Auroville exhibition at UNESCO

Place of venue: UNESCO Headquarters in Paris

On the occasion of Auroville's 35th anniversary, a presentation and exhibition on the emerging township was organised in the UNESCO premises in Paris. The event was initiated by the Indian Government through the Indian Delegation in UNESCO and its Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Mrs. Neelam D.Subharwal, in collaboration with the Division for Cultural Politics and Intercultural Dialogue. A seminar with as theme 'Evolution of Human Consciousness within the society Auroville, an example of Cultural Diversity took place during the same time.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Indian Delegation in UNESCO, Mrs. Neelam D.Subharwal

Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO, visiting the exhibition

Prominent speakers were:

• Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO who inaugurated the event
• MR. S.K. Tripathi, Education Secretary, Government of India
• Dr Kireet Joshi, Chairman, Auroville Foundation
• Dr L. M. Singhvi, Member of India to Executive Board of UNESCO

Dr L. M. Singhvi, Member of India to
Executive Board of UNESCO, speaking on Auroville

Mrs. Rosa Guerreiro of Division for cultural policies and intercultural dialogue - Unesco; Mr. Marc Luyckx, director of Vision 2020; Mr. Doudou Diene, Special Rapporteur of the U.N. on racism, xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance

From left to right: panel discussion with Mr. Luigi Zanzi (Aurovilian), Dr L. M. Singhvi; Dr Kireet Joshi, Chairman Auroville Foundation; Mr. Joss Brooks (Aurovilian)

The Auroville event drew many interested parties and new connections have been made

Collaborative effort

While Yanne Dimay and Jean Laroquette, long-time Aurovilians and members of Paris-based Auroville International France, had done much of the preparatory work, a number of Aurovilians were present to give a well appreciated presentation of their activities:

• Environment & Bioregion - (Joss Brooks)
• Appropriate Building Technologies & Social Sciences- (Gilles Guigan)
• Village Developments & Education - (Meenakshi van Meeghen)
• Urban Development & Culture- (Luigi Zanzi).

The various speeches and panel discussions took place before a projection of the galaxy model of the future city

Aurovilians Gilles Guigan, Yanne Dimay and Jean Laroquette, of whom certainly the latter two have been instrumental in the materialisation of the event.
Thank you!

Flash Info

On April 11th '03, a Flash Info (n° 134) from the Office of UNESCO's Spokeswoman in support of Auroville was signalled to delegates all over the world.

For further information, please contact aurofuture@auroville.org.in