A new Auroville Youth Integration Program has been developed by the YouthLink team for ‘Children of Aurovilians’ between the ages of 16 and 25. The program offers participants an opportunity to delve deeper into their understanding of Auroville, connect with their peers, and discover more about themselves. The aim is to enable Auroville born youths to make informed decisions about becoming full-fledged members of the Auroville community. Similar initiatives have been attempted in the past, most notably the Youth Forward programme, which was discontinued in December 2021 after three sessions.
Before designing the AVYI program, YouthLink looked at the framework of Youth Forward and the Yucca programme and also engaged with the Entry Service and Yucca teams. The Yucca is program for newcomers to Auroville named for the Yucca flower, Mother’s name “Initiation.”
“We envisioned a program that would go beyond mere information, that could create a safe space for connection and sharing, while also providing tools and techniques for introspection and personal growth.”
This mindset led to the inclusion of unconventional activities such as roleplaying as the Entry Board, meeting Aurovilians from different generations and various energising games and exercises.
At the end of May, a first cohort of nine youth participated in what is currently a four-day programme. Day one included an exercise called ‘Spectrum of Feelings’ where participants examine their feelings about joining Auroville and their reactions to questions such as whether they see themselves living in Auroville for the rest of their lives.
The second and third days were spent diving more deeply into aspects of Auroville that children and young adults growing up in here might not have discussed at length. There was an exercise related to mother’s values, a talk by Satyavan Bhatt about The Dream, a discussion about the Auroville Charter with Raman, and a theatre exercise related to Auroville Services. Carel Thieme explained how Auroville is organised, Manas Chakrabarti spoke about the Auroville economy and finance, and Deepti Tewari facilitated a sharing and discussion on how to be a true Aurovilian.
The last day included several more games and exercises which were intended to help participants examine their own and others’ perspectives and biases. During the discussion on opportunities and difficulties of living in Auroville facilitated by Lucrezia, an interesting observation emerged. Many of the difficulties listed by participants were perceived by other participants as opportunities. The programme concluded with an appreciation exercise to reinforce for participants and facilitators alike the sense of caring and community that had been fostered over the four days.
Initial feedback by the participants (see below) and facilitators has been very positive. We hope to incorporate some of the changes suggested, to learn from the experience and to continue to improve the programme design in order to make it a recurring offering.
YouthLink team
Support Youthlink, with this and other activities.
Youthlink is a rapidly growing, dynamic group providing support, activities, self-development programs and career counseling to youth in Auroville and the bioregion.
Visit the Youthlink website to stay up to date with their programs: www.youthlink.org.in
AVYI was an amazing experience. I learnt so much more than I expected. All the organisers and participants were amazing, and I had so much fun.My goal going into this workshop was to get a good enough understanding of Auroville, to be able to explain what it is to anyone I meet in the future. And after the workshop, I finally feel capable of it!
The best part of the program was the people. I knew some of them already, but most were barely acquaintances. By the end, after multiple conversations,tears and laughter, I realised that the organisers and other participants are what made this workshop fun. So thank you to all of you.
As feedback, perhaps an extra day and possibly a visit to some of the working groups to have a discussion with them could make this program more complete.
Overall, my understanding of AV has improved so much. And finally, understanding the place that your parents decided to move to is an amazing feeling and makes me even more happy I grew up here.
Satchi
I was very happy with the AVYI program. Make it at least one week.
It taught me a lot about Auroville, but surprisingly, it also taught me about myself and others. My favourite part of the program was that it felt like we were creating a mini family. This sense of team and family was very much appreciated. After attending the program, I feel a bigger sense of community, and I’m feeling more interconnected.
I would have liked more team building exercises and to have learned/discussed more about our views and Auroville philosophy.
Maybe we could have also done a group trip to the Matrimandir!
Thank you, and I wish to keep seeing this, YouthLink, and more youth oriented program development.
Asia
This program helped me somehow gain so much information. The AVYI program organisers definitely did their best and achieved what they wanted to do. My favourite part of the program was learning about the foundations of Auroville groups from such a friendly team. I just wish the programme had been longer than four days.
The thoughts and questions I had about Auroville have changed after attending the AVYI program. I think that this program should happen often so that all the youth get to know Auroville better. Thank you, YouthLink!
Viknesh
The program was enjoyable, fun and lively. At the same time, I felt there was space to explore in-depth and speak sincerely. There were some things I didn’t feel like expressing, but that was a personal choice.
There was plenty of important information about Auroville. Some of it went by fast, like the system of governance. If I didn’t have prior context, I would have understood less.
I liked playing Tom and Jerry, an energiser much like tag. Satyavan’s analysis of the Dream was fascinating. And my favourite part of the programme was the game in which you roleplay to convince others why a particular Auroville service is necessary.
My least favourite part was the ‘spectrum of feelings’ exercise, but I also feel that it was useful, to understand how I felt about the entry process.
I feel my ideas about Auroville ideals are refreshed. I see that some current community members may not be dedicated to its ideas.
Thank you. I am very grateful.
Yam
About Namu
Namu Jeon is Youthlink’s Administration Coordinator.
Namu handles all of YouthLinks finances as well as makes sure things run smoothly all around!
