RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Deputy Minister of Creative Economy, Irene Umar, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to strengthening Indonesia’s intellectual property (IP) ecosystem through participation in IP Expo 2026.

Irene described the expo as a strategic platform for Indonesian creative professionals to build networks and foster collaboration. The event also connects local and international IP within a supportive creative ecosystem.

“This learning is necessary because international IP is seeking entry into the Indonesian market, while Indonesian IP must maintain its domestic market. At the same time, the expo should serve as a venue for Indonesian IP to explore collaborations with foreign IP to penetrate international markets,” Irene said during her remarks at the Future Forward: Building Creative Champions session at IP Expo 2026 on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

She emphasized that strengthening the creative economy requires an integrated blueprint for sustainable growth, grounded in creativity and culture, to effectively drive national competitiveness.

“Therefore, we intend to make the creative economy a new engine of growth, as we have long relied on non-renewable resources. Indonesia’s natural beauty and cultural diversity serve as these resources,” Irene stated.

She added that the ministry is working to strengthen 17 strategic subsectors, including film, animation, and video, to enhance competitiveness and foster the growth of Indonesia’s creative economy.

“IP development is a long-term strategy that requires a strong and sustainable creative ecosystem. A robust ecosystem must support creative works so they can evolve into economically valuable IP,” Irene said.

Since 2015, the Djarum Foundation has collaborated with SMK Raden Umar Said (SMK RUS), a vocational high school, to nurture creative talent through an animation program based on a teaching factory model. This collaboration has produced around 10 locally developed IPs with economic value, including Nyla, Sabda Alam, and Unstring Your Heart.

“We have 10 IPs from RUS Animation Studio that now generate economic value for SMK RUS. Waka Kibo has even evolved into an electronic money card product through collaboration with the national private banking sector,” said Djarum Foundation Program Manager Galuh Paskamagma. (Gusti Panji/Lasti Martina)