The City of Bogor plays an important economic, scientific, environmental, and cultural role in supporting the growth of the Province of West Java as well as the Greater Jakarta metropolitan region. As a critical buffer zone located just sixty kilometers south of the capital city, Bogor continues to undergo rapid urbanization, attracting migrants with diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bogor are striving for an open and equal relationship with the local government to address one of the most important development issues facing the city: combating communal intolerance and creating a more pluralistic society.

A 2015 study by the Setara Institute listed Bogor as one of the most intolerant cities in Indonesia. Between 1980 to 2017, 18 out of 38 domestic terrorism perpetrators were connected to Bogor. The city government was in the eyes of the public considered responsible for allowing an environment that supported intolerance and radicalism to germinate.

Despite having over two hundred registered CSOs in the city, a prevailing disconnect existed between the city political leadership, the government bureaucracy, and civil society. The lack of public forums caused many CSOs to work in silos to resolve issues pertaining to health, social welfare, infrastructure, and education.

To address these issues, the USAID MADANI Civil Society Support Initiative has since early 2020 focused on developing the capacity of local CSOs and organizing multistakeholder learning forums to bolster locally driven and collaborative initiatives in the city.

MADANI works with Yayasan Metamorfosis and BASOLIA (Interfaith Social Agency) – two local CSOs that advocate for community tolerance, gender equality, and women’s empowerment. MADANI technical experts have trained Metamorfosis and BASOLIA on community organization, coalition building, advocacy, and communication matters. This ongoing assistance is transforming the two organizations into more effective and credible CSOs, increasingly recognized by local government authorities, communities, and other CSOs, as well as viewed as a valuable partner for private sector actors.

Together, they have established a multistakeholder forum FORBODAS, (Forum Bogor Damai Sejahtera, the Bogor Peace and Welfare Forum) that convenes 30 other CSOs, academics, and journalists, representing the diversity present within the district, including religious community organizations, women, youth, people with disabilities, and thematic and non-governmental organizations. Some of the activities support by MADANI during 2021 are highlighted below.

On December 3, 2020, Metamorfosis led the first-ever celebration in Bogor of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities to emphasize community tolerance and social inclusion of marginalized groups. The groundbreaking event gave civil society the much-needed public space to engage local government and civil society through the MADANI- supported Forum FORBODAS.

In March 2021, Metamorfosis held a public discussion entitled: “Multi-Stakeholder Synergy in Strengthening Tolerance in Bogor City.” The purpose of the discussion was to convene local actors and encourage them to keep their commitments to accelerate programs on communal tolerance building.

Twenty-five organizations attended the online hybrid event, including the Setara Institute, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, FORBODAS, the Bogor Agency for National Unity and Politics (Kesbangpol), and the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB). The event concluded with the signing of a mutual agreement between FKUB and Metamorfosis.

During the 2021 Islamic holy month of Ramadan, BASOLIA organized an interfaith breaking of the fast at the Bogor Cathedral. “We need to engage the city’s youth and youth groups if we want an atmosphere of respect and tolerance to flourish in Bogor,” said Zainal Abidin, Chairperson of BASOLIA. Abidin continued: “we hope that by embracing key religious leaders, we can spur mutual responses from other faith-based leadership and members.” The event promoted universal religious values of peace, humanity, and unity in collaboration with the Bishop of Bogor and other Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic leaders.

Although the Bogor Government has had a reputation for being skeptical of CSOs, Metamorfosis and BASOLIA have seen a recent improvement in this relationship.

Sofiah, Director of Metamorfosis, says that “the environment has been very encouraging for us in forging a relationship with the city administration… we see a government that has become more open and receptive towards solving the city’s development agendas by synergizing with others.”

After collaborating with MADANI over the past eighteen months, city officials have expressed an appreciation for civil society contributions to government accountability and communal tolerance.

Considering this new paradigm, Bogor’s Kesbangpol office and Metamorfosis organized a one-day training for 120 civil society activists and community organizations in September 2021. During this landmark event, Metamorfosis introduced MADANI’s Organizational Performance Index (OPI), a custom version of USAID’s standardized tool for civil society capacity assessment.

Impressed with the outcome, Kesbangpol funded a series of ten additional capacity support workshops from October to December 2021, organizing the event with MADANI’s Partner CSOs and inviting more than 100 CSOs to participate. the Kesbangpol office continues to transform its own approach, moving from a security-focused agenda to supporting the development of civil society.

In the Setara Institute’s 2020 Tolerant City Index, Bogor is no longer listed as one of the ten most intolerant cities in Indonesia.* Bogor has improved to No. 67 out of the 94 districts and cities that took part in the new study. CSOs played a crucial role in improving the city’s status. Members promoted and strengthened community tolerance to the leaders of religious, youth, and community organizations. CSOs were involved in dialogues, responded to incidents of intolerance, and encouraged the Regional Mid-term Development Plans (RPJMD) to include religious harmony as part of the local government’s mission. The Setara Institute included these activities as part of their measurement for the index report.