken. Anyone wishing to join can get caught up very easily. The meetings on Zoom are also recorded so with approved access you can get caught up that way as well. Some new teams will take shape and new positions for volunteers will also slowly take shape.

Moving Forward

Your participation can be as deep as you have the ability to contribute. Some roles will require more time than others. The basic fact is that without a group of people working in consensus there is no future for Queer Burners or any related project. Queer Burners operates independently from a single camp so we have a chorus of voices working to a central agenda of Community and Leadership.

Building Community (1 of the 10 Principles) is the very core of what this project was designed to be about.

And secondly was building Leadership, which involved helping to raise those in the community who have the metal to lead to be successful. Someone once asked “who appointed you as leader?” and to them I say leaders are rarely appointed, they are raised. They volunteer and are not waiting for permission and can see something through even in the face of neigh-sayers who tell them it cannot be done.

Follow this link to a form to tell us about your interests: (link) https://forms.gle/YD7DTLDbi2Bmv3We9 Application Form

One of the top agenda items this year is to form a board because we are looking at an LLC. Board members should be able to take on specific roles with the projects at hand and in the future. Be able to be present for consensus voting and help guide the group into a direction with the 10 Principles as our guiding tenets.

Queer Burner Leadership Network (QBLN)

Leadership starts with an internal drive. It means someone sees a need and acts on it rather than just hoping someone else is willing to take it on. You do not need anyone’s permission. As long as you are acting on the best interest of the community, you are a leader. We have a network that has been around a few years on Facebook along with some notes on this site. < < check out these links

  • Leadership is more consensus based than ever and is working on creating a platform to solidify that by creating a Board and entity.
  • Giving the community a stronger voice by banding together.
  • Making sure personal safety and consent are always present all the time in our activities and events for all participants.

The Future of Queer Burners

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Happy New Year Queerdos. Welcome to 2020, the roaring twenties part deaux! I am reaching out to everyone asking about the future of Queer Burners, it’s children pages and Facebook groups, and the Queerborhood. What does the community want from leadership? What do you want from Burning Man?

Back in 2016 a group of LGBTQ leadership went to BMHQ to be heard about why Queer camps are collecting in the 7:30 sector. It was based on concerns that Placement had received about so many applications for that sector. We did surveys and collected a lot of 411 and were able to show BM Placement that personal individual and group safety was the key. (see this entry from 2016)

Since then the role of Placement Manager has turned over 2 more times, life in other sectors has started to glow spectacularly, and smaller Queerborhoods have taken shape either on their own or with Placements help. The new head of Placement is Level Placer, Trippi Longstalking was before him, and AnswerGirl was the one whom we met with along with a couple placers in 2016.

Do we feel safe still? My perception is “yes”, because I think I am hearing this from our community. It is not a question for a CIS gendered white male to answer. QPOC (Queer People of Color) and our Transgendered are the most at risk. Female and GNC (Gender Non-Conforming) have been targeted by hostility and assault as well. These things happen on playa and in areas of our community we need to be safe places.

Strength training has many additional benefits other than building your muscles. Many individuals think that strength training is just for men. It is not true at all. Women can also gain immense benefits from strength training.

Meeting with Placement 2020

I do not believe we have anything to worry about in regards to major changes to Placement and Queer Camps. The biggest new thing really happened in 2019 when BAAAHS bravely volunteered as an anchor camp on 4:30 and D a shown on the 2019 map. In speaking to Level from Placement he wants to check in with camp leaders and catch up from 2016.

This will likely happen about March-TBD, because the teams at BMHQ are actively focused on the Cultural Direction Setting which has gone from Phase 0 (proposal to BM Leadership) to Phase 1 (setting the ground work and surveys) to now on Phase 2 where up to 11 teams are working on how to implement changes to benefit how Placement sets up theme camps on playa. I am on this team on Team 8 – Communications Team. And announcements will be coming out in January.

For the leadership that was at the 2016 meeting with Placement many are listed on this site as voices in this community here (link). This definitely needs to be updated because there have been more people engaged since.

Who are some of the new voices who will bring fresh ideas and breath to this discussion?

In January I will put out a survey asking who wants to be present for the meeting. Of course, the people who were present at the last meeting should be invited to the table. I will follow up with Level about getting something on the calendar so people in other parts can plan on being present if needed.

Suggest Reading

Of course everyone should be ready for the big event in May where the leadership and participants will have a chance to start working on Cultural Direction Setting as we steam head first into the upcoming Burn – Multiverse!

Stay tuned and maybe consider these questions below. Feel free to comment and add questions… or get involved.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year

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Here we are going into a new calendar year! In the year 2020 some of say it is a year of new focus and direction for those who can see. The things we are working toward are coming into focus. And for those of us who have counted on our community to grow stronger it does with all of us participating. Thank you all for being so amazing!

It feels like an important time of growth along with very positive changes to the ways theme camps will lead us in Cultural Direction Setting in 2020. Community leaders have been meeting over the last year working on an objective to put our participants back on course for the best possible us.

Read about Cultural Direction Setting (CDS) on the Burner blog (link)

Where does that leave the Queerborhood? CDS is a very positive spin on setting the vision for the future of Burning Man? Rest assured these changes are set for the community at large with a lot of focus on acculturation and making neighborhoods at Burning Man stronger. The impact on the Queerborhood seems minimal. Details coming out through official channels soon.

However, I am asking LGBTQAI+ leaders to spend some time thinking about the changes we have experienced specially since 2016 and where we see the future. Because, Burning Man Placement is asking to meet with us once more in 2020 to touch base. It will be late in the first quarter or perhaps in the beginning of the beginning of the 2nd.

Who wants to be a part of that conversation? If that is you please make sure you are part of the QBLN Queer Burner Leadership Network on Facebook or seeing links on the web site.

– QBLN: Queer Burner Leadership Network on Facebook

– QBLN: On QueerBurners.Com

Thank you, Toaster

Note: I have been blessed to be part of the Phase 2 CDS team along with a lot of other theme camp leaders from all across our community. I led a theme camp for 7 years and resigned from it in 2019 after the burn to start new projects. My role in Queer Burners has been a facilitator to network and organize queer camps and as an advocate for the Queerborhood(s). And help do great and wonderful things for all those who like fun things.