Minister Riefky: Creative economy presents opportunity amid rupiah weakening

Creative Economy Minister Teuku Riefky Harsya has stated that the creative economy sector can seize potential opportunities to bolster the economy amid current global uncertainty, particularly the weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar. “We see an opportunity for the creative economy sector to be developed in the current situation,” Riefky said in Yogyakarta on Saturday. He assessed that the situation could lead to rising prices of foreign products that still heavily enter and spread across the Indonesian market. “This situation, where foreign products are becoming more expensive, can be utilised to campaign for the distribution of local products,” he said. According to him, Indonesian creative economy products such as fashion, film, music, and games currently have the opportunity to replace foreign products. “What was once foreign fashion becomes local fashion, what were once crowded foreign films could now see local films become popular, likewise with games, music, and other creative products of the nation’s youth,” he explained. Riefky added that the government is currently not only enhancing downstreaming in the mining sector but also in the creative economy, which is highly potential for development through orchestration between business actors and central and regional governments. “Because downstreaming is not only from the mining sector but also the creative economy; in terms of strengthening the local market, this becomes an opportunity,” Riefky said. One effort to strengthen the creative economy, Riefky continued, is being carried out through the IDE.IND programme, which was launched in Yogyakarta before later being held in various provinces across Indonesia. “The IDE.IND event is an activity to support local brands, which also serves as a kick-off in Yogyakarta and will be conducted in various regions during the second half of this year,” he explained. Meanwhile, Deputy for Cultural Creativity and Design at the Ministry of Creative Economy, Yuke Sri Rahayu, added that Yogyakarta was chosen as the first city and province to implement IDE.IND 2026 with a series of activities. “There is an exhibition of creative economy products, talkshows, inspirational discussions, quizzes, and interactive games for visitors,” she said. She noted there are four discussion sessions addressing various themes relevant to strengthening the creative economy in the current era. “The talkshow activities were attended by approximately 120 participants divided into four sessions representing each deputy at the Ministry of Creative Economy,” Yuke said. The ministry also involved regional governments, creative economy communities, universities, associations, media, business partners, and the general public as part of strengthening creative economy networking and collaboration. “We hope the new IDE.IND concept can become a starting point for strengthening the national creative economy network, which can later be implemented in various other regions in Indonesia,” she explained.