2nd International Auroville Dialogue

Knowledge, Business and Consciousness

Manifestation of Consciousness through Business in the Knowledge Society

Auroville February 27-28, March 1^st 2006

AIMS and Objectives

DAY ONE

The main aim of the international city of Auroville[1] is to help to raise humanity's consciousness. Auroville has been struggling with this "impossible task" for almost 40 years, since it was founded in 1968. www.auroville.org.

In a first Seminar in September 2005, we explored the existence of "another consciousness" among a small minority of businesses worldwide. Our conclusion was rather positive. This minority does exist.

And the surprise has been to assist at the very dynamic encounter between the Auroville Business community and this new type of business community worldwide.

This has brought the Auroville community to rethink itself, its relation to economics, to its future, and to the world business community. It has even set in motion the project to set up a new type of business school in Auroville.

Now in a second phase we would like to focus on the knowledge society because this is leading us to a new economy.

In the EU the knowledge society is an important policy objective, called the "Lisbon strategy". The goal is to make the EU the most competitive knowledge economy before 2010, while being sustainable and socially-inclusive.

In India a "National Knowledge Commission" has been set up recently and has Dr Phuspa Bhargava as one of its leaders. Dr Phuspa Bhargava will be present and will be able to explain the objectives and methods of this new Indian National knowledge Commission.

Here are some of the questions that we face in the EU, in India, and worldwide. If this knowledge economy is post-capitalist (Peter Drucker) and post-industrial, do we not need another level of consciousness to be able to manage it properly?

q                       If knowledge is not traded but shared, because we never lose the knowledge we give to another person, are we ready to build a "free share" economy in the XXIst century?

q                       Are we ready to shift from a win-lose market strategy to a win-win network strategy for our businesses?

q                       Are our leaders ready to shift from a command and control approach to an enabling and connecting approach to the knowledge business?

q                       Are we aware that secrecy and patenting will disappear or be deeply modified in a society where transparency is increasing?

q                       Are we aware that the value creation system will be different in this new knowledge society?

q                       Are we aware that the tool of production is no longer the machine as in the industrial society? It is the human brain which produces knowledge. And so every evening, workers go home with their tool of production

Marc Luyckx Ghisi

DAY TWO

February 28 will be the 38^th Birth Anniversary of Auroville founded by The Mother.

The international city of Auroville is meant to be an accelerated centre of evolution where a new way of living is being worked out at all the levels of life.

The aim of its economics would be to give to all members of society the joy of work according to their own nature and free leisure for inner growth, as well as a simply rich and beautiful life.

In August 1954, the Mother of Auroville dreamed of a place where “money would no longer be the sovereign lord; individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be a way to earn one’s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one’s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole, which, for it’s own part, would provide for each individual’s subsistence and sphere of action.”

The Mother approved the following guidelines for Auroville industries:

• One of the objectives of Auroville is that economic activities of all kinds, whether industrial, artisan, agricultural, etc, should be completely looked after by Aurovilians. Since the requirements of the Aurovilians are completely looked after by Auroville, the question of salary does not arise. This objective which should not in any case be forgotten or delayed in its application, is the ideal to be attained.

and

• Sections like industries which participate actively will contribute part of their income towards the development of the township. Or if they produce something (like foodstuff) useful for the citizens, they will contribute in kind to the township which is responsible for the feeding of its citizens.

Day Two aims at assessing where are we today in regard to these ideals and at exploring how we could get closer to them taking into account the recent changes in the world of economy and business. To this end, we will present a SWOT analysis of Auroville Businesses and an Auroville Business Group brand.

In this context, Mr Tachi Kuichi, Chairman of the Future 500, Japan, will explore with the participants how to design a road map to accelerate the manifestation of the City of Auroville in all its aspects with the year 2012 as a target.

DAY THREE

Day Three will essentially aims at exploring the ways Auroville can be developed as a unique laboratory for integral entrepreneurship.

Specifically time is set aside for work on developing criteria that could act as a baseline for establishing an incubator for integral entrepreneurship in Auroville and it’s bioregion, thus potentially catalyzing the growth of new income generating initiatives within Auroville.

A creative program is envisioned which will include presentations and interactive dialogues between the visiting specialists and Aurovilians already engaged in business units or aspiring to develop new income generating units and a new economy in Auroville with an integral base.

Youth are particularly encouraged to participate and space is given in the program for exploring their visions and perspectives.

Serge Brelin