Date: Aug 28 - Aug 30, 2019 Location: Jagannath Bhatankar Marg, Upper Primary, Maha Nagar Palika, Marathi School, Parel Mumbai - 400012 A 3-day capacity building workshop for middle and high school science teachers was organized by Sri Aurobindo Society and Joy of Learning Foundation in collaboration with Educo India, Mumbai. Around 28 teachers teaching Science for grades 6th to 10th participated in the workshop. Educo sought permission from the education department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and BMC also allotted a venue for the same. The hands-on training was given by the eminent team consisting of: Anshumala Gupta (Project Investigator) Vikas Saini (Co-Project Investigator) Hitesh Khatwani (Resource Person) and Uddipana Kalita (Resource Person) The workshop mainly conveyed the teachers how role play can be introduced while teaching some important topics in the classroom. Some topics that were chosen for role play were electricity, human circulatory system, human respiratory system, photosynthesis, pollination, atomic energy and chemical bonding. Only if a student has a strong foundation in these topics, he will feel science to be an interesting subject. This role play will certainly make a dormant session into an active session. At the end of the third day, the teachers felt that they are carrying a lot new ideas with them and these ideas when spread to the student community will certainly have a lasting effect on their understanding of the subject. The activities of the workshop are briefly narrated below: Day 1: Electricity, Human Circulation System and respiration system 1.1 Electricity topic was divided into two role plays i.e. Static Electricity and Current Electricity Static Electricity role play covered how the insulators are charged by friction and how the attraction or repulsion between these charged and uncharged bodies take place. It also covered the charging among conductors by induction, conduction and earthing. The role play on current electricity dealt with the following concepts: Role of conductor Flow of charges Role of batteries Role of resistance Energy transfer in electric circuit Potential difference Simple Circuit Series circuit and Parallel circuit 1.2 Human Circulation System role play brought forth the transportation of gases, nutrients and waste inside the human body. Teachers played the role of blood and different body organs and exchange of different matter was shown by ribbons of different colours. 1.3 Respiration System role play showed the exchange of different gases within the lungs at the time of breathing in and breathing out. Day 2: Photosynthesis and Pollination 2.1 Photosynthesis role play showed the following processes: Role of Xylem and Phloem Role of Guard Cells in Stomata Transpiration in plants Photosynthesis in plants Respiration in plants Teachers took up the role of water, carbon dioxide and oxygen gas. They werr given different colour ribbons for clear identification. Water was blue colour, carbon dioxide was green colour and oxygen in red colour. Teachers also take up the role of guard cells in stomata and regulate the flow of gases and water vapours. 2.2 Pollination role play was designed to understand the following: Role of male and female parts in flowers Role of Pollinators in the process of pollination Strategy used by plants to attract pollinators Strategies used by plants to favor cross pollination Day 3: Atomic Structure and Chemical Bonding 3.1 Atomic Structure role play covered the following concepts: Identity of atom: significance on number of protons Neutral atom versus charged ion Formation of isotopes: number of neutrons Formation of ions Energy levels (shells) Arrangement of electrons in different energy levels 2n2 rule Octet rule Number of valence electrons versus valency The red colour ribbons represent Protons, white colour Electrons and Blue colour Neutrons. The innermost circle on the floor represented the nucleus and other outer circles represented different energy levels (shells). 3.2 Chemical Bonding role play basically allowed people to play the role of atoms and bindis were used to show their valence electrons. The exchange of electrons were done easily and ionic bonds were also shown very easily. This activity can also be used to show covalent bonding by sharing of electrons. Following concepts can also be covered: Exchange of electrons Ionic bonding Sharing of electrons Covalent bonding

Date: Jul 17 - Jul 20, 2019 Location: SAIE, Kolkata Photo Album of the Workshop on Facebook Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), the educational wing of Sri Aurobindo Society, conducted a workshop on ‘Integral Education’ organized by Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education (SAIE), Kolkata, at their premises in Kolkata, from July 17 to 20, 2019, for their primary teachers. There were also two introductory short sessions conducted for the pre-primary and higher secondary teachers. All the sessions were conducted by Shivakumar and Priti Umamahesvaram of SAFIER.The participants undertook a transformational journey through the principles and practice of Integral Education, as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Day 1: Integral Education – An introduction In this session we understood: the need to educate ourselves in order to educate children to educate ourselves, we need to know ourselves and eventually learn to control ourselves The concept