Jakarta, April 25, 2025 – United In Diversity (UID) Foundation hosted the Graduation Ceremony of the Bersama Kelola Alam Adil Lestari (BEKAL) Pemimpin 4.0 Program on Friday afternoon (25/04) at Hotel Borobudur Jakarta. The event celebrated the achievements of young leaders and practitioners who completed an intensive 6-month learning journey to cultivate holistic systemic awareness for sustainable natural resource management (NRM) in Indonesia.

Launched in November 2024, the BEKAL Pemimpin 4.0 Program brought together 57 selected participants from 25 provinces across Indonesia. Representing diverse sectors—including central and local governments, private enterprises, local businesses, civil society organizations, academia, media, and community groups—they engaged with critical issues spanning terrestrial and marine ecosystems, cross-sector governance, and public policy.

Through generative classroom workshops, field visits, sensing exercises, and self-directed learning, participants honed their leadership capacities. The curriculum included:

• Foundation Workshop
• Sensing Workshop
• Deep Dive Workshop
• Prototype Workshop
• Final Workshop
• Graduation Ceremony

The final three months, participants tackled real-world challenges by designing cross-sector prototypes rooted in on-the-ground needs. These initiatives addressed strategic issues like:

🌱 Sustainable fisheries and agriculture

🌳 Forest conservation

📚 Ecological education

♻️ Green economy

🏞️ Inclusive governance

Beyond a "training ground," the program served as a collaborative lab for co-creating scalable natural resource management solutions. The graduation marked the debut of Cohort 4 and showcased their prototypes as blueprints for equitable, sustainable, and locally attuned natural resource management.

The ceremony featured remarks from government representatives, UID’s network, and the Packard Foundation, reinforcing shared commitments to just and sustainable.

Addressing Indonesia’s NRM Challenges

Indonesia’s abundant natural resources—if managed sustainably, equitably, and aligned with local wisdom—can empower the nation. Yet, fragmented governance, competing interests, and ecological complexity pose significant challenges.

Often overlooked is the need to invest in natural resource management leaders who can bridge sectors, diagnose root causes, and foster gotong royong (collective action). Since 2019, UID and the Packard Foundation have addressed this gap through BEKAL Pemimpin, a leadership program emphasizing systemic thinking, equity, and local values.

To date, BEKAL has graduated 171 fellows from nearly all Indonesian provinces:

• Cohort 1 (2019): 53 fellows from 19 provinces
• Cohort 2 (2021): 58 fellows from 22 provinces
• Cohort 3 (2023): 60 fellows from 27 provinces

"Few are willing to bridge sectors, interests, and competing egos as UID does. BEKAL Pemimpin proves leadership isn’t about individual innovation—it’s about unifying intent, creating collaborative spaces, and building trust across boundaries. This program asks not ‘what should we create?’ but ‘how do we change together?’ through participatory, field-rooted processes. That’s its power: nurturing young leaders ready to drive change in complex yet hopeful systems."

Tantowi Yahya, President of United In Diversity

"Restoring nature’s balance demands more than environmental fixes—it requires leaders with empathy, systemic awareness, and deep understanding. BEKAL invests in transformative learning where young leaders gain technical skills and confront complexity to pioneer collaborative, equitable futures."
Suyoto, Chancellor of United In Diversity