Blazing Swan is not just an Event.  We are also a community with a commitment to Principles

 

Blazing Swan started with Burning Man’s 10 Principles.  Taken one by one these Principles are not absolute rules, and none of the 10 work in isolation from the others. We encourage you to think about how you can combine them,  and how you can integrate them into your lives –  your work, expression, sense of play, your relationships and your sense of yourself.

Blazing Swan has created an 11th Principle, Consent. Consent is different from the other 10 Principles. The Consent Principle stands alone.  It can not be modified or diminished by the operation of any of the other 10 Principles.  At our Events, Consent is not only a Principle, it is also a rule and an absolute requirement.

Consent

Our 11th principle!

Respect the autonomy of the individual: every person has the right to make decisions about their own body, property, and personal space. What you see as a gift might be a curse if it is unwelcome (or unwanted), so when giving a gift, entering someone’s personal space, taking a photo or video, or using someone’s property, ask permission first. Only proceed if there is consent between all parties.

Do not ever assume that you have consent based upon what a person is wearing or how they are acting. Consent must be mutual, definite, and given consciously, and persons are free to change their mind at any time. Remember that consent for one act does not imply consent for all acts, and consent given once does not mean that you have consent every time. No always means no.

Read more about Consent.

Radical Inclusion

Anyone may be a part of Blazing Swan. We welcome and respect the stranger. No pre-requisites exist for participation in our community. Every person in our community is a valued member.

Gifting

Blazing Swan is devoted to acts of gifting: giving freely, without expectations of return or exchange. The value of a gift is unconditional. A gift is anything given in this spirit, whether it is a physical item, a service or performance, or something less tangible, such as friendship or companionship. Everyone has gifts to give.

Decommodification Symbol

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.

Radical Self-reliance

Blazing Swan encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.

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.

Communal Effort

Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. Volunteers are the life force of our community. We strive to produce, promote, and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

Civic Responsibility

We value civil society. Community members who organise events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavour 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.

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 and create connection.

Immediacy

Be Here Now. 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. Be aware of yourself, of others, of your surroundings and your place in our community and the world. No idea can substitute for this experience.

“The Ten Symbols” created by Wick, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and is not associated with nor endored by the Burning Man Project. “The Ten Principles of Burning Man” created by Larry Harvey, is a registered copyright of Burning Man Project. “Burning Man” is a registered trademark of Decommodification LLC.