of our personality was absolutely clear through a skit. The skit presented was like holding a mirror in front of us. We could relate absolutely to it. After it, we did an excellent exercise to go through the questionnaire to know ourselves. Through the skit and questionnaire, it was very easy to know the three parts of us: The Physical, the Mind, the Vital and our Friend deep inside our heart. We learnt through this session: one can understand things easily through drama our ‘Antarer Bandhu’ (the Inner friend, our Soul) stays with us always. This feeling is immense ​Day 2 Body Awareness The second day’s session was wonderful and enjoyable with lots of activities. For example, we did some activities with PVC pipes. This session made us realise with full attention, a lot can be done. We, teachers should also be more attentive. When our body consciousness is awakened, we can do a lot! The session was challenging because we had to focus on catching and throwing (not to hurt while throwing) gave the deeper feeling that one has to take care of themselves and others as well). We learnt that our body has the capacity to adjust according to the environment and situations. Strength and awareness of the body increases when it practices ‘stillness’. Art of Seeing I & II We were happy to know the difference between ‘seeing’ and ‘looking’. The session gave us an idea of how observant we can be. While seeing one has to connect to the Soul. Drawing without seeing the book and feeling the object with our eyes and inviting its inner self within us was an amazing experience. We came to know about ourselves, that we can draw a portrait. We also learnt that if one sees something immensely, they can remember it for a long time. Feeling the living being and its Soul and drawing is just touching one’s inner Self through the activity. We discovered the artist within ourselves. Language Development This was a very important session of the workshop, without language, no other subjects can be taught. We understood that so many ideas are within us, we can create a story on a simple topic, our imagination power is so strong. The session was very interesting as we understood how one can develop writing and listening skills through games and activities. Day 3 Project Method & Presentations This session was very effective and helpful. This session gave us good ideas on how a project can be done differently and interestingly. We can enable the students do the projects in a fun way and they will be happy while doing the projects. We also learnt many more aspects that we have to ponder while planning a project. We also gathered that one can collaborate with other subject teachers and that humour, theatre and art can also be a part of project presentation. Self-Observation & Working on Anger In this session, we questioned ourselves and analysed the trigger of anger and its milder forms: irritation and annoyance. We found it a wonderful way to control our emotions. This session gave an idea as to how one can get rid of one’s anger and irritation, how to calm oneself and not to put blame on others and introspect one's own emotions and problems. It was a process of knowing oneself better when we went thoroughly through the incident and found or rather realised the cause behind it. Day 4 Inner Stillness In this session, we forgot everything outside. We got totally involved with the activity of the flame. It was dark and hot and sweaty inside the hall, but we became one with our flame. We were concentrating on our inner flame, our inner self. We learnt to inculcate calmness within us and invoke stillness. In this meditative process, we have learnt to keep ourselves completely detached from all distractions and be one with our inner soul. We also learnt to befriend one of the element of nature- the ‘Fire’. Integral Teaching Integral teaching means creating a comfortable environment for the child to develop freely in a home far away from home. The session taught us how to control ourselves first. When we master this, we can easily bring the students under our control. The session talked about creating an inner and outer environment in order to bring about a blossoming growth in the students. Thus, it is important to be patient and create an inner stillness in order to bring about beauty and harmony in the environment. Special Session Everyday: Chanting The chanting sessions were magical. All the mantras that we chanted had a wonderful effect on us. We were feeling calm, still and quiet deep inside. We experienced a soothing feeling throughout the session. Knowing the meanings and concentrating on the pronunciation made the session more meaningful. Conclusion The teachers cheerfully participated in all the sessions and displayed their fullest enthusiasm in knowing more about Integral education practices and its implementation. The experiential sessions helped them understand how Integral education can be integrated in their own lives by developing inner stillness and help them be wholesome human beings and teachers too. The teachers showed eagerness to implement the project system in their classrooms. The pre-primary teachers were keen to apply integral teaching by initiating a physical education programme for children. A Core Group of participants was formed and it was decided to start a series of interactions with the Core Group to bring in more of Integral Education into the education system happening at the schools.

