International Seminar and Workshop on Regenerative Learning

"Returning to the Circle: A Regenerative Pathway Beyond Technocratic Sustainable Development Goals"

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were conceived as a global covenant for justice, sustainability, and shared flourishing. Yet in practice, they are too often implemented through linear, mechanistic, and technocratic logic, reducing complex socio-ecological challenges to quantifiable targets, KPIs, and top-down interventions that replicate the very imbalances they claim to resolve. When SDGs are pursued without epistemic humility, relational intelligence, or spiritual grounding, they risk becoming instruments of managerial control rather than catalysts of civilisational transformation.

Hosted by the International Office of UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon, this landmark hybrid dialogue gathers visionary thinkers and practitioners to explore an alternative: the BIMA Framework (Bridging Intelligence, Mindfulness, and Awareness) as a regenerative, circular, and spiritually attuned pathway that realigns the spirit of the SDGs with their deeper purpose. This vision resonates profoundly with Islamic epistemology, which teaches that ilmu (knowledge) must serve rahmatan lil ‘alamin (mercy for all realms of creation) and that true progress (al-taqaddum al-ḥaqīqī) arises not from domination, but from balance, responsibility, and tawḥīd: the recognition of unity within diversity.

In alignment with UINSSC’s mission as a modern Islamic university committed to integrating revelation (wahyu) and empirical inquiry (‘aql), this event brings together:

Rudolf Wirawan, Ph.D., (University of Adelaide, Australia/Wirasoft Foundation/BIMA Nexus Pty, Australia) is a philosopher, systems thinker, and technologist whose work bridges Indigenous relational knowledge, modern scientific reasoning, and regenerative governance. Born in Indonesia, trained in mathematics in Germany, and now a citizen of Australia, he integrates cross-cultural epistemologies through the BIMA Framework—Bridging Intelligence, Mindfulness, and Awareness. Dr Wirawan earned his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Adelaide, where he helped pioneer the implementation of BIMA through the RONIN platform for research-inspired knowledge ecosystems. His career spans enterprise architecture at IBM, Indigenous-led systems design, and international collaborations on regenerative governance, diplomacy, and ecological restoration. His work seeks to reunite fragmented ways of knowing into a spiral ontology that empowers humanity to live wisely within the living world.

Prof. Alexander N. Christakis, Ph.D. (Yale, 1964; B.A. Princeton, 1959), is founder of the Institute for 21st Century Agoras and co-creator of Structured Dialogic Design (SDD). A past President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, he has spent over 35 years advancing democratic dialogue, collective intelligence, and epistemic integrity—principles that underpin relational methodologies such as BIMA–SDD. He serves on the Board of the Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), advises AIO and the Ambassador’s Leadership Program for tribal leaders, and has been a Board member of Future Worlds Center since 2010, collaborating with its Cyprus team on peacebuilding, local governance, and media initiatives since 2002.

Lala Bumela Sudimantara, Ph.D. is the Director of the International Office Universitas Islam Negeri Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon, Indonesia. A scholar-practitioner in Multisensory Computer-Assisted Language Learning (M-CALL), his work integrates decolonial pedagogies, neuroaesthetics, and relational literacy through culturally grounded frameworks such as Reading for Emotions and the BIMA–SDD methodology. Since 2017, he has led the development of the M-CALL Lab, applying embodied and imaginative approaches—including the Verbotonal method—to foster inclusive, emotionally resonant language education. Lala Bumela, Ph.D. is the lead author of Multisensory CALL for Under-Resourced Universities and Schools in Indonesia (Springer, 2025), a pioneering volume that offers transformative, neuroscience-informed solutions for equitable language education in resource-constrained contexts. An active promoter of international academic collaboration, he coordinates student mobility programs, institutional partnerships, and cross-cultural initiatives across Southeast Asia and beyond. His scholarship reflects a core belief that intelligence emerges from imagination—and that education must honor the sacred, the embodied, and the communal.

