The recent selection process

The new selection process started in May with a call for nominations/self-nominations for candidates for the following Working Groups: Auroville Council, Auroville Town Development Council, Entry Board, Funds and Assets Management Committee and Working Committee.

78 Aurovilians came forward as applicants. The wider community was then invited to give feedback on the nominees. By mid June, 838 feedback responses were received. The nominees were then presented with the (anonymous) feedback the day before the Selection Process.

To choose the selection team, the Residents’ Assembly Service (RAS) started creating a pool of randomly chosen people in order to have a sufficient number of selectors (min 24, max 40).

The selection process took place over three days at the end of June at the Unity Pavilion. The first day consisted of the preparation and training session, where 31 chosen selectors were given presentations with questions and answers by each Working Group, in order to better understand each of their needs and modi operandi.

Other topics that are at the heart of Auroville were also covered, such as the ‘Charter of Auroville’, ‘The Dream’, ‘To be a True Aurovilian’, the Auroville Foundation Act, working group structures and mandates.

Mini-workshops were given on listening skills, bias recognition, consensus building, and how to manage community feedback.

The second and third days were dedicated to the selection. To select members for each Working Group from the candidates, the following process was followed: The candidates gave a presentation of themselves and were then interviewed. The selectors were then divided into four independent teams and made a first selection round, with a second selection round and third random selection round in case it was needed.

The whole event was coordinated by an organisation team selected by the RAS. The team was made up of a facilitator, RAS members, Citizens’ Assembly members, RAS resource persons, and volunteers. Also present during the whole process were the Silent Presence Keepers.

A few selectors opened up about their experience of the whole process. The unanimous feeling they conveyed was that everybody who participated showed goodwill and solidarity in the process, and that overall it was a success. They said that although there is always room for improvement, the process was a great step forward and a welcome development in the community’s selection processes.

There was appreciation for how thought-through, structured, and well-organized the whole process was.

Someone commented on how they appreciated the random re-shuffling of the 4 group members throughout the process, and how that reminded them to constantly adapt and allow flexibility to flow within themselves.

There was gratitude for feeling connected, united in spirit, and in the joy of being there and sharing that responsibility together. The demographic being relatively well-balanced and mixed, people appreciated connecting with others they never had a chance to talk to.

When talking about what could be improved, some selectors shared their disappointment with the low percentage of community engagement in the process. For example, to find the required number of selectors (24-40), more than 400 emails in 4 successive batches were sent out, phone calls were made, and other efforts attempted in order to try to reach those who might not be using an email address. Another selector felt that some candidates only presented themselves because they were nominated by others, and that their personal investment in the matter was not strong enough.

Overall, the selectors who spoke about their experience felt that it was a very positive process in which there was a beautiful and harmonious atmosphere. They were deeply engaged, grateful to be able to experience a part of community life in this way, learning to surrender and go beyond one’s beliefs by trusting the choices of their group, of the collective. Gratitude was also expressed about being able to participate in something that is larger than ourselves, feeling engaged and honoured to commit to the process for one whole year, which was part of the selectors’ responsibilities.