Issue Nº332 – News in brief

The Auroville Ultimate Frisbee club held its 7th annual Auroville HAT Tournament recently. Players from Auroville and across India came together to play, and to share their skills, ranging from beginner to world-class. Aurovilian players see this as being a sport in the true spirit of Auroville: building bridges between varying social and cultural backgrounds as the participants learn to work and play together.

A Shared Transport Service ‘abundance through sharing was launched recently. In an effort to bring down the cost of travel while reducing the environmental impact and traffic in the city, individuals are encouraged to share a ride. The Auroville unit, Earth&Us, in collaboration with Auronet, Auro Cabs, and 260 dpi (Suresh, Surrender) has started this not-for-profit adventure. In the first four weeks, the organizers reported that the sharing platform saved 22 trips, approximately 1 tons of carbon emissions, and about Rs. 22,000.00.

Auroville hosted its tenth annual marathon on 12 February. Approximately 3,000 running enthusiasts came from all over India and ran either a full marathon (42km or 26 miles), half marathon or 10 kilometres. It was accompanied by a 2-day market in which Auroville units and activities offered their creative wares.

The new Entry Policy approved in 2016 has been put on hold. An Entry Task Force has been created to work towards the resolution of the concerns that have been expressed within the community about the way it was being implemented. Some of the areas being worked upon include conditions for becoming a Newcomer; review of past and present cases; the respective roles and responsibilities of the Mentors and the Entry Service; and the membership of the Entry Service.

Members of the Residents Assembly Service and Auroville Council have been hosting Create Auroville Together (CAT) meetings. The stated intention is to offer “a space to unleash our creative energies, to respond with discernment, respect and a spirit of collaboration instead of reacting through likes, dislikes and distrust." The latest offering was entitled “The City - We Forgot" where the speakers explored the following: “Auroville is a dream for all humanity. It does not look like other cities, and has different priorities. It was designed to change us and change life. How did the city happen and why does it wait to be realised?”

From 4 to 14 February there was a photo exhibition at Citadines “And the adventure begins ...”in homage to Dominique Darr. Dominique was selecting the photos for her exhibition in December when she passed away on the 25th. This exhibition was composed primarily of black and white photographs from the early years, showing the pioneers working on the Matrimandir. It also captured the texture of everyday life in photos of flute lessons, Aikido on the beach, playing sports etc. as well as the birth of one of the first Auroville babies.