Gianyar, June 24, 2025 — Deputy Minister of Creative Economy, Irene Umar, emphasized the importance of the central government’s support for local initiatives in developing the creative economy ecosystem. This was conveyed during an open dialogue with the creative economy talents in Gianyar, Bali, an area renowned as a cultural and creative hub with organically growing grassroots communities.
“We can no longer build from the top to bottom. The government must listen, understand, and bridge the needs and aspirations of local creative talents who have long been moving on their own,” said Deputy Minister Irene Umar during a discussion held at Kila Bistro, Ubud.
In a relaxed yet productive atmosphere, the Deputy Minister engaged in dialogue with representatives from communities, academia, local businesses, and local government. The forum served as a direct channel to gather insights, challenges, and potential from the field.
This dialogue aligns with the vision of the creative economy as the new engine of growth for Indonesia, whose strength lies in local communities and regional potential.
The Ministry of Creative Economy identified several potentials that require further facilitation, ranging from optimizing balai banjar (traditional community halls) as local creative centers, to accelerating digital transformation in the music and crafts sectors.
Deputy Minister Irene welcomed these ideas, emphasizing the importance of collaboration among artists, software developers, and digital creative industries to deliver solutions that are both culturally relevant and globally competitive.
The Ministry sees tremendous potential in such proposals and encourages cross-subsector collaboration to strengthen cultural digital products as future drivers of the creative economy.
Deputy Minister Irene also highlighted the importance of utilizing balai banjar as local creative hubs, which have long served as intergenerational spaces for learning crafts, culinary arts, performing arts, and cultural production. According to her, creative economy development must not rely solely on building new infrastructure, but should be rooted in strengthening the existing living ecosystem.
“Bali has it all: culture, talent, stories, communities, even export channels. What we need is to strengthen the ecosystem, from regulations and promotion to digital transformation. And this cannot be done alone,” emphasized Deputy Minister Irene.
The aspirations and initiatives voiced in Gianyar will serve as strategic input for future national creative economy policies. Deputy Minister Irene stressed that future development must start from the strength of communities and cultural sustainability, not merely from infrastructure.
Balinese digital music artist I Gede Yudistira Sudirana highlighted the absence of Indonesian-made digital plugins for traditional instruments such as gamelan. Currently, local composers still rely on Virtual Studio Technology (VST) software, most of which is produced abroad.
“Digitalization is not just about technology, it’s about preserving cultural sustainability. If we can develop our gamelan VST, it’s not just efficient, but a form of cultural sovereignty,” said Sudirana.
Accompanying the Deputy Minister of Creative Economy in this forum were the Director for Fashion of the Ministry of Creative Economy, Romi Astuti, and representatives from the Gianyar Regency Tourism Office. Also in attendance were stakeholders from academia, communities, business actors, local government, and the media.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Acting Head of Bureau for Communications
Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
