Integral Youth

I would like to ask a similar question from a different perspective: Have we created an environment where today’s youth can integrate into the Auroville community?

As someone who grew up in Auroville, I have observed that we struggle to retain our own youth. Many leave Auroville for further education or employment and then do not return. Do we understand why that is and is there a way we can better encourage youth from everywhere to engage with Auroville in the long term?

Room to grow

Youth is best understood as a period of transition from childhood dependence to adult independence. It is a phase defined by learning, trial and error, and self-discovery. An ideal environment would encourage youth to try new things, provide room for initiative, and offer a sense of growth and purpose.

Auroville in its early years provided just that to its first generation of young pioneers. With that generation visibly ageing and aged, it is now up to the younger generations to assume responsibility for moving Auroville forward. The transfer of knowledge and experience is crucial for cultural evolution, and every member of society must contribute to creating a "brighter tomorrow." However, this is a gradual process, and the young must also reach a certain level of maturity and understanding of the world to avoid repeating past mistakes or making even worse ones.

Motivation and purpose

To support and enable this transition, youth must feel that they are doing meaningful work and finding inspiration despite various challenges. One of my mentors used to say, "You must feel good to do good work." It is only when you experience some level of contentment or satisfaction that you can move away from primal instincts of self-preservation or competition. Basic needs must be satisfied, which may vary for each individual.

Recent conversations with several older Aurovilians led to a question of why it is that the youth of today are not taking up unskilled job openings at Auroville services. Their narrative was that the youth saw Auroville as a camping ground to indulge in hedonism, and that the youth were lazy.

In the capitalist world, growth and purpose revolves around generating output and maximising profit. Individuals are viewed as tools to an end and are expected to do their best with minimal time and resources. The primary motivating factors are money (purchasing power) and ego-boosters (power, authority). In Auroville, we are obviously striving towards something different.

I would question whether an average Auroville maintenance is an adequate incentive for youth or anyone to work at a job that may lack fulfilment or purpose for them. At the same time, I know of quite a few youth who are committed to working with a maintenance or less in areas and at units where they find purpose, growth and community. This includes youth at Wasteless, Kajimba, Coffee Break, Tree House Community, TreeCare, Future School, Transition School, Youth Centre, and here at YouthLink.

So, what's the future that we want?

Well, we're here to explore that together.

In my understanding, we in Auroville strive to create a community where authority or egocentric incentives do not dictate our actions. We aim to foster collaboration rather than competition, encouraging equality rather than superiority among neighbours.

Let's collaborate in creating an environment and culture where people of all ages can work together to grow, improve, and broaden perspectives. A place where we love, accept, and understand one another, and collectively move towards a brighter future.

Collaboration between Youth Center and YouthLink

The Youth Center incident in December 2021 served as a significant wake-up call for many young people in Auroville. We began networking, communicating, sharing, and organising ourselves. General meetings within the "youth network," a group of 120 youth in Auroville, were held to share information and perspectives. YouthLink and the Youth Center have both made remarkable progress over the past two years, actively addressing our own problems and needs while also striving to understand those of the broader youth population in Auroville. We are actively trying to "be the change that you want to see in the world."

The two organisations have started working closely together, exploring ways to collaborate in greater synergy. There is a sense of responsibility among the youth towards Auroville, and various individuals within and outside the organisations are taking initiatives. We believe that no one understands us better than we do, and that's the power we aim to harness. Instead of constantly having things created or done for us, we want to understand our needs and empower ourselves to fulfil them, developing our own capabilities in the process.

If you’re reading this and you consider yourself a youth of Auroville, please join us in this beautiful journey. Otherwise, we will reach out when we need your help and opinion. We greatly appreciate your inputs and perspectives, let us move forward together with compassion and understanding!