Programs
Youthlink aims To provide all necessary resources in order for youth to become an empowered and integral part of the Auroville community, as well as grow and develop into future leaders and thinkers of the world. We provide various programs in order for us to grow and develop into well rounded individuals with the necessary skills and tools in order to create a better tomorrow.
Auroville Peer Education Training (APET)
Brings youth together to address difficult and possibly taboo subjects in an effort to understand how to help their peers and themselves in difficult situations.
APE (Auroville Peer Education) is adopted from the UNFPA program called Y-PEER that aims to educate the youth on sensitive topics such as drug abuse, addictions, rape, consent, and prevention of STI's.
Facilitated by Juan Andrés Papagno, certified Y-PEER trainer, the 3 day APE workshop will focus on addressing social issues and sharing information, in order to gain perspective and general knowledge on otherwise taboo topics.
We aim to create a network of trained and knowledgeable youngsters to be the first level of support and information for peer to peer awareness on difficult topics such as abuse, depression, trauma, etc. These peer educators will be connected with a trustable network of professionals for potential referral in more serious cases.
Awareness Campaigns
Where subjects that require public awareness are brought to light and discussed, followed by an action phase based on community discussions.
The YouthLink team will address social issues raised by the community through research and information gathering. The gathered information will be presented to the community for a duration of time, raising awareness and starting discussions, widening perspectives and searching for solutions.
Simple solutions that have been detected through the discussion process will be tackled by the YouthLink team, while large scale project-based solutions will be sent to relevant offices/organisations.
Some of the topics we would like to address are Road Safety, Mental Health, Depression, Environmental Sustainability, Women’s Rights, and Sexual Harassment.
Comm4Unity
is a 6 week program which dives into the aspect of building and creating a sustainable community.
Comm4Unity is an immersive and integral community building course in Auroville. Certified by Gaia Education and recognized by UNESCO’s Global Action Program in Education for Sustainable Development, it is an experimental course that encapsulates the idea of community as a way of living and a way to realise human unity using dimensions of ecology, economy and more, in the Auroville context.
Comm4unity is a course with the following aims:
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Self-discovery, community building, youth empowerment, DIY (Do It Yourself) & DIYT (Do It Yourself Together) creations and diving deep into sustainable as well as conscious community living.
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Discover the cultural heritage and richness of the Indian subcontinent.
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Experience one of the world’s largest & oldest Intentional Communities: Auroville.
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Engage in personal self-exploration and worldview by examining our connection to self and place.
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Experience with various ecological solutions for sustainable living.
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Explore the diversity of over 50 nationalities and the ideal of human unity.
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Empower youth by building capacities as future trainers.
The program includes every morning time for introspective reflection (example: awareness through the body activities), followed by a bit of theory on community living and sustainable lifestyle solutions (examples: water, environment, energy, economy, conflict resolution etc.), and afternoons exploring the physical matter (examples: make your own soap, kitchen garden, bee hive, small house etc.).
Mentorship Program
Connects youth to mentors who can guide them through challenging times.
When facing challenging situations, some may feel the need to have more support systems in the form of guidance and advice. We maintain a database of mentors and their offerings, then link youth to the right mentor according to their needs. Our mentor pool consists of Aurovillians from various sectors in the community and will train and guide youth towards integration into respective spheres of interest.
Bridging the gap between generations, it will also serve as a sharing of experiences and joy, getting to know each other and different members of the community that one would otherwise not interact with.
Mentor activity would range anywhere from having a coffee a week and talking about life to actively learning skills from each other. One of the main roles of the mentor would be to give the mentee a clear understanding of Auroville, its values and its functioning system, as well as helping locate and pursue opportunities for the mentee.
Proskills Courses
A multi-week workshop/internship program aimed at reaching a proficient level at a given skill.
It involves both theoretical and practical learning, and will be a way for people to explore and learn new skills.
SOCIAL GATHERINGS
Anything from Movie nights to potlucks to beach picnics, we would like to come together and celebrate the joy of being young and being together! An informal gathering of individuals to get to know each other and share ideas and creativity in a casual setting. Everyone is welcome!