events

=** __EVENT INVITATIONS__: **=



December 27, 2012 **CREATE-ATHON**

Calling all creative geniuses!

Join us for a daylight Create -Athon! We will design and produce a full fledged fundraising campaign for Unlimited Tamil Nadu in a single day : ) UnLtd TN is India's youngest social entrepreneurship incubator hosted at Auroville, from our new office opposite Aurelec (next to telephone service)

We are raising 3 million rupees to support 30 changemakers in the next 2 years. We have a plan for a key message, a visual story and a strategy, but we need your creativity to make it **HAPPEN.** There is uninterrupted power, unlimited content and unrivaled lunch (will bring espresso machine as well for the indispensable caffeine)

THANKS and please SPREAD the word !! Gijs

August 2, 2012 **TIME TO WASTE**

Gijs sent this mail round: Dear waste and campus greening enthusiasts,


 * AuroConnect** invites you for **August 2nd** day of WASTE and CHANGE

We just launched our Social Enterprise incubator @ Auroville Village Action Group, and as part of that are supporting AuroConnect -the co-working Hub in Kuyilapalam village, located at the Kofibar.

I can see the following things happening there: - Ribhu & team (Garbology) meet Kuldeep & team (reapbenefit), exchange lessons, networks and suggestions - We show Gopi's movie on the "singing dustbin" (complete with candid camera and actors, sounds like lot of fun !) - We introduce Joss & Kuldeep to eachother to talk on campus greening & public tender experiences - We eat, enjoy and develop interesting relationships

What do you say?

Wiebke sent a mail before the summer saying:

Dear all,

Yesterday, my friend Felix asked me if I'd know anyone in Auroville who is into new growth theories - or expressed even better who'd like to have a conversation about our obsession with growth. We all know our entire economy, society - everything - is built on the notion of constant and non-stop growth. And we also know that's not really realistic. But what's interesting is that we observe this kind of beliefs creeping into the social / 3rd sector as well. Social start-ups are invited to business plan competitions very similar to start-ups not driven by a social mission at all. NGO's are increasingly asked to prove their impact in order to be financed.

Now, there's nothing wrong with questioning efficiency or effectiveness when one wants to use scarce resources like money or time the best way possible. But when do we ask these questions and when are they not helpful?

I didn't have answers but realised that this is a matter that's been simmering within me for quite some time now. I have started taking interest in movements like 'small is beautiful', 'slow business', 'gift economy', 'crowd funding' and other alternatives to get my head around it.

So what better way to complete my circle aka current stay in Auroville than hanging out at our new co-working space AuroConnect at Kofi Bar and have a meaningful conversation with one or the other of you lot??? There is no formal aspect to this, no plan, no agenda. We can watch a movie regarding this, we can bring and share articles over a cold coffee or a hibiscus cooler with basil seeds (very yummy!!!), we can discuss, debate, brainstorm, listen or simply be quiet in contemplation of these questions, which should concern us all.

When: This Saturday, May 26 at 6 pm 'til we get too bored, too tired or Snehal kicks us outWhere: AuroConnect (Kofi Bar) in KuilapalayamWho: Anyone who beliefs we need a paradigm shift from growth to something else - please share this invitation with friends and colleagues you thing may be interested

Thank you Felix for this wonderful idea, thank you Snehal for your constant stream of input into this in form of articles and posts and videos, thank you everyone of you for sharing with me at one time or another. Shall I not see you there this Saturday, I certainly hope to bump into you again very soon.

Much luv to you all, Wiebke

PS: Some food for thought before getting there: http://www.alternet.org/economy/155339/there_is_a_way!_beyond_the_big,_bad_corporation/?page=entire