Depok, May 24, 2026 – The Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency hopes that young creative talents can become more explorative and adaptive within the advertising industry. Through the Advertising Week Festival (AWF) 2026, Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya aims to foster creative leaders capable of competing at international events.
The Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency organized the Advertising Week Festival (AWF) 2026, with the hope that young creative talents can become more explorative and adaptive within the advertising industry. Depok, Sunday (24/05/2026).
“Advertising Week Festival 2026 proves that Indonesia’s younger generation possesses great potential to become creative leaders who are not only relevant at the local level but also capable of competing globally. We also extend our deepest appreciation to the Universitas Indonesia for presenting AWF as a collaborative space for the younger creative generation,” said Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya in his video remarks on Sunday (24/5).
Based on data from the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), processed by the Ministry of Creative Economy, the advertising subsector ranked among the top five out of 17 creative economy subsectors in terms of creative economy value achievement in 2025. Investment value in this subsector reached IDR6.6 trillion, marking a 31 percent increase compared to the previous year.
“So in 2025, among the 17 creative economy subsectors recorded by the Ministry of Investment, the top sectors were applications, fashion, crafts, culinary, and advertising. This demonstrates that the advertising industry is not sunset industry, but rather adapting to new developments in the world of digital technology,” said Deputy for Media Creativity at the Ministry of Creative Economy, Cecep Rukendi, before AWF 2026 participants.
Dok. Bureau for Communication of the Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency.
Advertising Week Festival (AWF) 2026, which took place on May 21 and 24 at the Makara Art Center UI, marked its fifth edition organized by the Creative Advertising Study Program of the Vocational Education Program at Universitas Indonesia. Beyond serving as an annual creative festival, AWF is also part of the implementation of the UI Vocational Creative Advertising curriculum designed to align with industry needs.
The Ministry of Creative Economy’s support for AWF 2026 forms part of the government’s commitment to strengthening the national advertising industry ecosystem through talent development, cross-sector collaboration, and adaptation to digital transformation. The government hopes that Indonesia’s advertising subsector will become increasingly competitive in the global market.
“We realize that advancing the creative economy cannot rely solely on the government’s efforts. Therefore, what we are building is hexahelix collaboration involving academia, business, government, media, and communities. And the source of talent is born from higher education institutions, such as the Creative Advertising Study Program at UI,” added Cecep Rukendi, who was accompanied by Director of Advertising Andy Ruswar.
Dok. Bureau for Communication of the Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency.
The participation of university students from various higher education institutions, high school and vocational school students, as well as the general public, further enlivened the festival. The event featured awards ranging from The Most Memorable Activation Award, Best Integrated App to Creative Economy, Best Supreme Taste & Branding Excellence, Best Film Marketing & Activation of The Year, to the Creative Campaign category, which was won by students from Institut Teknologi Bandung.
Meanwhile, Head of the Applied Social Humanities Department at UI Vocational Education, Budiman Mahmud Musthofa, explained that the event serves as a student learning project implemented continuously every year. On the other hand, the learning process is intentionally designed to remain relevant to industry needs.
“This serves as an annual student project assignment so that the program can continue sustainably. We certainly hope that this program can continue to grow and improve every year, especially with the presence of the government, particularly the Ministry of Creative Economy, collaborating in building the creative economy ecosystem,” said Budiman.
Dok. Bureau for Communication of the Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency.
In addition to attending the main event, the Ministry of Creative Economy, through Expert Staff for Intellectual Property and Digital Transformation Agustini Rahayu, also participated as a speaker in the Adtalks Session themed mindful advertising alongside two other speakers.
Through this session, the speakers shared insights regarding more human-centered communication trends in the digital era, where advertising success is measured not only by reach and sales, but also by the ability to create value, trust, and long-term relationships with the public.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of Bureau for Communication
Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency
