Communication: Local Wisdom Peace And Harmony – Prahastiwi Utari, dkk.

The contemporary digital era presents a profound paradox: we are living in a time of unprecedented global connectivity, yet we simultaneously face heightened social fragmentation, polarization, and cultural erosion. As transnational media flows and algorithmic platforms increasingly shape what societies see, hear, and believe, the homogenization of culture poses a critical threat to indigenous knowledge systems. In this volatile landscape, the role of communication extends far beyond the mere transmission of information; it becomes an ethical imperative to cultivate peace, sustain social cohesion, and foster intercultural understanding. Indonesia, as the world’s largest archipelagic nation, provides a unique and vital vantage point for reimagining communication in the 21st century. Home to thousands of forms of intangible cultural heritage, Indonesia possesses a rich repository of kearifan lokal (local wisdom). Values such as gotong royong (mutual cooperation), musyawarah-mufakat (deliberation and consensus), and tepa selira (mutual respect) are not merely relics of a bygone era; they are dynamic, living communicative practices that continuously negotiate meaning, mediate conflicts, and reproduce social harmony. This book challenges that hegemony by engaging in an agenda of epistemic decolonization. It positions Indonesian local wisdom not merely as an empirical object of study, but as a legitimate epistemological foundation for generating original communication theories centered on relational sustainability and collective ethics.