Ekraf Mania Festival 2026 Strengthens Collaboration Among Creative Economy Actors in NTB
The Tourism and Creative Economy Office (Disparekraf) of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has opened a collaborative space for creative economy actors through the Ekraf Mania Festival 2026. The forum, titled Ngopi Ekraf (Inspirational Talk Show & Networking Session), represents a new step in efforts to restart the wheels of NTB’s creative economy while supporting the realisation of the high-class tourism concept promoted by the NTB Provincial Government. The activity, held in the courtyard of the Disparekraf NTB office on Thursday evening (13/08), served as a meeting space between the government and creative economy actors to build communication, strengthen collaboration, and identify various issues faced by creative economy actors in NTB.
Secretary of Disparekraf NTB, Muhamad Erwa, said that intensive communication with creative economy actors is an important part of enabling the government to carry out its role as facilitator, accelerator, and regulator. “Without good communication, we cannot mitigate the problems and issues faced by creative economy actors,” said Erwan.
According to him, the Ekraf Mania Festival is not intended merely as a ceremonial activity. Disparekraf NTB instead wants to turn the office into a Creative Hub that creative economy actors can use to showcase their work and build networks sustainably. Going forward, various creative economy communities will be given space to display their respective works, from photography, film, and music communities to other creative business actors. “We hope it is not just a matter of events, but indeed every day there must be something we try to showcase and facilitate,” he said.
Erwan explained that participation in the activity is open to all creative economy actors in NTB. The registration mechanism is conducted openly through an online system to expand opportunities for creative economy actors who have not yet received space in various government activities. This step is also part of Disparekraf NTB’s plan to build Ekraf Satu Data (One Data for Creative Economy). The data is expected to map the capacity and development of creative economy actors based on their levels. “Going forward, we will try with Ekraf Satu Data. With Ekraf Satu Data, we can sort out the levels of the creative economy,” he explained.
Through this mapping, the government can provide more precise interventions according to the needs of each creative economy actor. The support provided will not be uniform but will be adjusted to the capacity and development of businesses and communities.
In the medium term, Disparekraf NTB is also preparing the development of creative spaces within the office environment, including a central studio that can be used by communities. Meanwhile, for the long term, the regional government is encouraging the establishment of the Nusa Tenggara Creative Hub as a centre of creativity that can accommodate the 21 creative economy sub-sectors. The concept is expected to bring together various communities and creative economy sub-sectors while supporting NTB’s character as a sport tourism destination.
Erwan cited the example of the automotive community, which needs space to be creative and modify vehicles. According to him, regulations also need to be prepared so that public creativity does not clash with legal provisions. “Don’t let people go to prison because of modifications. That is indeed the fear of our friends among creative economy actors,” he said.
He also emphasised that the regional government is open to criticism and input from creative economy actors. The Ekraf Mania Festival is one of the initial steps to build more intensive communication between the government and creative communities. “As a government, this is not easy; there will certainly be a lot of criticism. But criticism for the government must be criticism that enables the people to be well facilitated,” Erwan stressed.
One of the discussion participants from East Lombok, Khaeril, admitted to attending the event for several days at one of the Ekraf Mania Festival 2026 activities, namely the Digital Creative Academy. According to him, the activity was very interesting and enjoyable because he was able to meet around 40 creative economy activists and communities with different backgrounds, experiences, and skills. It at least provided him with new knowledge such as photography, digital marketing, cinematography, and blogging. “This event is cool, mentored directly by people who are competent in their fields. In a realistic learning process, we practise directly,” said the young man who works as a content creator.
Through the Ekraf Mania Festival 2026, Disparekraf NTB hopes that the collaborative space between the government, communities, and creative economy actors will become increasingly open so that the creative economy ecosystem in NTB can grow more inclusively and sustainably.