Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has a significant role in globalizing the creative economy industrial sector, according to the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
"Indonesia is the main initiator and one of the most powerful co-supporters and co-organizers to turn the creative economy industry into a global one," Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar stated during a Webinar on Reflection and Development of Creative Economy Cooperation here on Wednesday.
Siregar remarked that Indonesia's ability to elevate the creative economy industry sector to the global agenda is a major achievement.
According to Siregar, this achievement was clocked precisely at a time when the world was being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Indonesia, the creative economy industry grew quite significantly in the midst of a slump in other industrial sectors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This is particularly at a time when many business fields in the industrial sector fell far during the pandemic. However, the creative industry was relatively not eroded," he remarked.
Indonesia's efforts to strengthen digital and communication technology to encourage economic activity amid restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have, in fact, strengthened growth in the creative economy industry.
"That is because we are able to make the most of the pandemic conditions that are full of challenges into an opportunity to synergize various industries, including utilizing digital technology, which is then translated into various creatives and new products," he stated.
Apart from the pandemic, another momentum that pushed the creative economy industry into the global agenda was when Indonesia sought steps to make the industry part of the agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These steps encompass Indonesia's efforts to mainstream creative economic cooperation for the achievement of sustainable development at the global level, including the idea of adopting 2021 as the International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development at the United Nations General Assembly and the World Conference on Creative Economy in Dubai Expo 2021.
However, Siregar underlined several challenges that still had to be faced in developing the creative economy industry.
He cited the example of one of the challenges faced when Indonesia strove to support and facilitate creative industry collaboration for the development of traditional Balinese fabrics, specifically endek, with one of the fashion houses in France, Dior.
"In the end, good results can be obtained. However, in the process, we encountered various obstacles and challenges that we no longer have to face now," Siregar noted.
Siregar stated that issues related to communication, preparation, and capacity of MSME actors were classic challenges still encountered in the development of the creative economy industry.
Hence, he expressed optimism that these challenges would be overcome, so that the momentum of the pandemic can be utilized for the development of a much stronger creative economy industry, thereby being beneficial for the macro economy.
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