Culture as an Economic Engine, Menbud encourages Creative Industries to enter the Mainstream

JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadli Zon emphasized that culture is not just an identity, but a concrete and sustainable engine of economic growth. The message was delivered in a discussion on "Economic Development Based on Art and Cultural Preservation" at the Starting Year Forum 2026 forum, Thursday (22/1).

Fadli assessed that many developed countries have placed culture as an engine of growth through the development of cultural and creative industries (CCI). Indonesia, he said, has a large capital to enter the mainstream of the global economy based on creativity.

He said Indonesia has hundreds of national cultural reserves, thousands of intangible cultural heritage, and improved museum quality. The Indonesian National Museum, he said, recorded a significant increase in visitors and had a direct economic impact through tickets, exhibitions, and the development of derivative products such as merchandise and cuisine.

In the national context, Fadli emphasized that culture includes ten objects of cultural development as regulated in Law Number 5 of 2017, ranging from language, manuscripts, rituals, customs, to art, film, literature, and digital culture. With more than 1,300 ethnic groups and 718 regional languages, Indonesia is called one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

He also alluded to the world's recognition of Indonesian culture after the journal Nature published the findings of the world's oldest figurative painting in Indonesia. "This is not just an academic achievement. This is a global recognition of our cultural expression that must be used economically, not just preserved," he said.

According to Fadli, dependence on natural resources is unsustainable. "Coal, nickel, oil, and gas will run out. Culture does not. Therefore, the involvement of the business world and the private sector, including through philanthropy and museum board of trustees, is inevitable," he said.

In addition to having an economic impact, Fadli emphasized that culture serves as a binding power of the nation. He called culture a social adhesive that maintains Indonesia's cohesion in the midst of global pressure and changing times.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Infobank Media Group, Eko B. Supriyanto, said that digital transformation forced the industry, including banking, to be more adaptive and oriented towards public needs.

The discussion also featured the Chairman of the LPS Commissioner Board Anggito Abimanyu and Member of the BPK RI Fathan Subchi. The Minister of Culture was accompanied by the Director of Building Trust in God and Indigenous People Sjamsul Hadi.

Fadli closed by emphasizing the establishment of the Ministry of Culture by President Prabowo Subianto as a political signal that culture is now placed as a strategic pillar of national development.