Auroville International (AVI)

Since the news that the AVFO has signed an MoU with IIT Madras, agreeing to hand over 100 acres of Auroville’s certified organic farmland in order to build a ‘sustainability campus’, support for Annapurna Farm has poured in from many different quarters.

In October 2024 we interviewed Dan Capdeville who launched the “Seeking Our Inner Being” project in January of that year. Now, one and a half years later, he has decided to formally close it down.

Friederike Mühlhans has a long experience of working for Auroville International (AVI). Since 1997 she has been a board member of AVI Germany and since 2003 she has been Secretary of the AVI Board, with a four-year break when she served as Chairperson.

February is the time when we celebrate Mother’s birthday and the birthday of Auroville, as well as, this year, the ‘Golden Day’, and we enjoy a plethora of events and inaugurations.

Christian Feuillette has been Chairman of the Board of Auroville International (AVI) for the past four years, some of which were possibly the most challenging in AVI’s, as well as Auroville’s, history.

On the 4th January, many people were shocked to see many Service trees (Peltophorum pterocarpum/ Copper Pod tree) being felled on the Crown between the Solar Kitchen and Mahalakshmi Home.

The community was deeply shocked to learn that a young Aurovilian and member of the Residents Assembly Working Committee, had been served with a Leave India Notice on 15th February.

Auroville International, the umbrella organisation of the Auroville International centres in Europe and the USA, had its General Assembly meeting on February 21st, 2023, at the Unity Pavilion in Auroville.

To respected members of the Governing Board... Dear Aurovilians... Dear Dr. Jayanti Ravi... Dear friends of the Auroville Working Committee...

The 6th annual edition of Art for Land opens on 31st January at the Unity Pavilion. We invite you to join us as we celebrate a month of ‘art with heart’ by very talented artists, musicians and performers from all over.

Auroculture (Helga Ahy – born Pirk) left her body on 10 February at Marika Home. She was 86 and had suffered a major stroke in November 2014 which left her partly paralysed, with a weakened heart and hardly able to swallow.

The International Zone Coordination Team shared the International Zone’s latest developments and future plans in an open community meeting in January.

The occasion was celebrated with song, dance and poetry from around Europe

Amongst the memorable events of Auroville’s Golden Jubilee celebrations was the visit of Dr. Shigeru Aoyagi, Director and Representative of UNESCO, Delhi Office.

Dominique Darr left her body on December 25th in her apartment in Citadine at the age of 84. The cause of death, most probably, was diabetic coma.

As of October this year, we are 2565 residents in Auroville from 52 nations. Looking at the population numbers over the years (see Figure 1: Total number of residents from 1997 to 2016), we seem to be coasting along nicely.

In the article “Acquiring and protecting the lands – the views of the Land Board” which appeared in the October 2016 issue of Auroville Today, reference was made to a statement from the Land Board to the Auroville International Centres that Auroville can develop and build the city for the next 10 years before there would be any standstill caused by non-ownership of a plot of land in the city area.

Marco Saroldi is a Newcomer and works for Art Service. His weekly round-up of photos of Auroville activities is posted on Auronet. Here he talks about his work.

On February 7th, the ‘Landing Auroville Celebration’ held at the Unity Pavillion was an encouraging success. Organised by the joint land fundraising teams of Acres for Auroville, GreenAcres and LFAU, the event’s central message was the sacredness of the land, and the need for an intense collective effort to acquire land in Auroville’s Master Plan area now.

We are stardust We are golden And we’ve got to get ourselves Back to the garden. (Lyrics from “Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell)

The Acres for Auroville Phase Two and GreenAcres campaigns were launched on August 15th.

The Auroville International (AVI) Centres held their biannual meeting in Auroville in February. After the meetings, some members of the new Board met with Auroville Today to discuss how they perceive their role, the main challenges facing them, and their hopes for the future.

In the spirit of ‘Unity in diversity’, Auroville International (AVI) invited all AVI members and Aurovilians on 15th February to a walking tour through the International Zone and a re-dedication of the Zone in an effort to rekindle its development.

This book has been created to answer the question often heard, "What is Auroville International?" and to give an idea about the work and function of this worldwide network of Auroville friends "out there".

News arrived from France: The next Auroville International meeting, a meeting of the Auroville International Centres and Aurovilians, will be held on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June 1989 at Annecy (on the bank of a beautiful lake), in France.