French Service Civique in Auroville

Many of you know that the German volunteer service "Weltwärtz" has been sending young German citizens to Auroville since 2008. And now, thanks to two Aurovilians – Lison and Dominique – the French "Service Civique" is offering their youth the same beautiful opportunity!

Like Germany, and other countries of the world, France has finally taken the initiative to engage young people in a serious process of exploring potential career paths via volunteering,no longer considering it a pretext for not studying. Numerous scientific studies have shown that a well-managed experience of volunteering has a significant impact on academic decision-making: a more informed choice, a more conscious decision. France has long been reluctant to let its youth explore the world instead of progressing immediately to higher education once they finish high school, for fear of losing the country's potential in human resources. But, seeing such programmes benefiting other nations, the French government created its own in 2010. The "Service Civique" (Civic Service) includes missions of general interest in France and abroad, from 6 to 12 months, for French citizens between the ages of 16 and 25. This initiative is crucial in these troubled and uncertain times, in which young people are struggling to find clarity and purpose in what they ought to do in life. 

In Auroville, it was with the arrival of Lison, a young French kinesiologist, in 2016, that the adventure of Service Civique began in our community. Lison had decided to come and volunteer in Auroville for a year, after finishing her studies. Not having the means to support herself without an income, she inquired as to whether there were government grants to support her in doing so. She heard about the Service Civique, and managed to convince the French Government that her volunteering mission in Auroville, at Oli School, could qualify for their programme. This meant she was eligible for the financial support it offers: travel and living costs.

Then Dominique, a French citizen working at Savi, took the initiative of formalizing this agreement, and the opportunity to extend it to other units in Auroville that received volunteers. This required complex communications with the French government, and it was only after months of email exchanges – drafting, correcting and adjusting precise vocabulary for a formal agreement – that Dominique managed to validate four Auroville-based Service Civique missions for the year 2017-2018. In this first year, we had the pleasure of welcoming seven volunteers for twelve months. Our supervising team of Aurovilians – Michael, Tushita, and Chloe – learned to follow and facilitate the progress of these young people. This journey had ups and downs, imperfections, mistakes, failures, and readjustments – but also revelations, achievements, strong moments of realisation, and delight: a true adventure of consciousness and joy.

From this experience, we have learned, and grown. Seven missions have been validated for 2018-2019, and nine volunteers were selected after a process that received 250 applications! These young French citizens are among us today: one group arrived in early September,the other in early October 2018. Apolline, Hélène, Hugo, Inès, Marie, Mathilde, Mélina, Pénélope and Quentin have been volunteering in our community for a year, and work respectively with Auroville Child Development, Aquadyn, Pavilion of France, Thamarai, Oli School, YouthLink, and Aikiyam School. They all understand the special context in which they are immersed, and are ready to live this adventure of consciousness. Four of them left already at the end of their mission, but five of them decided to stay: Apolline, Marie, Mathilde, Mélina and Quentin. They are extending their stay for one more year, and who knows, maybe will they become Newcomers.

And since the 5th of September 2019, we have the pleasure to welcome 15 new ones! They just started their mission in Auroville, and are all very excited and curious about the transformation they are going to go through. If you happen to meet one of them, they would be very happy to hear about your story.