Jakarta, August 5, 2025 – A sustainable collaboration in creative economy sectors doesn’t happen by chance. Instead, it’s built through strong, ongoing partnerships between governments, industry players, and communities. This was the central message of the Indonesia Chapter Gathering: ASEAN-UK Hybrid Creative Economy Training (HCET) 2025, held on 5 August 2025 at the British Council Indonesia Foundation in Jakarta.
This event marked the conclusion of the second round of the ASEAN-UK Advancing Creative Economy (ACE) Hybrid Policy Training programme in Indonesia. Carrying the theme Building Public-Private-Community Partnerships (PPCP) That Last, the gathering brought participants together for in-person networking, knowledge exchange, and collaborative discussions through a series of interactive sessions.
The event also welcomed key stakeholders representing the creative economy landscape in Indonesia, ASEAN, and the United Kingdom. Speakers included Irene Umar, Deputy Minister for Creative Economy of Indonesia and Jonathan Tan, Head of Culture and Information Division, ASEAN Secretariat, as well as Summer Xia, Country Director, British Council, who also acted as the host.
Celebrating Multisectoral Diversity
Opening the gathering with a Fireside Session, the speakers congratulated all Indonesia Chapter participants for completing the full six-module training. The two-month HCET programme engaged 104 participants from across Indonesia, representing a wide range of creative economy sectors.
Participants came from various professional backgrounds, including creative professionals (29.7%), mid-level policymakers (25.7%), as well as academics, researchers, and local community leaders. Over half were aged 25–34, showing strong youth engagement in policy-oriented creative economy development.
“I’m impressed by the enthusiasm from Indonesian creatives in participating in the programme, and by the diversity of backgrounds, which ensures everyone has a role in creating and enabling an environment for the creative economy to thrive,” said Summer Xia. He added that this diversity and energy open up opportunities for future programme expansion to benefit even more stakeholders across the region.
Participants of ASEAN UK Hybrid Creative Economy Training 2025. ©2025 ACE-YS/Dhita Alya
Strengthening PPCP in ASEAN
The gathering also reiterated the core message throughout the HCET programme: a sustainable creative economy development in ASEAN requires robust cross-sector collaboration.
Jonathan Tan, who also served as an expert speaker in the first HCET online live session, emphasized the importance of building a shared language between all stakeholders involved. He also announced the upcoming ASEAN Creative Economy Symposium, designed to further gather insights from creative communities across the region.
“Meaningful results come from ongoing processes, not just one or two meetings,” Jonathan noted.
Together with other speakers, he also acknowledged Indonesia’s strong participation in the programme. With a total of 543 registrants, Indonesia has the second highest registration number among nine ASEAN countries. With 55.4% of Indonesian participants being young professionals, this reflects a promising outlook for the continuity and sustainability of public-private-community partnerships in the region’s creative sectors.
Jonathan Tan (center) is sharing his perspective in the Fireside Panel on “Building Public–Private–Community Partnership (PPCP) That Lasts,” alongside Irene Umar (left) and Summer Xia (Right). ©2025 ACE-YS/Dhita Alya
Deep Dive into Kemenparekraf’s Approach
In a session focusing on the Indonesian Ministry of Creative Economy’s PPCP strategies, Deputy Minister Irene Umar emphasized the importance of quick execution and radical collaboration in advancing the creative economy. She encouraged all stakeholders to set aside titles and egos, focus on solutions, and recognize that the government doesn’t always have the final answer.
Echoing a concern that resonated with HCET participants and many creative workers in the country, Irene shared Kemenekraf’s vision that Indonesia must focus on value creation, especially in sectors like digital content, gaming, and AI. “Let’s focus on adding value to our content, so we can develop a wider range of products with high export potential,” she said.
Irene also highlighted the need to incorporate intellectual property (IP) protection and stronger ecosystems for creative growth. Real examples ranged from featuring local IP at airports and hotels to launching global partnerships like batik-themed Pikachu.
Irene Umar, Vice Minister of Creative Economy (Kemenekraf) and Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), Indonesia, during the session Deep Dive: Kemenekraf. ©2025 ACE-YS/Dhita Alya
A participant posted sticky notes as a way to share their aspirations during the Reflection Session. ©2025 ACE-YS/Dhita Alya
Lasting Impression and Impact
Indonesia Chapter Gathering concluded with a collaborative mapping activity, inviting participants to connect the speakers’ call to action with their own aspirations. Participants expressed a solid impression on the gathering and HCET program in general, enriched by both the insights gained and the connections formed throughout the training period.
“I found it really interesting. I had just finished my master’s in Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), so this felt like a refreshment, a new perspective on ASEAN’s CCI itself,” said Ratri, one of the participants. “My hope is that fellow creatives can have a platform to collaborate and also showcase their projects or the hubs they’ve built.”
As a surprise closing gesture, the organizers rewarded a set of virtual recap notes to all participants, compiling key reflections and takeaways from the two-month training. This digital memento served not only as a summary, but as a call to keep applying the knowledge gained and nurturing the collaborations formed in their respective domicile and institution.
Speakers and participants taking group photos at the end of Indonesia Chapter Gathering: Hybrid Creative Economy Training 2025.
©2025 ACE-YS/Dhita Alya
Writer: Azhar Farizdaffa Risqullah
Editor: K. Langit Rinesti
