The Indonesian city of Cirebon is known for its surge in extremist Islamic activities in the recent years. So far, the violence culminated in a terrorist attack on the police headquarters of the Cirebon district in April 2011, during which the local police chief has been severely injured. Even in the aftermath of this attack, more incidents have occurred.

Against this background, the largest Islamic mass movement in Indonesia, the Nahdlatul Ulama, has conducted a four-day seminar on the topics democratization and civic education. In the course of this seminar, which was attended by approximately 80 people, the thematic focal points were tolerance and openness to dialog. The Head of Nahdlatul Ulama, Professor Said Aqil Siroj, delivered a detailed speech on these topics.

Within this seminar, a strategy on how to support democratization and openness to dialog has been developed. These goals can be achieved through creating improved livelihoods on the grass-root level, the development of sustainable agriculture as well as establishing a broader access to economic structures for the society.