Linking Learners @ ProSkills

Higher education and learning opportunities have been on the minds of many groups such as the Centre for International Research on Human Unity (CIRHU), Auroville Campus Initiative (ACI), Auroville Consulting, and YouthLink, all of which have focused on linking learners with a myriad of existing resources within the community. CIRHU has been hosting the “Every Aurovilian is an Educator” talk series, ACI has been hosting “Joy of Learning” programmes and is on the verge of launching a portal website that will inform the wider community about learning activities in Auroville, and Youth Link is setting out to create a dedicated, youth-driven space which would host a variety of youth-focused initiatives, including ‘ProSkills’, which it actively supports, organises and hosts. ‘ProSkills,’ a skills-based, participatory programme for Auroville teenagers and young adults that grew out of initial efforts to develop internships and apprenticeships, was presented to the community on the 28th of October at the Visitors Center, with much support from Peter and Nicole. The kitchen was handed over to the young cooking apprenticeship team for the night, a training exercise to develop their professional know-how, from menu-design to plating dishes, and the whole event was conceived and organised as part of the pilot curriculum’s ‘Communications’ module. It became clear from the onset to the hundreds of Aurovilians in attendance that the event was much more than just an opportunity to introduce a new initiative – it was for everyone to experience it.

Having enjoyed a delicious Green Thai Curry meal prepared by the cooking apprentices, people settled into their seats and waited for the show to begin. Instead, within the first few minutes, the audience was asked to reflect on how they could contribute to the programme. The Proskills team recognise that there is a wide range of expertise and opportunity within Auroville, and seek to highlight its accessibility to youth. Jesse, one of the people driving the project says it wants to “materialise a linking platform and agency that connects people offering skills with people looking to learn skills.” The presentation was followed by the showcasing of various categories of activity that offered learning opportunities. There was a live performance of Anadi skillfully zip-lining down a recently built tree house, demonstrating the work of TreeCare and Tree House Community; an energetic Capoeira dance by Sam and his crew; a graceful and enticing show by Kalou and the students of Eluciole Circus; a presentation by Om of Sunlit Future, and by beautiful singing by Manisa.

The ProSkills team has compiled a list of opportunities that units and activities in Auroville are offering, building onto earlier efforts by Vikram who had worked on making such placements available to Future School and Last School students. This includes apprenticeships, service activities, exchange programmes, internships, skills-training, and short courses. The learning experiences currently offered fall in the categories of food, green technology, performance art, sustainable design, organisation, green work, and visual art, web and media.

ProSkills seeks to complement the various opportunities already available in Auroville with core skills sessions where youth learn basic professional skills such as communications, budgeting, public speaking, project writing, and design tools such as video editing and poster design, applicable across fields. The pilot ‘Communications’ module held over the last couple of months was the first of these, and out of it the whole event at Visitors Centre was conceived and organized. Professionally and entertainingly hosted by Jesse, who led the communications module, Vijayan, who has helped organize the core programme, and Chandana, one of its enthusiastic participants, the presentation was also broadcast live on the Youth Link website, giving the dedicated tech-team a chance to tune up their skills. A similar opportunity was offered to the cooking apprentices. “The event was a great experience which taught us how to not only cook some delicious Thai food, but also get hands-on knowledge of what it means to run a restaurant for one night,” says Pavitra, one of the apprentices. “The event was a delight to experience... to observe how youth come together to work on areas that interest them, and how so many older Aurovilians raise their hands to offer new programmes and help. We do face challenges of limited amount of space, and the growing need to integrate more youth from the bioregion, but we are confident that solutions will emerge as the community is now engaged on various levels,” says Kavitha.