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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
AVC/ AV Council The Auroville Council The AVC has an overall
mandate to coordinate the
objectives of the working
groups of Auroville and to
ensure that they function
according to their individual
mandates. The AVC also helps
in their relations with the
residents of Auroville and
deals with emergency and
conflict issues, arranging for
mediation and arbitration
whenever necessary. The AVC
is normally composed of up
to 9 members, who usually
hold office for a period of 2
years, but may be
re-appointed. The members
of the AVC are selected by
the Residents’ Assembly, and
subsequently confirmed
through an Office Order
created by the Foundation
Office.
AVF Auroville Foundation The Auroville Foundation is
Auroville's legal entity. It has
three authorities: the
Governing Board, the
International Advisory
Council and the Residents
Assembly.
AVFO Auroville Foundation Office The Auroville Foundation
Office refers to the Office of
the Secretary of the Auroville
Foundation.
AVFO’s ‘ATDC’ The Auroville Town
Development Council
The illegally constituted ATDC
of the AVFO, which was
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
appointed by the Auroville
Foundation Office.
created without any
nomination by the Residents’
Assembly.
AVFO’s ‘BCC’ The Budget Coordination
Committee appointed by the
Auroville Foundation Office
The AVFO’s ‘FAMC’ claimed
they had reconstituted the
BCC in July 2022. They
originally named 8 ‘new
members’, however at least 3
of the people named had no
knowledge of the
appointment. In August 2022
the RA BCC were informed
again that they were being
reconstituted, with 4
members of the AVFO’s ‘BCC’
AVFO’s ‘FAMC’ The Funds and Asset
Management Committee
appointed by the Auroville
Foundation Office.
Working against precedent,
The AVFO decided to
‘re-constitute’ the FAMC and
has actively worked to stop
the work of the FAMC RA, by
blocking email accounts and
taking over office spaces and
equipment.
AVFO’s ‘Housing Service’ The Housing Service
constituted by the AVFO
In August 2022 an Office
Order was produced claiming
to reconstitute the Housing
Service. 6 new members
were named however 2 of
these members did not join.
Nearly all of the members of
the Housing Service who had
been ‘removed’ were
immediately asked to rejoin.
AVFO’s ‘WCom’ The Working Committee
appointed by the Auroville
Foundation Office
The Working Committee that
was dismantled by an RA vote
in May 2022, but continues
to be endorsed by the AVFO
and operates as a ‘shadow’
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
WCom to our own,
RA-appointed Working
Committee. Confusingly, this
group also signs themselves
as ‘The Working Committee
of the Residents' Assembly’
even though they were not
elected by the Residents’
Assembly.
Entry Board The Entry Board is a Working
Group constituted by the
Residents’ Assembly to
welcome, register and assist
any applicant seeking
admission to Auroville;
accept or reject an applicant
in accordance with these
regulations; recommend
applicants to be entered in
the register of residents; and,
where applicable, request the
Secretary to recommend an
appropriate visa for
an applicant and his/her
descendants or wards. The
members of the Entry Board
are selected by the Residents
Assembly.
GB Governing Board of the
Auroville Foundation
The Governing Board of the
Auroville Foundation is one
of the 3 pillars of the
Auroville Foundation and
manages the general affairs
of the Auroville Foundation.
Its task is to promote the
ideals of Auroville, to review
and approve basic policies
and programmes, to secure
the proper management of
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
all properties, to prepare the
master plan and coordinate
fundraising. Most of these
functions are executed in
consultation with the
Residents Assembly.
The Governing Board consists
of seven members nominated
by the Central Government.
IAC International Advisory
Council
The International Advisory
Council (IAC) of the Auroville
Foundation is one of the 3
pillars of the Auroville
Foundation, and consists of
not more than five members,
nominated by the UNESCO
unit of the Ministry of
Education of the Government
of India from persons who in
its opinion are devoted to the
ideals of human unity, peace
and progress. The powers of
the IAC are advisory only.
Master List The Auroville Master List,
maintained by the Residents
Service, is a complete list of
Aurovilians and Newcomers
aged 18 or over who
comprise the Residents
Assembly under the Auroville
Foundation Act.
The Master List is an internal
(not public) document.
PWGs Participatory Working Groups In accordance with Auroville’s
objective to move from
conventional governance to a
self-organising participatory
model, there are 5 main
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
PWGs in Auroville, namely
the Working Committee, The
Auroville Town Development
Council, the Entry Board, the
Auroville Council, and the
Funds and Assets
Management Committee, the
members of all of which are
to be selected by the
Residents’ Assembly by a
selection process approved
through a Residents’
Assembly Decision, from
registered residents of
Auroville chosen for their
experience,
expertise, integrity and
commitment to the ideals of
Auroville.