Date: 27-Jun-2019 Location: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry On June 27, 2019, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), the educational wing of Sri Aurobindo Society, conducted two orientation sessions for the students and faculty of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram, Chennai. The first session covered an introduction to Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), while the second session was about the importance of flowers and fragrances in light of the significances given by the Mother. About 260 students of Class 7 and 20 teachers from one of this premier school of Chennai were on an educational retreat to Puducherry. Considering the number of students, the whole batch was divided into two groups of 130 students with 10 teachers each. Therefore, both the sessions were conducted twice, one in the morning and the other post-lunch, for easy accommodation and students’ understanding. The event was coordinated by Shivakumar, Director, SAFIER, and Dr Padmini of the Bhavan’s School. An Introduction to Puducherry and Sri Aurobindo Ashram The programme started with 2 minutes of meditation on the Mother’s music, and it was heartening to see that the students were very calm and focussed throughout the duration of meditation. Shivakumar welcomed them all and thereafter, Puja, one of the resource persons from the Society first introduced the town and established the connection of the town with the Ashram. This was addressed by primarily introducing Sri Aurobindo, his unusual childhood, life in England and his extreme brilliance and genius as a student, followed by a short journey through his life as a freedom fighter, nationalist and then the spiritual Light he became after his arrival to Pondicherry. The introduction to Sri Aurobindo was followed by a narrative of how the Mother arrived in India and an overview of how the Ashram was formed, the Mother’s contribution in establishing, managing and developing the Ashram and especially the school, and finally a lively discussion on the uniqueness of the Ashram School or SAICE. A very interesting part of this session was a question–answers session with the students asking them: “What would be the characteristics or features of your dream school?” To the sheer astonishment of the students of this reputable school, the Centre of Education consists of almost all the attributes they described in their dream school. Even the teachers were extremely excited to know about the organization and methodology of education being imparted at the SAICE. Flowers and the Significances Given to Them by the Mother The next interaction by the students was with Priti, another resource person of the Society, on the ‘spiritual significance of flowers’ as given by the Mother. The students keenly listened to the stories related to the Mother and her friendship with the world of Nature. They were curious to know more and enthusiastically participated throughout the session, with many thoughts and questions. As they were doing a project in school on ‘Flowers and Their Fragrances’, they were already very deeply involved in the topic. They were astounded when they heard that the Mother had given names to the flowers according to their consciousness and characteristics – be it colour, shape, scent or even depending on a legend associated with them. These names then had developed into a language of flowers which all the Ashramites use when they have to communicate with each other or earlier with the Mother too, or understand the importance of the blessings from the Mother which they received in the form of flowers. The children quickly grasped many names of flowers, for example the pomegranate flower is called ‘Divine Love’ and the Champa or Plumeria flower is called ‘Psychological Perfection’ while Jasmine is ‘Purity’ and Rose is ‘Love for the Divine’. A brief mention of the life of the great scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose who studied ‘plant intelligence’ was made in order to address the scientific temper of the students. They even made an effort to grasp the deeper meanings of the flowers and give names to them according to their relationship with them, when they went into silence and became one with flowers. They went back enriched with a whole new world of flowers. For all the students and teachers, their trip acquired a much more meaningful and substantial appeal after this programme, as they realized the historical and spiritual depth of the place. It was an equally profound experience for both the facilitators of the Society and the participants of Bhavan’s School.

