Jakarta, August 18, 2026 – Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Irene Umar, encouraged creators to develop their work into economically valuable assets while attending IdeaFriends ‘After Hours: Creator Economy’ at Taman Arca, National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, on Saturday (August 15). The collaboration among the Ministry of Creative Economy, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Adobe, National Museum of Indonesia, and IdeaFest brought together 100 creators to learn, build networks, utilize creative technology, and explore economic opportunities.
Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf), Irene Umar, attends IdeaFriends 'After Hours: Creator Economy' at Taman Arca, National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, Saturday (August 15, 2026).
The event combined experiences in a cultural space with creative technology through a Night at the Museum Tour, Adobe Express Template Challenge, Lightning Talks, community introductions, and networking sessions. At the same event, Adobe introduced Create and Earn, a creator monetization program that allows participants to create templates on Adobe Express and receive compensation based on their work and the level of usage of the templates they produce.
“Creators need access to technology, opportunities to learn, communities to collaborate with, and opportunities to turn their creativity into a source of livelihood and a career. Therefore, collaborations like this are very important,” said Deputy Minister of Creative Economy Irene Umar.
Irene said strengthening the creative ecosystem needs to reach talent across various regions. According to her, creators in Jakarta and other regions should have equal opportunities to learn, create, collaborate, introduce their work, and reach wider audiences.
Through its collaboration with Adobe and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, the Ministry of Creative Economy is encouraging the development of an ecosystem that connects creativity with technology, industry, government, and communities. “The spirit we are building is create, connect, and earn. Create provides access and opportunities to create, connect links creators with technology, government, industry, and communities, while earn ensures that creativity not only produces works but also becomes a source of economic value and income,” said Irene.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
Irene also emphasized the importance of nurturing talent and Intellectual Property (IP) from an early stage through exposure to the industry and support from a strong ecosystem. Creators’ works need not only to be protected but also developed into economically valuable assets through business models, licensing, collaborations, and various forms of commercialization. With 21 creative economy subsectors, there are broad opportunities to develop works and IP for Indonesia’s creative generation.
Director & Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Reski Damayanti, said Indonesia’s cultural and natural wealth is one of the country’s unique strengths that can support the development of the creative economy. “Our culture is one of Indonesia’s greatest unique assets. Therefore, we need friends from the creator ecosystem to develop our culture into something of value that can be recognized by the world,” said Reski.
Photo: Bureau for Communication, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
Through IdeaFriends “After Hours: Creator Economy,” the cross-sector collaboration is expected to create more opportunities for Indonesian creators to gain experience, build networks, utilize technology, and develop their work into sources of economic value. The event also strengthens synergy among the government, industry, technology, communities, and cultural spaces in supporting the growth of Indonesia’s creative ecosystem.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of the Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency
