Soaring in the Creative Economy Year

The creative economy is considered to be an industry of high resilience. Employing millions of workers, it is expected to become the engine of a global economic recovery.

KOMPAS/LUKI AULIA

The 2019 London Book Fair which took place at the Olympia building, West Kensington, London, England, 12-14 March 2019. Indonesia took advantage of this event not only for the promotion of the Indonesian book industry, but also for the promotion of other creative industry subsectors, such as culinary, music, fashion, movies and games.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS, – The United Nations has declared 2021 the International Year of the Creative Economy dedicated to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The resolution, which was proposed by Indonesia and supported by 81 countries, was approved in November 2019.

The United Nations Trade and Development Conference (UNCTAD) in January 2021 emphasized the importance of the creative economy, especially for the recovery of a global economy severely battered by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past year. “But more than ever, we need creative thinking, innovation and problem-solving to imagine ourselves out of the challenges of inequality and vulnerability that we face daily. The creative industries, the lifeblood of the creative economy, are well placed to help,” Marisa Henderson, UNCTAD\'s creative economy program head, said in a statement published on the UNCTAD website on 13 Jan. 2021.

It is not an exaggeration if the United Nations uses the creative economy as the vehicle to help the countries hit by the pandemic come out of the economic crisis. Historically, the creative economy was born from the economic crisis experienced in Australia and England in 1990 and 1991. The creative economy had not only saved Australia and Britain from the brink of recession, but also strengthened their overall economies.

In Indonesia, the creative economy contributed Rp 1,211 trillion to the GDP and employed more than 19 million workers in 2019.

Based on that experience, many countries are more serious about developing the creative economy. UNESCO said that, before the pandemic, the global creative economy generated annual revenues of about US$2,250 billion (equivalent to 3 percent of world GDP) and employed about 30 million workers. In Indonesia, the creative economy contributed Rp 1,211 trillion to the GDP and employed more than 19 million workers in 2019.

The growth of the creative economy was 5.1 percent in 2011, above overall economic growth of 5.02 percent. The added value of the creative economy in the economic sector is projected to grow in the coming years. Unfortunately, instead of growing, the creative economy, like other sectors, was hit by the pandemic in 2020. A survey conducted by the School of Business and Management of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) found that 98 percent of creative economy players were affected by the pandemic.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A music group takes part in the QRIS stage test at the Fort Vredeburg Museum, Yogyakarta, Tuesday (30/3/2021). Through the QRIS code, artists are expected to more easily accept donations online from their performances.

Good news

Even so, in the field we did not just get bad news. There was also good news because, many creative economy players are able to survive, even achieve success amid the pandemic. In Jakarta and Yogyakarta, street singers who could not sing in person during the pandemic took advantage of virtual space.

They sang from home and received payments via e-wallet application such as GoPay or through an electronic payment system based on the Indonesian Fast Response Code Standard (QRIS). Not only have they maintained their income, but they are also now integrated in the digital payment ecosystem that has been widely accepted and become part of people’s lifestyle.

Also read: Welcome the Street Musicians Accepting GoPay

In Kesegeran village, Cilongok district, Banyumas, Central Java, about 30 young people have become YouTubers by providing workshop tutorials to mystery stories using simple gadgets. Their activities, which began in 2016 with the help of Siboen, a motorbike mechanic in 2016, are growing until now.

From their activities, the young people of Kesegeran village earn millions – sometimes tens of millions – of rupiah per month. "Now there are no more young people hanging out at the Poskamling (security post). They are busy creating content with Mas Siboen,” the head of Kesegeran village, Saiffudin said on Friday (23/4/2021).

ARSIP I.JOEDA

Designer Irmasari Joeda with I.Joeda label. I.JOEDA ARCHIVES 07-02-2020

The business recovered around June 2020. So there were only two months of shock due to the pandemic.

In Bandung, West Java, a Muslim fashion designer, Irmasari Joeda, was shocked because most of the clothes she produced for Idul Fitri in 2020 were unsold due to the pandemic. She then turned to an online market platform to sell her clothes. Slowly but surely, the business has grown again. Her sales even increased 400 percent ahead of Idul Fitri 2021. "The business recovered around June 2020. So there were only two months of shock due to the pandemic," she said.

From the illustration above, it can be seen that several economic sectors are resilient to the crisis. In addition, according Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) researcher Nailul Huda, the creative economy had multiple effects in various fields. He pointed out that the culinary sector had a big effect on other sectors, ranging from agriculture to tourism.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the creative economy can become a vehicle for the economic recovery and to achieve the SDG agenda, such as reducing poverty and inequality as well as improving welfare and economic growth.

Also read: Taking Advantage of the World Economic Locomotives

The condition for this to happen is that the Covid-19 pandemic must be brought under control. In addition, the creative sector ecosystem must continue to be strengthened through market expansion, the improvement of digital payment systems, supply chain networks, access to capital, high-quality human resources and the protection of works.

The declaration of 2021 as the International Year of the Creative Economy should, therefore, be used as a moment for all stakeholders to work together to develop the full potential of the creative economy in this country. (DENTY P NASTITIE/ELSA EMIRIA LEBA/MAWAR KUSUMA)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.