Date: Jun 11 - Jun 12, 2019 Location: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry Principals of AuroSchools were invited for a 2-day workshop at Sri Aurobindo Society’s Beach Office. Ms. Garima Bharadwaj, Principal of Chandigarh Auroschool, Neerja Sethi, Principal, Patiala AuroSchool and Uma Mohan, Principal, AMIS, Bengaluru AuroSchool participated in this workshop. Day 1 The workshop started with an introduction by each principal about the practices with respect to academics and co-curricular activities in their school. Each school had some special characteristics, which when shared added to the repertoire of learning from each other! After a short refreshment break, Shivakumar, SAFIER, presented an intriguing relook at our current education system, which concentrates largely on subjects and methodology which are hardly of any value in our practical day-to-day life, except for the basics. This session was followed by an orientation on ‘What is Integral Education?’ and its need in the lives of teachers as well as students in the light of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. In the afternoon, the principals were led into an ‘Integral Classroom’ by Priti, SAFIER, where she enumerated the importance of creating an inner (psychological) and outer environment (physical) by the teachers in order to bring forth the soul of the child to the forefront for the perfection of his instruments - the body, the mind and the emotions. The session for the day concluded with a look at language development as an essential tool to understand the importance of ‘listening’ in a child’s life for increasing the attention span and power of retention to learn and how the subsequent stages of language development - listening, speaking, reading and writing follow in sequence and if given importance in the similar sequence in schools, could go a long way in increasing imagination and creative expression skills of the children. Day 2 Priti took a session of introducing the ‘three principles of True teaching’ by Sri Aurobindo, in the light of implementation of project method and its practical working in progressive schools, through which the child’s complete development is given importance. The session wrapped up with a discussion of how this can be taken further. The principals were keen to make some adaptations in their schools with respect to the suggestions made during the workshop and go for intensive teacher-training workshops to help the schools make the step in transition towards being integral education schools. A further plan and course of action will be discussed in the future, to take this up to the implementation level at the AuroSchools.

Date: Jun 04 - Jun 05, 2019 Location: Tel Aviv, Israel RUPANTAR, an education initiative of Sri Aurobindo Society, has now spread its wings internationally and established a partnership with EdTech Israel through a signed MoU to foster synergies between Israeli and Indian ‘education startups’. Israel has established its reputation as a global hub for innovation, producing more startup ventures than Canada, India, Japan, South Korea and Britain combined. To tap this expertise and share its own success story, Sri Aurobindo Society through its RUPANTAR programme has signed an MoU with EdTech Israel to foster synergies between Israeli and Indian Education Startups. Sharing our vision, EdTech Israel is an organization leading the Israeli ecosystem of education innovation, connecting Israel to international markets, partners, investors, governments and businesses. The partnership was forged during the Global Education Summit, held in Tel Aviv on June 4–5, 2019, which is Israel’s annual event exploring global industry trends and showcasing latest innovations in learning and educational technologies. Sri Aurobindo Society was invited this year to share its vision on ‘Innovation in Education in India’ and participate in a panel discussion titled ‘India: K12 and beyond, Israel’s best chance’. ‘Sri Aurobindo Society is excited to partner with EdTech Israel to enable, accelerate, and implement educational solutions and sustainable social businesses that will bring innovation and impact to India's education needs,’ said Sambhrant Sharma, Member – Executive, Sri Aurobindo Society. This MoU gives boost to our RUPANTAR programme’s most recent education transformation initiative – Edupreneur Village, which is India’s first incubation programme focused on education technology startups. The objective is to improve India’s education systems by connecting our young education entrepreneurs to Israel’s innovative talent, content, methodologies and technologies. Another critical point of interest for the Israeli technology startups at the summit was Auro Scholarship – an innovative microscholarship programme for Indian K–12 students, soon to be launched under the RUPANTAR umbrella. Again a first in India, this scholarship will focus on building talent rather than discovering talent as other scholarships do. Students will learn through mobile apps by our partner education technology startups, including Israeli startups, and students who show improved Learning Outcomes will win a micro scholarship on a monthly basis. In the near future, Sri Aurobindo Society looks forward to more important collaborations for which the foundation was laid during the Innovation Week programme, held from June 2 to 6, 2019, preceding and following the summit. This was an exclusive programme offering visits and opportunities to network some of the world-class education innovation organizations, including prestigious ones such as Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Weizmann Institute of Science.

