Cultures in a Profitable Advantage Perspective

THE EDITOR – Culture has not been used as an economically profitable livelihood in Indonesia, even though it is one of the countries that has a rich culture in the world.

In this report, we talk about the prospective profit of cultural business that is used by countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and others.

Special Staff for History and Cultural Heritage Protection of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Basuki Teguh Yuwono spoke on how to manage culture so that it can generate profit.

“Culture actually has a very broad ecosystem of impacts. Most of the time, the economic impact of culture is only measured purely by its form. Meanwhile, when it is packaged in the perspective of tourism, creative economy, and if it can be packaged in other activities, the ecosystem impact is very broad on the economic aspect. Unfortunately, the indicators used to assess it are still limited to the notion of culture itself,” said Basuki.

In order for culture to become a source of money, Basuki believes that people must look at it from a broad perspective. For example, in art performances, people do not realise the economic activities that revolve during the performance.

According to him, the economic space that arises in an art performance is not limited to the sold food or beverages or money to pay for artists’ services, but also extends to costumes and properties (objects used during performances).

So far, according to him, there is no indicator used to assess the amount of profit that will be obtained from a cultural performance. In addition, most people still think that culture is only for foreigners to enjoy, so performances are only done abroad.

Basuki thinks that the economic turnover of culture in the country is actually no less high. He agrees that foreigners are also eager to come to Indonesia to see the richness of local culture, as is the case in Thailand, South Korea, and Japan.

He suggested that each individual can see culture as a subject and make it more dynamic without leaving its meaning.

“That culture does not solely belong to the community, but must synergise with many parties, institutions, and so on. And there is no more rigidity that culture is purely the responsibility of the government, but there are upstream and downstream cultural ecosystems that are part of every party,” he said.

Basuki is also very confident that culture will be very profitable in the future if it has strong management.

INDONESIA DOES NOT LACK HUMAN RESOURCES

Basuki said that Indonesia’s human resources engaged in the field of culture are very sufficient. The government is also very flexible in seeing the development of culture, as evidenced by the Law on Cultural Submission.

In order to make culture a source of money, he asked everyone to see this culture with other slices such as the creative economy, tourism, and others.

Because, if developed in a massive industry, culture can develop into something with economic value.

To support the development of cultural industry, Basuki said that one of the steps taken by the government is to review the standardisation of film and performance halls in Indonesia.

“We are too rigid on modern rules, but forget about locality. Therefore, the Minister said that to fulfil the needs of the tourism management stage, education and tourism must grow,” he said.

A stage that grows in the community should be provided so that it is close to its environment. For example, performances under banyan trees that occur in some areas.

“Why build a stage with the concept of going up if the contours of the land can be used? Why not use an attractive old building? Why not use the beauty of nature as a painting?” he said.

“Efficiency without leaving the essence. That’s what the Minister asked for,” he continued.

DO NOT SEE OTHER PEOPLE AS COMPETITORS

As the time goes, Basuki continued, the makers of kris (typical weapons of the Javanese tribe) were found in many countries such as the Netherlands, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Thailand.

He requested that keris craftsmen from abroad should not be considered as competitors by the local community in order for their business to grow. The same goes for batik, wayang, and other cultures in Indonesia.

“In the cultural area, the (cultural) product is maximised first. The market space will open up because we already have the potential,” he said.

As for batik, for example, he hopes that people realise that there are no competitors in the cultural business.

Because, when culture develops rapidly, consumers and connoisseurs of written batik actually develop rapidly.

In the past, many hand-written batik craftsmen went out of business in the Solo and Central Java regions. However, with the rise of culture that introduced batik both through government regulations and performances throughout the world, the hand-written batik craftsmen returned to life.

“When Noken was accepted by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage, Noken-related fashion appeared in Sarinah (Central Jakarta),” he said.

BE OPEN TO TECHNOLOGY AND LOYAL TO THE FOUNDATION

In this day and age, Basuki requested that cultural actors not be rigid to technology. But at the same time, he also asked that the foundation and roots of culture be maintained to keep it interesting.

For example, in wayang performances, Basuki hopes that local artists and gamelan musicians who take part in the performance will continue to be involved.

“The space for us to enjoy art live is certainly different from listening to recordings. So, performance spaces must continue to be built. But on the other hand, performance recordings must also continue to be worked on,” he said.

Basuki hopes that Indonesia’s cultural diversity, such as the Pendet Dance, will be seen live by many foreign tourists.

“The Minister wants Indonesia to be the centre of world culture,” he said.