|
Jan 2002
Last I.A.C. meeting
- by Carel
On December 10th the
present International Advisory Council (IAC) had its fourth and last
meeting in Auroville.
The IAC meeting was attended
by Dr. Mary King, Dr. Ariyaratne, Mr. Bernard de Montferrand and the
chairman, Dr. Kireet Joshi. Dr. Norman Myers could not be present due to
health problems. Mr. Bernard de Montferrand, the Ambassador of France in
India, was appointed member of the IAC on March 23rd, 2001 in place of
Prof. Amartya Sen who had resigned.
"Of all the IAC
meetings I attended this one was the most enriching," said Dr. Mary
King to an audience of Aurovilians on the roof of the Solar Kitchen that
evening. "Someone visiting Auroville once a year, as I have done
since 1999, is in a position to see the changes that have occurred. And
Auroville has made much progress." The IAC members welcomed the
drive towards obtaining a substantial grant from the Government of India
towards education projects, the development of the International Zone,
the fact that the Government of India had approved the Auroville Master
Plan, and the attempts made by the community to manifest an internal
organizational structure known as 'the Divine Anarchy' document.
"But I question being too absolutistic in operating by consensus
for all issues, as it is extremely difficult. One must be selective
because of the time involved in seeking consensus," warned Mary
King. "I have lots of experience working in the U.S. Civil Rights
movement trying to get consensus. Our meetings used to last three days
and sometimes also nights, and consensus was declared by the last person
awake or who had not yet left." She also commended the members of
the Auroville Working Committee for their work and called upon the
community to find a way of valuing people who do this type of service
as, as she observed, former members suffer a 'burn-out syndrome' and do
not wish to come back, which is a loss to the community. Dr. Ariyaratne
suggested that the Auroville youth should be motivated to form its own
councils and have a place in the organizational structure, in the way
this is being done by the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movemement in Sri Lanka.
He also advised that Auroville pool resources to form an internal
banking system, which would greatly benefit the growth of the community
and help to create its own economy. "The standard of living is
often confused with the quality of life," he said, and Auroville
has no choice but to aim at the latter, which requires a strong
spiritual basis.
Dr. Kireet Joshi thanked the
IAC members for their willingness to help Auroville with its
development. He pointed out that this was the last meeting of the IAC in
its present constitution, as the term of office of its members ends on
December 16th. The Minister of Human Resource Development is expected to
announce the appointment of the new members of the next IAC soon.
|