Date: May 10 - May 17, 2019 Location: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry & Sharanam [Link to Photo Album of the Workshop on Facebook][Link to Full Report by the Participants of the Workshop, PDF (~5MB)] Sri Aurobindo Society has been conducting annual workshops on Integral Education for more than 31 years. This year, it was organized under the title ‘Basic Course in Integral Education – Theory and Approaches’, from 10 to 17 May 2019, for teachers, school principals, administrators, trustees and parents caring for children in the age group of 3–12 years (Pre-Primary and Primary level). The workshop was coordinated by Shivakumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), along with his team of facilitators. The workshop was attended by 42 enthusiastic learners who came forward to learn about Integral Education and in a way to take forward the mission of education as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother by generating awareness and sharing the practical approaches for the same. The participants included many principals, coordinators, teachers and parents of different schools from 10 states of India and there was one participant from France too. The workshop was divided into different sessions, giving the participants a variety of exposure about different aspects of Integral Education and how learning could be made joyful and creative. The sessions were aimed at developing an experiential understanding first for the teachers so that, with some practice, they can make a beginning of this approach through appropriate environment and activities in their classrooms. The sessions included the following: Sessions on Integral Education (IE): Introduction to IE; Physical Education; the Outer & the Inner Values; Psychic Education; Introduction to the Work of Sri Aurobindo Society – conducted by Shivakumar Taking a Look at the System; Head, Heart & Hands; Tuning In; Thinking About Thinking; Navigating & Arriving; Ripples – organized by Riddhi Shah Seeds of Light (3 Principles of True Education); Project Method; Special Session with Administrators – facilitated by Harvinder Kaur Art Attack; Cahier Pointelle (Dotted Notebook); World of Stories; Concentration Activities – led by Jasmine Sampat The Art of Seeing; Education of the Body; Language Development (Primary); Building Integral Classroom; Chanting – conducted by Priti Umamahesvaram Yogic Exercises – guided by Jasmine, Riddhi and Priti Awareness in Nature (Visit to Matri-Udyanam) – organized by Kavita Dutta Art in Nature, Educational Aids – managed by Sushanto, Krishna, Sumedha & Team Enjoying Math – session by Dilip Bhai Activities and visit at kindergarten of Ashram School – steered by Shilpa Towards the end, all the participants could enter into the spirit of an education that at once brings participation, growth and joy for the children, and the growth of teachers as facilitators of this. The 8 days of the workshop was just a beginning of a concrete step towards making all of our education into a child-centred process of learning and growing, guided by the Soul within.

Date: 15-Apr-2019 Location: The Indian Public School, Erode, Tamil Nadu Shivakumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), conducted a one-day workshop on Integral Education on April 15, 2019, for a group of 30 teachers of Grades 3, 4 & 5, along with the heads of the Academic Team of The Indian Public School, Erode, Tamil Nadu, at their premises. The school follows both the CBSE and IB curriculum in separate streams. The workshop opened with an interesting question from one of the participants on what we mean by Indian Education – or, is there something like that at all. Through the discussion, Shivakumar brought out the key principles in practice during the Gurukulam system of education and how these principles are still very much valid and relevant to the growth of children in the modern educational set-up. After this, Shivakumar took all the teachers on a journey of the expectations of a child when the child steps in the school and the classrooms, the child’s real needs of expressing, sharing and learning through real-life situations and less from a book. This was followed by a hard-core look at what we as teachers offer to the child in the name of syllabus and the need to modify to suit the child’s needs. A deeply engaging discussion followed on a most difficult concept to practice in the classroom, of what is “right” and “wrong” and the variations of it: beneficial & harmful, happiness & unhappiness, positive and negative, freedom and discipline. A play was enacted dramatizing the different parts of our personality, followed by a fun questionnaire on if we can recognize these parts within ourselves. The afternoon started with some fun and yet meaningful games to sustain the energy levels. After this, situations were given to them for enactment where the new way of looking at oneself could further be explored. All the teachers enjoyed presenting the plays taking cues from real-life situations! The workshop concluded with a discussion on the real focus of education, which is to help the child to get in touch with his/her own Genius and express it!

