Women’s empowerment

The Auroville women’s ultimate frisbee team, better known as Rhino Ultimate, has been around for almost a decade, and is the oldest women’s ultimate frisbee team in India.

Stephanie left her body in Frankfurt on the night of Sunday, 10 March, after a long journey battling with her health, surrounded by the love and care of her family.

Abishek, a youth from Annai Nagar village, recently spent 18 months volunteering in Germany, as part of the Weltwärtsprogramme.

In early December, six graduate students and their professor from the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University, Canada, visited Auroville to explore the social impact of Auroville on the nearby village of Kuilaypalayam.

The Pour Tous Purchasing Service team announced they are “happy and proud to announce that we have now completed ONE full year in ‘full control’ as far as that is possible or even desirable...”

Anjalai is an Aurovilian who has worked in Auroville for the last 50 years. She grew up in Kuilaypalayam and has been living in Auroville since about 2000.

On October this year, the Ministry of Education of the Government of India appointed Auroville’s new Governing Board and new International Advisory Council.

Selvi, a teacher at Last School, grew up in Auroville. Her studies in political science took her to Chennai, but it's her frisbee prowess as part of India's national Ultimate Frisbee team, that became her ticket to travel the world.

Earthling Koushalya's new Tamil language short film En Udambu (My Body) has been making waves at various screenings in Auroville and Pondicherry.

In its 27-year life span, the Life Education Centre has been through different phases since its establishment as a centre to meet the needs of neglected children.

Thamarai, which means 'lotus' in Tamil, is an Auroville educational and health project in the bioregion. There were challenges in 2016 when the Thamarai centre had to shut down in Edayanchavady.

A number of women from the villages that surround Auroville and come to Auroville for work feel that the Tamil Aurovilian women are somehow different from them and there is a lack of connection.

Nammal mudiyam - the “we can” project - is a project of the youth of Edayanchavady. As a step in transforming their village, they organized an alcohol-awareness programme on 28th February in the temple square.

Auroville recently hosted a two-day festival to celebrate Tamil heritage and culture, a first of this scale and vision. The brainchild of Balu from Mohanam Cultural Centre, and Meenakshi from Auroville’s Tamil Heritage Centre and Ilaignarkal School, the festival brought together artisans, performers, farmers, VIPs and visitors for festivities on Auroville land.

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment oversees the interest of the Scheduled Castes, and intervenes in critical sectors through various schemes.

Alain Bernard, a trustee of Auroville Village Action, introduces the Sustainable Livelihood Institute (SLI) project, a joint project of Auroville and the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Life Education Centre (LEC) has published Journeys / பயணங்கள், a narrative documenting its 24-year journey since 1991 as seen through the eyes of its graduates and current students.

The story of the Tsunamika doll is well-known to Aurovilians and friends of Auroville. The Tsunamika came from Auroville’s Upasana design and garment unit when the people involved felt moved to help alleviate the tragedy of the December 2004 tsunami.