Indonesia Pushes Heritage-Based Creative Economy to Global Market

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is seeking to expand its presence in the global creative economy by promoting products and industries rooted in cultural heritage with the help of archaeology, linguistics, and literature research. It was stated by Deputy Head of BRIN Amarullah Oktavian during a national research and innovation forum in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

At the “BRIN Goes to Industry Chapter 4” event, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) presented initiatives linking research in archaeology, language, literature, gastronomy, tourism, and digital media with industrial partnerships and commercialization efforts.

Deputy Head of BRIN, Amarullah Octavian, said Indonesia has strong opportunities to increase its contribution to the global market through creative products supported by local materials and cultural research.

He cited data from INACRAFT 2024, where transactions surpassed Rp100 billion. INACRAFT is a handicraft exhibition that brings together artisans from all over Indonesia and it has been consistently held since 1999. He also mentioned Indonesia’s participation at Ambiente 2024 in Germany that generated offers worth US$775,000 and requests exceeding US$475,000.

“Given these figures, Indonesia has the opportunity to increase its contribution to the global market,” he stated.

The event featured discussions on cultural heritage-based fashion, film, animation, podcasts, wellness products, tourism, and digital creative content. Octavian said the goal is to encourage wider industrial use of research outputs and transform cultural assets into economic drivers.

Indoneisa's Vice Culture Minister, Giring Ganesha, described culture as the “source code” of Indonesia and said future cultural policy should focus not only on preservation but also on creation and innovation. He added that folklore, traditions, language, manuscripts, and heritage sites should inspire artists, programmers, filmmakers, animators, and other creative industry players.