From June to July 2025, YADEMA collaborated with the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS) at UGM to deliver the course Ethics of Peace and the Modern Challenges of Life. The course was designed to address an increasingly urgent question in our time: how can ethical principles remain a guiding compass amid rapid technological change, environmental crises, and growing political fragmentation?
Class discussions explored artificial intelligence and its impact on employment and privacy, escalating environmental risks, and the dynamics of political polarization shaping public life. Students were not only encouraged to understand these issues conceptually but also to examine their implications for policy-making and governance.
An interdisciplinary approach shaped the learning process. Social, political, technological, and religious perspectives were brought into conversation to examine how ethical dilemmas unfold in real situations. Through case analysis and structured dialogue, students learned to engage complexity without reducing it to simplistic conclusions.
Beyond classroom discussions, students were also involved in field-based projects. They conducted observations, engaged in community dialogue, and developed recommendations or intervention models relevant to the issues studied. These projects allowed them to test their ethical reflections in real contexts rather than limiting them to academic simulations. In this way, ethics moved beyond abstract discourse and became part of practical decision-making processes on the ground.
