Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Published: September 2022 (3 years ago) in issue Nº 398

Keywords: Celebrations, Education, YouthLink, Pavilion of Tibetan Culture, Workshops, Yuvabe and WasteLess

Youth Day Fest

In-depth feature — Authored by 

 
1 A member of YouthLink displays artwork

1 A member of YouthLink displays artwork

International Youth Day is celebrated annually on the 12th August globally, and marks YouthLink’s largest annual event in Auroville. This year it was celebrated around the world, focusing on the theme of “Intergenerational Solidarity'', which it remains ever so important to be reminded of, even within the Auroville context. Exploring this theme was important to YouthLink as it was as an occasion to honor all that the older generations have set up for Auroville, while also remind the community that youth are here, and that youth keep coming to Auroville; and that they are building their capacity to take on and continue the good work. YouthLink is a Service, located at the Town Hall, which helps empower and integrate young people into Auroville.

This year YouthLink was grateful that the event was held at the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture in the International Zone, this venue was large enough to host its many activities, which were spread around the gardens and inside the various halls. The event included many Workshops on various themes such as – Compassionate Communication, First Aid, Self Defense, Carpentry, Learning Sanskrit, Yoga, WasteLess, and Mandala Art. Each workshop was well attended, with a diversity of youth from Auroville, its bioregion, and even groups from elsewhere in India attending. Overall, the event was attended by a total of about 250-300 youth, and also those from older generations.

The youth who attended these workshops could have a taste of what the topic could include, and hopefully be inspired to sign up to join such activities on a regular basis. The topics were chosen specifically to address local issues such as the trash problem, personal health, expressing creativity, and finding ways to connect to one another.

The event also included a variety of stalls displaying various types of opportunities in Auroville, such as Marganam apprenticeships, Mohanam Heritage handicrafts and women’s group incubation, and Yuvabe, which shared information on climate change. Kailash, a youth housing project in Auroville, also brought a stall of fresh juices and cakes to invite more support to improve Kailash, and remind the community of the importance of such spaces for young people.

As most of the exhibitors were also youth, the event embodied what YouthLink likes to call “for the youth, by the youth” … but staying true to the theme of the year of “intergenerational solidarity,” the event also included elder generations in sharing their knowledge, and invited all age groups to come and enjoy the space together.