Survey on restorative process

In October the RA selected groups sought to get a sense of the community’s feelings and thoughts on the topic of starting a restorative process between the Residents’ Assembly (RA), Governing Board (GB), and International Advisory Council (IAC). Now the results of that survey, in which 235 confirmed Aurovilians and Newcomers participated, have been released.

In answer to the question, ‘What things do you think needs to happen before we can come together and talk?’, 63% said they wanted to have trust in whoever facilitated such a process, 60% wanted to be sure that all views would be represented, and 52% said they wanted an individual or group to do something, or stop doing something, before we can come together and talk. Regarding the latter response, 78% cited actions to be taken by either the Secretary, the Office of the Secretary, the Governing Board, the International Advisory Council and /or the groups installed by the Office of the Secretary or Governing Board. These included recognising the Residents Assembly, no more visa problems, and the dismissal of FIRs filed against Aurovilians.

While 15% said that they would be ready to start without any prior conditions being met, the report concluded that “For the large majority of respondents (74%), there are criteria to meet before starting a reconciliation process”.