SAIIER 2018:Auroville Campus Initiative

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Auroville Campus Initiative SAIIER's Department of Further Learning

Entity::Auroville Campus Initiative (ACI) was created in 2014 as an answer to the need for a common platform to share knowledge. In 2016, ACI became SAIIER’s Department of Further Learning with the following mission statement:

1. Develop higher education programmes in Auroville expressing the ideals of Auroville.
2. Research and develop transformational learning methods in the context of everyday life activities of Auroville.
3. Network with various units and services of Auroville to make them part of higher education as Learning Labs.
4. Facilitate the emergence of Auroville as an international campus for Integral Education.
5. Network with outside universities and educational institutions for the emergence of a learning society.

Swadharma programme:

The Swadharma 5-week self-discovery programme for youth between 18 and 28, launched in 2016, is still ongoing. We offer the programme twice a year, in January/February and in August/September.

So far over 60 youths from India and abroad have participated and all experienced a very positive transformative journey. We encourage participants to stay in Auroville for some time after the programme and engage in the community life. Most of them take on some internships and two have started their Newcomer process.

Siddharth, who was part of the first Swadharma group, joined our team in March 2017 and recently became a Newcomer. He is an active member in developing the programme and creating an alumni community. He also documented the third Swadharma programme and created a video with the participants and mentors’ interviews (available on YouTube).

Auroville Gap Year Programme:

We are now launching Auroville Gap Year Programme (AGYP) for Auroville youth. There is a great amount and variety of knowledge and talents in Auroville. Nevertheless, most youth between 18 and 28 leave Auroville to pursue higher education outside, work to earn some money and travel. On the other hand, there is a great interest and demand outside of Auroville from youth and others to learn and share our experience.

We would like to offer the youth other alternatives. AGYP will start in September 2018 for one year and will include a period of self-exploration to know better who they are and how they see themselves contributing to society. We will visit many Auroville units and services to explore our community and get inspired by individuals’ life journeys. Then the participants will get into action by taking up some projects of their choice. By the second semester, they should be ready to engage in a 6-month apprenticeship corresponding to their field of interest to get professional experience and real life exposure.

Throughout the programme, we will have regular sharing and mentorship, we shall follow each participant individually, enabling self-reflection and channeling meaningful communication between the youth and the unit/service of apprenticeship.

Outcomes:

It is heartwarming and inspiring to see the Swadharma tribe grow and thrive.

The feedback from the participants as well as from the resource people and the community at large have been very positive. New applicants heard about the programme from previous participants and the community is growing steadily.

Many alumni have engaged in meaningful activities in and outside Auroville and are actively promoting a change in behaviour and consciousness. They are also bonding with Aurovilian youth and others, as well as inspiring and guiding young volunteers.

Reflections:

Through Swadharma programme, the participants become aware of their inner abilities, their strengths and potential and change their lifestyle. They become more responsible global citizens and engage themselves as agents of change. We believe they are playing an important role in spreading awareness and shaping the future.

One of the major difficulties has been to welcome youth from less privileged families who can’t afford the full financial contribution to the programme. Valentine, an Auroville youth who joined our team recently, is in the process of developing a fundraising platform to create a scholarship fund.

Another difficulty is the visa issue, as foreign participants have to come with an Entry visa specifically to attend the programme and are not supposed to explore the rest of the country during their stay. The procedure to get the visa is a bit of a burden and since its validity starts from the date of issue, it impedes advanced planning and commitment.

We are very grateful to be able to use Mitra hostel facilities. However, the increase of tariffs due to GST and other factors and the fact that they can’t provide breakfast or dinner any longer is creating a challenge and affects the atmosphere of a youth community.

Conclusion:

We are grateful to Mohit and Siddharth, both Swadharma alumni, for the movies they made which reflect the insights and transformation gained by participants.

Beside running the Swadharma programme, we are happy to now focus on Auroville youth and offer them a programme that will be tailored according to their own needs while developing a collaboration with Auroville units and services. In the future, we are envisioning to open the programme to a wider audience according to demand and needs.

Other activities planned for this year are:

• a platform for sharing experiences in Integral Education as part as a larger confluence,
• a Swadharma-type programme for older people as we are getting many requests.

We are hoping that an income be generated by these activities, which we would use for running other programmes and building a scholarship fund.