Selection of working group members

At a glance

The happenings at each of the three venues could be viewed at each venue simultaneously. Top: The Bharat Nivas auditorium (left); a participant in the Bhumika hall making a presentation

The selection of new members of four main working groups (the Working Committee, the Auroville Council, the Entry Board and the Funds and Assets Management Committee) took place on January 21st and 22nd in accordance with a selection process that had been approved by the Residents’ Assembly in December 2020.

An unprecedented number of more than 260 people participated in the selection process, which took place in three different locations - the Bharat Nivas Auditorium, the Bhumika Hall and the Unity Pavilion - due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 70 candidates had expressed their willingness to serve in one of these working groups, contesting a total of 26 vacancies.

The event was organized by the Residents’ Assembly Service. Presentations from the working groups and by the candidates were streamed from the Bhumika hall to the other two venues.

Participants could interact with the presenters via Zoom. In each venue, a facilitator organized the questions and answers sessions. Silent Presence Keepers held the atmosphere and supported on a subtle level throughout the selection process.

Although great care was taken by the Residents Assembly Service to organise a fair and transparent selection process, complications occurred when the selection cards for the Working Committee at the Unity Pavilion were collected. It appeared that in one of the three selection booths, 15 of the 18 boxes had been tampered with. The RAS subsequently annulled the selection of the Working Committee at the Unity Pavilion and organized a re-selection on January 25th and 26th by the selectors from the Unity Pavilion.

On January 28th, the results of the selection process were announced. It appeared that only 12 candidates had passed the quorum of being selected by at least 50% of the total number of selectors, as was stipulated in the approved selection process. The Residents’ Assembly will now be asked to approve that the quorum of 50% will be lowered to 30% in order to fill the 14 remaining vacancies in the Auroville Council (5), the Funds and Assets Management Committee (5), and the Working Committee (4). The vacancies for the Entry Board were all filled.

The tampering of the selection boxes will be investigated. A follow-up article about this matter will be published in a future issue of Auroville Today.