Cultural heritage can be elevated with a touch of creativity

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya stated that the value of ancestral cultural heritage in the form of history, stories, and strong local wisdom can be elevated into an economic source that advances the Nusantara region with touches of technology, innovation, and creativity. “We pass down our strong cultural roots and develop them downstream with touches of innovation, technology, and creativity, based on this digital era, which can produce sustainable economic values, part of which also serve to revive our journeys or histories,” Riefky said in his speech at the opening of the Revitalisasi Keraton Nusantara painting exhibition at the Antara Heritage Center, Jakarta, on Friday. Riefky said that countries with strong cultural roots have developing creative industries that capitalise on history and culture into various creative industry forms such as films, fashion, cuisine, and games. One way to generate economic value from history is through better storytelling in the future as “the new mining” with creative economy potential in every regency. “There are 514 regencies that will never run out of stories, actually. From those stories, write them down, from there it can become comics, films, souvenirs, animated films, games, and so on,” he said. The roles of kings, queens, and the surrounding community of the palaces play a significant role in making cultural heritage stories and strong cultural roots in palace areas to maintain cultural identity both in the homeland and the world. Riefky conveyed that the Ministry of Creative Economy is strongly committed to promoting the revitalisation of palaces in Indonesia in line with the national policy direction that seeks to preserve the nation’s identity. Hexahelix collaboration is needed between communities in associations or forums, academics, government, media, to financial institutions in the revitalisation of Nusantara palaces. “Because actually, helping to revitalise Nusantara palaces is not just providing funds, but this will actually spin the regional economy, and also open up employment opportunities, increase regional income, so there are many multiplier effects,” said Riefky. The Ministry of Creative Economy also stated its readiness to collaborate with the Forum Silaturahmi Keraton Nusantara (FSKN) through painting exhibitions to ensure that cultural heritage can transform into an economic force relevant to the needs of the times, thus able to provide real impacts for the economic and social functions of society.