Date: Apr 04 - Apr 05, 2019 Location: Immaculate College of Education, Puducherry Shivakumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), was invited to be a Panel Expert for the Second Two-day International Conference on ‘Trends in Education’ organized by the Immaculate College of Education, Puducherry. About 120 participants, including research scholars, B.Ed. and M.Ed. students of the college, attended the programme, besides faculty from Immaculate and a few other colleges of Puducherry. The college, founded in 1999, focuses on character formation along with the academic excellence. The objectives of the conference were: to share innovative practices in the field of education to promote excellence in wellbeing of teachers and learners across the globe to encourage collaborative efforts to enhance the Quality of Education, and to foster understanding about the emerging trends in pedagogical approaches Shivakumar was also invited to deliver a talk on the topic ‘Values & Peace Education’ as part of the Panel discussion under the theme ‘Wellness and Education’. Some of the other topics on which talks were given, included: 1. Positive Education 2. Life Skills Education 3. Wellness and Health Education During his interaction with the participants, Shivakumar gave a background of the Integral Education being practiced at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE) of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and the deep impact it is having on the emerging trends in education all over the world. While introducing the topic value education, he underlined the reasons for it being least effective as it has not produced people of great character and force. And then he took up the discussion on how to impart values and said that values cannot be taught in an academic way, but the teachers, parents and the society themselves have to be practitioners of these values. While stories that symbolize great values and character of people are important, it is also important to adopt a ‘near to far’ approach, by starting with the practicing of values by the students in a gradual and graded way and first in a surrounding familiar to them. Once the teachers and the students begin to practice values at their homes as well as in the schools and colleges, the subject of Value Education becomes effective in transforming the character of the students. After the discussion, Shivakumar had an informal discussion with the other panellists on Integral Education and the gradual introduction of its core principles into the existing educational institutes so that the educational process can be strengthened.

Date: Dec 13 - Dec 17, 2018 Location: Neevam—The School, Amravati, Maharashtra A 5-day workshop for teachers of Neevam—The School was conducted from December 13 to 17, 2018, at their school campus in Amravati, Maharashtra. The facilitators were Shivakumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), Puducherry, and Riddhi Shah from Mumbai. The sessions were scheduled from 9am to 5pm every day, with a lunch and a tea break. More than 25 teachers of Neevam attended the sessions. The first day commenced with a short meditation, followed by an activity involving imagination, insight and perspective. The teachers observed objects around, from different angles, trying to connect to an object. Then they imagined three changes in the properties of the object. The exercise helped teachers understand the perspective of a child when he/she looks at a new object. On the second day, Shivakumar shared and discussed one of the quotes of the Mother (of Sri Aurobindo Ashram): “Look attentively into yourself to find out what, for you, is the most important thing, the thing you feel that you couldn’t do without. It is an interesting discovery.” Through this, he explained the different parts of being and elaborated on it with a demonstration through the help of four volunteer teachers. The next session began with a memory game to re-gather attention. To explore the parts of the being further, the participants were split into groups asked to prepare an advertisement to sell a human-like robot. The last session of the day included a presentation to depict the reactions in the four parts of being. The third day began with a short meditation activity, during which certain words (such as sunrise, maa, rape, hand, clouds, paneer, fire, etc.) were called out and everyone present was to observe the changes in the parts of our being. This was followed by discussion and sharing of experiences. Next, another activity was conducted to awaken the foot (foot massage) to observe the effect on inattention by observing different sensations felt due to the exercise. Furthermore, a