Ms. Maria Kakoulaki is a Greek journalist and an author with extensive experience across print, radio, television, and digital media. Her work and participation in European conferences focus on human rights, anti-racism, gender equality, and the ethical use of media technologies. Academically, she bridges disciplines including Psychology, Media Culture, Communication, and Creative Entrepreneurship, and is currently studying Greek Culture and Aesthetics at the Greek Open University. An active blogger at Le Regard Démocratique (www.leregardcretois.blogspot.com), she fosters inclusive dialogue and critical reflection on contemporary societal issues through the lens of Systemic Democratic Dialogue. Maria serves on the Board of the Institute for 21st Century Agoras and is a member of both the International Society of Nikos Kazantzakis’ Friends and the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Luqman Baehaqi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer and researcher in English Language Education at UIN Palangka Raya, Indonesia, where he serves as Head of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LP2M). Holding a Ph.D. in Teacher Education from Charles Darwin University, Australia (2023), his research pioneers multisensory, neuroscience-informed approaches to EFL teaching, academic writing, and literacy education. He is co-author of Multisensory CALL for Under-Resourced Universities and Schools in Indonesia (Springer, 2025), a groundbreaking volume that advances equitable, technology-enhanced pedagogies rooted in local cultural and sensory dimensions of learning. Dr. Baehaqi integrates curriculum innovation, teacher empowerment, and digital tools to transform language education in under-resourced contexts, guided by a commitment to inclusive, human-centered practice.

Ivan Chabibilah, M.Li. (International Cultural Communication Centre Malaysia), bridging interfaith action and community resilience through relational governance.

Mr. Sukad, spiritual elder and guardian of the Sagarahiang sacred landscape, embodying Indigenous cosmologies where humans are participants—not masters—of the living world.

Didin Misbahudin, S.Hum., (Niskala Institute, Bandung), researcher of the niskala—the unseen dimensions of wisdom, ethics, and collective healing.

Syarifuddin, S.S., a government servant committed to policy that honours rasa, ancestral ethics, and ecological justice.

Together, they will challenge a critical paradox:

Why do SDG efforts often deepen fragmentation even as they promise integration?

Because they are applied through the linear worldview—a legacy of Cartesian thinking that separates nature from culture, data from story, policy from soul. In contrast, both Islamic tradition and Indigenous wisdom affirm that the cosmos is a tawḥīdic whole: every being is connected by divine mercy, and every act of knowledge carries amānah—sacred trust. As the Qur’an reminds us: “Wa mā khalaqtu al-jinn wa al-insa illā liya‘budūn” (I created jinn and humankind only to serve and harmonise with the Divine order)—a call not to extract, but to steward; not to control, but to co-flourish.

This dialogue asserts that true sustainability cannot emerge from technocratic blueprints, no matter how data-rich. It arises only when science, spirituality, story, and community co-inhabit a shared circle of meaning—precisely the synthesis BIMA enables and UINSSC embodies.

The session also reflects UINSSC’s pioneering commitment to integrative knowledge—embodied in the Multisensory Computer-Assisted Language Learning, student-led inquiries into local ecosystems, and international collaborations grounded in epistemic humility and mutual respect.

Conducted bilingually (Bahasa Indonesia & English) with live interpretation, this event invites scholars, policymakers, students, spiritual leaders, and global citizens to reimagine the SDGs—not as a checklist, but as a circle to be re-entered with humility, wisdom, and sacred responsibility.

The world does not need more efficient SDG machinery. It needs a return to relational wisdom—grounded in tawḥīd, rasa, and the spiral of creation.

Join us as we cross the BIMA bridge—where sustainability becomes regenerative, governance becomes participatory, and development becomes an act of ibādah.

Location:

Cyber Building of UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati CirebonJl. Perjuangan No. 1, Karyamulya, Kec. Kesambi, Kota Cirebon, Jawa Barat 45135

Offline: Tuesday-Wednesday (2-3 December 2025), 08:00 AM – 04:00 PM

Online: Thrusday (4 December 2025), 08:00 AM – 03:30 PM

Live on Youtube (@io.uinssc)!