Reaktualisasi Kearifan Lokal Bugis-Makassar melalui Focus Group Discussion untuk Membangun Budaya Demokrasi Damai di Kota Makassar

Abstract

This community engagement program aimed to strengthen understanding of peaceful ways of voicing aspirations and to re-actualize Bugis-Makassar local wisdom as social capital for conflict prevention, following the riots in Makassar City in late August 2025. Together with SERUM Institute, the team held a Focus Group Discussion on 1 December 2025 with twenty-five core participants drawn from university students, academics, security officers, religious leaders, literacy activists, and youth organization leaders. The activity followed four stages: preparation, orientation, participatory discussion guided by seven prompting questions, and reflection with the formulation of recommendations. Facilitator notes, participant observation, and documentation were analyzed thematically, and achievements were mapped at the output and outcome levels using indicators derived from each objective. The outputs were a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum, eight thematic findings, and four recommendations. At the outcome level, participants distinguished legitimate aspirations from destructive acts, identified the non-material losses caused by violence, and interpreted Sipakatau as mutual humanization, Sipakalebbi as mutual respect, and Sipakamase-mase as compassion and empathy. Participants considered tudang sipulung worth re-actualizing as a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum, while flagging the risk that a rigid application of cultural values may turn into a tool for imposing uniformity. Local wisdom can bridge democratic freedom and social responsibility when it is operationalized through education, regular dialogue forums, and the involvement of community leaders.