stick activity was conducted to expand on the idea of attention and was linked with coordination. In the following session, the water element was introduced through its nature, sound and qualities. Large water bowls filled with water were kept and the water was felt gradually by different parts of the body. The fourth day began with an activity meant to awaken the sense of rhythm, where four sounds were repeated at different speeds by different groups of people to bring back focus. The teachers were asked to prepare a list of things they cannot do without. Initially a list of 10 things was made and was subsequently reduced to one to help realize where one’s focus lies. A short discussion was done to understand the source of decisions and actions, which translated as ‘awareness’ leading to ‘control’, then ‘perfection’ and ‘perseverance’. The teachers were asked to make a decision based on this discussion and to start working for whatever their aim, considering just two things which they can change or add to make their life situations better. The plan to reach the respective goals was depicted in the form of art work, using colours and symbols on a piece of paper. The fire element was introduced through a candle activity. The participants observed, felt and touched the flame of the candle mounted on a plate. They then placed it on different parts of body, walked with it and exchange them with others. This was done to connect with and understand the energy and nature of fire and also to bring about inner stillness in oneself. After a break, the teachers were again split into two groups. One of the groups watched a Japanese video, titled ‘Children Full of Life’. The other group took part in a communication exercise where they were asked essential questions related to the School, which led to the discovery of areas or aspects that need to be worked on as a team. On the last day, different ways of effective and efficient communication were discussed along with their practical applications. The workshop concluded with a reflection upon the feelings and any change in the same as observed in the beginning. —Report by Nisreen H., participant of the Workshop, Neevam—The School

Date: 13-Dec-2018 Location: Joshi Hall, Amravati, Maharashtra A workshop, titled ‘New Age Parenting for New Age Children’, was conducted for parents and teachers of Neevam—The School on December 13, 2018, at Joshi Hall, Amravati (Maharashtra). Joshi Hall also happens to be the venue visited by Sri Aurobindo during his involvement in India’s freedom struggle and he has even delivered a Talk here. The facilitators of the Workshop included Shivakumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), Puducherry; and Riddhi Shah from Mumbai. Among the attendees were 60 parents and 36 staff members from the Neevam School. The first session, led by Hardik Kakkad, involved everyone in a rhythm activity to tune them into the spirit. The purpose of the workshop was illustrated via a video, which presented the picture of the rut that we are in as a society and how we are moulding our children to become the same, wrapped up in the garb of modern education. Shivakumar then shared a poem ‘On Children’ written by Kahlil Gibran, followed by a discussion on how we view children and why it is necessary to change our perspective. This was further explored by Riddhi through an activity where a child was correlated to a flower with several petals and how we abuse our children, ignorantly, through verbal or physical violence and discouraging remarks. Shivakumar then entered into the journey that parents map out for their children and what most of the schools provide in the name of education. This was followed by a hard look at the educational content offered by the mainstream schools which is largely designed to satisfy the industrial needs of a bygone era and does not look into the real needs of a ‘Child’. This was made clear through an activity where all the participants were made to write down how much of what they were taught in their schools was relevant to their life. Shivakumar continued to introduce through words and activities how parents and teachers can work on the real needs of children through an Integral Education approach and hence help the little ones bloom into what they are meant to be. He also spoke about the ideals behind it and how it is being incorporated at Neevam. The workshop concluded with a short meditation through which the audience were asked to recall that one best teacher of theirs whom they still remember and the reason they were so fond of that teacher. The floor was then opened for discussion and Shivakumar addressed the questions coming from parents and teachers.

