We are excited to announce that we are accepting submissions for the 2026 Speaker Series under the Center Camp Canopy.
Each year we choose a theme, separate form the event theme. Which we hope inspires you to look (perhapes in a new way) at the content you were thinking about submittig to share at Burning Man this year
The theme for the 2026 speaker series is:
ATTENDing: The Present of Validation; in creating commUNITY
Inspired in part by the Hegalian Dialectical Framework and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Exploring how genuine presence and radical validation build the connective tissue of community, one encounter at a time.
The Series:
At the hearet of Black Rock City, the Center Camp Canopy Speaker Series invites speakers and audience alike to explore one practice: how to accept another's point of view, their version of reality as valid; within their context, under their circumstance, without judgement. To meet them whre they are. To have the feel seen, feel understood, feel that they matter.
Inspired by the Hegelian Dialectical Framework and the skill set of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, this series offers a practice of building commUNITY through genuine presence.
Three Entry Points:
Personal Practice: How do you live ATTENing, Validation and CommUNITY as a daily practice?
Research: What does your scientific work on human connections, community, or presence tell us?
Off Theme: Anything grounded in Burning Man Principles and Consent - including the 2026 Axis Mundi theme.
Talks generally range in length from 15-45 minutes inclusive of Q&A.
There is a moderated Q&A that follows every talk ranging in time from 5-25 minutes depending on the submission, the time slot, and the audience engagement level. This is where the moderator and the audience can question and engage with the presenter on their assumptions and thesis.
All submissions and topics are welcome, as long as general Burning Man ethos and values are upheld; i.e.: no promotions of products, corporations, political candidates, or rigid partisanship.
We are looking for speakers and talks, not workshops.
We are looking for fully structured talks that reveal and explore the nature of the topic submitted. Research, whether academic or experiential, is welcomed and appreciated.
We are a family friendly venue until dark, and we have no speaker slots after dark this year, though that doesn't mean that we will not accept talks on 'racy' or more 'adult' subjects... it's just something to consider in the framing of your submission and talk
Speaker Series submissions are open for 2026! If you have secured an event ticket and would like to schedule a time to speak, click here to complete the Google Form.
For inspiration, some of the fantastic talks we’ve had in the past include:
Shifting Education through Art and Higher Consciousness
Mean Gods Suck: Connecting To The Benevolent Universe
Trust Nothing: A perspective from the Front-lines of print Journalism
Burning Man Framed By Buddhism and The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Upgrading the Power Grid: The Hidden Problems of Renewable Energy
Gonzo Communications: The Art of Controlling Your Environment
ESD undercover: Triaging and treating the burn
Rise of the Robots
Cannabis Laws In the Age Of Trump and Beyond
Consent Dojo: Lessons from the grey area
The Maker Revolution: A Vision of Sustainable Decommodified Global Community
Question everything You Know About Strangers
How disruption happens: The interplay of physical and social technology
Is Burning Man Gentrifying: A conversation with the Burning Man Census
“What Freddy Krueger teaches us about identity development”
Police and Life In America: How do I act when interacting with police
Humanity's Vision Quest: Self-Realization Through Ritual,Ceremony, & the Human Body
Medical Records and big Pharma: Big Data and what it means for your health and privacy
A Brief Quirky History (and The Fabulous Future!) of Burning Man
Tuning brains to transcend: neuroscience and self-upgrade
Gate- Why we aren't jerks but still won't hug you
Wild Predators, Territory, and the Concept of Home
Gut Ecology, Soil Ecology and the Gut-Brain Connection
Hacking Language Learning
These Are The Good Old Days: Post-Singularity Historical Perspective from a Citizen of the Future
and sooo many more. To see the folks who shared their brains and experiences as part of the 2026 Center Camp Cafe Speakers Series, click here. For the 2026 Center Camp Speaker Series lineup, click here.