 Towards
a Pavilion
for the African Culture
Looking
at the population of Auroville as of 2002, one
sees that the African population is as yet sorely
missing. The community is therefore happy that
a longtime friend of Auroville and resident of
Ethiopia has now come to live in Auroville and
is actively working towards a more African presence
in the township.
Tekeste Kidan has been in contact with the Ashram
and Auroville for many years, and is now putting
his energy into the creation of an 'Africa house'
which will be a modest beginning of a future African
Pavilion in the International Zone.
We
present you here with a few glimpses of what he
has in mind.
Relation of Auroville
and Africa
The
relation of Auroville and Africa started at an
early stage, when the Indian Government presented
the plan and concept of Auroville to the governments
of the world at a UNESCO Conference in 1966. Subsequently,
out of 124 countries participating in the Auroville
inauguration ceremony, 37 were from Africa. As
in Africa the concept of Auroville is hardly known,
participation of Africans has been very limited.
It is therefore important to create awareness
among the African people of the need for a place
like Auroville, dedicated to brotherhood, human
unity and international understanding.
Connection with Auroville's
founders
 From
Sri Aurobindo's writings, and particularly his
poem entitled 'Hail to the Fallen' dedicated to
Haile Selassie (Collected Poems, p 596), we see
that Sri Aurobindo had great admiration and sympathy
for Africa. It is also interesting to note here
that the Mother was of Egyptian/African origin
through her mother.
It
is significant that, at the beginning of preparations
for Auroville's foundation ceremony in 1968, Africa's
leadership consisted of a world-level statesman
and a world-level spiritual leader both of whom
were the first Africans to express in writing
to the Mother their support to the ideals of Auroville,
- and the Mother has blessed them.
Creating awareness ..
Today
the world is increasingly faced with the challenges
of a rapidly changing multi-cultural society,
with all its attendant problems and potentials.
Certainly the African continent copes with very
basic problems that mainly arise from ignorance,
poverty and lack of basic education, and in order
to change this situation the ideals of Auroville
and the wide vision of its founders may prove
to be of timely help to the African people. It
appears that creating awareness of the ideal of
Auroville is more necessary in Africa than in
any part of the world.
Tekeste
Tekeste
Kidan came as a young African Diplomat to India in the
beginning of 1966, attached to the Ethiopian Embassy
in New Delhi. Through his friends and through the invitation
received by his Embassy to participate in the Auroville
foundation ceremony in 1968, he became aware of Auroville
and came to its first Anniversary celebration. Tekeste
has served as an Ethiopian Diplomat from November 1959
up to August 1993. After his retirement in that year,
he served for five years in Ethiopia as a social worker
and is living in Auroville since 1999, where his strong
will and push to get his continent more integrated in
the city is widely appreciated.
An 'Africa House' in Auroville's
International Zone
In order
to create awareness of the ideals of Auroville
among the new generation of young Africans, it
was proposed that an 'Africa House' should be
built in the International Zone in the area allotted
to the African continent. The Africa House could
accommodate African students and guests and allow
them to directly experience Auroville. At the
same time, the House will present Africa to the
international audience of Aurovilians and visitors
to Auroville's International Zone.
The
main features of the Africa House would be:
-
a
hostel intended to provide at least 35 rooms
for students visiting or interning in Auroville,
as well as for guests and teachers from Africa
-
a
multi-purpose hall to be used for exhibitions,
audio-visual presentations, and get-togethers
-
classrooms,
offices and utilities,
-
a
kitchen and dining area
-
a
garden with tennis courts
Other
objectives
-
to
increase awareness in Africa about the dream
and practical accomplishments of Auroville
by exposing Africans studying in India to
Auroville
-
to
organise camps for African students in which
they are introduced to Auroville's sustainable
development practices, which are applicable
to Africa's developmental problems
-
to
arrange for internships and study programmes
for Africans in Auroville
-
to
have the research done by the students act
as a basis for presentations on Africa, both
in Auroville and in Indian and African universities
-
to
conduct programmes to acquaint Indian and
Aurovilian audiences with the glories and
potential of Africa. This could be done by,
for instance, conducting a sports programme
in Auroville, involving African sports heroes
as coaches and trainers; and by encouraging
cultural exchange between Africa and Auroville
in the fields of music, dance & arts through
bringing exhibitions, performances, training
courses, etc.
For more information: download zip file (423 KB)
Auroville international zone - Africa section
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