Date: Dec 02 - Dec 20, 2018 Location: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry Visit our FB page for the photo Album: https://goo.gl/iHhD6v From December 2 to 20, 2018, a group of 11 students and faculty from the University of Oregon, USA, spent 19 days in Puducherry, and hosted by the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS). The group was headed by Dr Surendra Subramani, who was also instrumental in organizing the programme and planning the itinerary in collaboration with the Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER) team, led by Shivakumar, Director, SAFIER. Dr Surendra Subramani is also singularly responsible, since 2012, for establishing a collaborative relationship between the University of Oregon (UO) students, staff and community and SAS. From the offset, the goal of the programme was multidimensional. The challenge was to expose the students within a short span of 18 days to Indian culture, history, philosophies, and social fabric and also introduce them to the current innovative projects of SAS that are working for the growth and progress of Indian society. Sri Aurobindo Society has among its members many individuals, who have the necessary expertise and experience in many of the identified areas. They were called upon to provide the positive curriculum to educate the students on many of these topics. Furthermore, SAS also has associations with partner organizations that were made available for the students to have hands-on experience to observe or participate in their respective areas of study or interest. During their stay, they interacted with the SAS Team and had sessions with Gayatri, Puja, Shruti, Sampad, Sushanto, Rathi, and Shivakumar on various topics. The introduction and service work with the SARVAM project and the Satya Special School provided opportunities for the UO students and faculty to see the challenges these projects face and yet the progress made for the betterment of their respective constituents. At the SARVAM project, the most important distinction observed by the UO students was the dedication and focus towards education the children in the village showed. In many respects, though the village did not have the privileged comforts found in the US, the level of respect, discipline, healthy curiosity, and passion for education was something the UO students have not seen in American schools. At the Satya Special School, it was noted by some of the students that the level of genuine human interaction practiced by the supervisors was almost non-existent in similar American establishments due to legal requirements. The American institutions, as one student noted, deals with their students in a very clinical manner—almost like clients—lacking the human touch, while at Satya, which lacked the sophistication of the physical infrastructure, brimmed with human touch and care. The students recommended to the Satya supervisors to continue what they were doing, while only selectively choosing what was being offered through the American system. A look at the historical, cultural and artistic achievements of south India was made available through a visit to the ancient temples of Mahabalipuram. And then there was a much-enjoyed bicycle trip to the Lighthouse of Puducherry and a dip in the Bay of Bengal. There were also visits to the Matrikunj land (SAS farm) where conscious farming is being practised, and to SHARANAM, the green, environment friendly rural training centre, which made their trip more complete. The overall programme far exceeded the expectations of the UO students. The visit was so successful that all the students have indicated that they would like to return to spend more time on many of the projects run by the Society. We wish them the best in their lives and further education to the benefit of the humanity as a whole! Here are the write-ups by the Participants of their experience.

Date: Nov 04 - Nov 05, 2018 Location: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry EVENT: Group Sessions & Activities on Integral Yoga WHEN: October 6 & 7 and November 4 & 5, 2018 WHERE: Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry On October 6 and 7, 2018, a group of 40 practitioners of Yoga led by Anahita Sanjana, Mumbai, arrived in Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry, for an exposure to Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo. Shivakumar, Director of Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Education and Research (SAFIER), the educational wing of the Society, interacted with them exploring the topic of “Integral Spirituality”. Through anecdotes and stories, Shivakumar described various aspects of spirituality and the means to realize the truths of Spirituality. This was followed by a lively question and answer session. On November 4 and 5, 2018, a group of 41 students who have taken up the subject of Yoga as part of their studies at J.B. Petit School for Girls in Mumbai, were brought by their teachers Anahita Sanjana, Shehnaz and Shailaja, for an experiential exposure to self-development. Various sessions were organized for them covering Exploration of Movements with Music, Tai Chi and Enhancing Concentration. Shivakumar conducted an intense activity on developing the awareness of oneself and enhancing the capacity of concentration. This was followed by his lively discussion on our connection with the five elements: earth, water, air, fire and ether. A large number of questions were asked and the subsequent interactions brought a deep sense of bonding and connection with the elements of Nature around us.