Creative Economy Minister Seeks to Strengthen Strategic Role of Event Industry

Minister of Creative Economy and Head of the Creative Economy Agency, Teuku Riefky Harsya, stated that the event industry plays a strategic role in developing the creative economy ecosystem. He explained that the industry can be strengthened through the reinforcement of industry data, human resource competencies, and the measurement of the economic impact of event organisation. “Every programme that uses state funds must naturally demonstrate results. Therefore, we need to strengthen how we measure the contribution of the creative economy, including events, so that its impact can be read in a more measurable way,” the Minister said in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday. The Minister noted that the event industry holds a strategic role because it serves as a collaborative space for various creative sub-sectors while driving broad economic activity. Consequently, strengthening data and impact measurement instruments is necessary so that the industry’s contribution can be measured more clearly, not only in terms of organisation but also its economic benefits. Input from industry players, including the National Event Industry Alliance, is also crucial in addressing various challenges within the creative economy ecosystem, including the event sector which connects multiple creative sub-sectors. Among the requests made to the government were strengthening business classification through industry data, developing competency certification, adopting a best value for money procurement approach, implementing risk-based licensing, and developing instruments to measure the economic impact of events. “The Ministry of Creative Economy has been working to unravel various problems within the creative economy ecosystem. What was conveyed by the National Event Industry Alliance today further clarifies the need for a comprehensive approach and collaboration to build a quality, sustainable, measurable, and impactful industry,” the Minister said. Andro Rohmana, Chairman of the Forum Backstagers Indonesia and part of the National Event Industry Alliance, said the sector still faces several challenges, ranging from institutional recognition and business classification to professional standardisation and economic impact measurement. Therefore, the association presented a White Paper on Indonesia’s Event Industry Policy as a strategic recommendation to strengthen the national event industry. “We compiled this White Paper with the spirit of moving from invisible to irreplaceable. The event industry has long been an important part of the creative economy ecosystem, but it still needs strengthening to have a clearer institutional foundation,” Andro said. The National Event Industry Alliance consists of IVENDO, Forum Backstagers Indonesia, APMI, AFJI, IMARINDO, Rental Indonesia, and representatives of event owners.