RA Residents’ Assembly The Residents' Assembly
consists of all residents of
Auroville aged eighteen years
and above. The powers of the
Residents’ Assembly are to
advise the Governing Board
in respect of all activities
relating to the residents of
Auroville and to take care of
all day-to-day activities in
Auroville.
RA BCC Budget Coordination
Committee
Auroville's Budget
Coordination Committee
(BCC) has the task of
managing an all-Auroville
budget and coordinating the
allocation of Auroville’s
income towards the
'development' and
'maintenance' budgets of
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
Auroville. The BCC is a
subgroup of the FAMC. To
date, the RA BCC is still
operating albeit in a limited
sense.
RAD Residents’ Assembly Decision Residents’ Assembly
Decision-making (RAD) is
arranged by the Residents’
Assembly Service (RAS)
a) either at the request of the
Working Committee,
Auroville Council, Auroville
Town Development
Council, Entry Board, Funds &
Assets Management
Committee; or
b) at the request of at least
60 residents.
All who have been entered
into the Register of Residents
maintained by the Secretary's
Office, as well as those
confirmed as Aurovilian by
the Entry Board, are allowed
to participate.
RA FAMC The Funds and Assets
Management Committee
selected by the Residents’
Assembly
The Funds and Assets
Management Committee
(FAMC) is one of the working
groups of the Auroville
Foundation, recognised by
the Foundation Act, and
specifically required to advise
the Governing Board on the
utilisation and acquisition of
funds and assets of Auroville.
The FAMC also approves the
creation and closure of Trusts
and Units and the
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
appointment and resignation
of Trustees and Executives. It
oversees the performance of
Trusts and Units, and evolves
guidelines and policies for
the management of Trusts,
Units and immovable assets
such as housing, other public
buildings, and funds held by
the Unity Fund. The BCC is a
subgroup of the FAMC.The
members of the FAMC are
selected by the Residents
Assembly.
RA Housing Board Since the constitution of a
Housing Board in 2017 their
role has always been to
oversee the work of the
Housing Service and ensure
proper allocation of housing,
managing budgets, report to
the community, and
collaborate with ATDC on
new housing projects. In
August 2022 they received an
Office Order from the AVFO
claiming to have
reconstituted the Housing
Service. The Office Order did
not mention the Housing
Board however the new
Housing Service members do
not recognise the RA Housing
Board
Residential assets are
managed by the Housing
Service and the Housing
Board. The Housing Board is
constituted of
representatives of Housing
Service, Land Board, Auroville
Council, FAMC, and 4
members from the
community at large proposed
by FAMC, who are confirmed
after feedback.
RAM Residents’ Assembly Meeting An official meeting of the
Residents’ Assembly
RAS Residents’ Assembly Service The Residents' Assembly
Service (RAS) is a neutral
body in service of the
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
Residents' Assembly (RA),
including its working groups
and community at large.
RA TDC The Auroville Town
Development Council
selected by the Residents’
Assembly
Town Development Council
(TDC), previously known as
L'Avenir d'Auroville, is
Auroville's town planning
body.
RA WCom The Working Committee
selected by the Residents’
Assembly
Auroville’s seven-member
Working Committee (WCom)
is the official body
responsible under the
Auroville Foundation Act for
assisting the Residents
Assembly and liaising with
the Governing Board of the
Auroville Foundation. It also
functions as the official
representative of the
Residents Assembly to local
officials, the Government of
India and other outside
bodies.
RoR Register of Residents The Register of Residents of
Auroville is a list maintained
by the Auroville Foundation
Office.
A person who goes through
the Entry process and
becomes an Aurovilian is
entered on the Register of
Residents.
The Secretary The Secretary to the Auroville
Foundation (Dr. Jayanti Ravi)
For administering the
Auroville Foundation on a
day-to-day basis, the Central
Government appoints an
officer of the rank of Joint
Secretary to the Government
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Term (abbreviation/acronym) Refers to... Definition
of India as Secretary to the
Foundation, with
headquarters in Auroville.
The Undersecretary The Undersecretary of the
Auroville Foundation (Mr. PR
Srinivasamurthy)
The Undersecretary supports
the Secretary in the
execution of her functions.
ToS Temporarily out of station Used to describe with
community members are
outside of Auroville on a
temporary basis.