DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK
The original idea of a creative cities network was inspired by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), of which two Indonesian cities are members: Pekalongan as Cities of Crafts and Folk Arts since 2014 and Bandung as Cities of Design since 2015. The UNESCO network offered opportunities for cities to fully capitalize their creative assets and use this as a basis for building sustainable, inclusive, and balanced development in economic, cultural, environmental, and social terms. Indonesia realized the potential of this idea and established its own national Indonesian Creative Cities Network (ICCN) with the following main objectives:
- to create an association of stakeholders in each regency-city to collaborate through the network to develop the potential of the creative economy at national level for inclusive and sustainable growth;
- to develop creative cities in south-east Asia that are capable of acting together at the global level;
- to improve access to and participation in cultural life as well as the enjoyment of cultural goods and services, notably for marginalized or vulnerable groups and individuals;
- to fully integrate culture and creativity into local development strategies and plans; and
- to involve all potential stakeholders in all stages of data collection and mapping, research, planning, implementation, evaluation, and development according to their specific roles, functions, capacities, and competencies.
The achievements of Pekalongan and Bandung as part of the UCCN have motivated many other cities in Indonesia to follow their lead, including the establishment of the Indonesian Creative Cities Network (ICCN). The ICCN currently includes 51 cities and regencies nationwide from all over Indonesia. This network was established at the second Indonesia Creative Cities Conference in Solo (October 2015), which brought together 46 cities and 16 community-led organizations and coined the Solo Declaration on the “10 Principles of Creative Cities. The latest ICCC took place in Malang (March - April 2016)
Among the main features of the network are collaboration among government, academia, community organizations, and businesses; and optimally stimulating networking power to horizontal and vertical stakeholders. A medium term plan for the network until 2019 has been drawn up and the next steps for the ICCN includes simultaneous self-assessment by all participating cities, with the support of the Creative Economy Agency. A case study for the works of ICCN is Government recognition for the very strong showings of Banyuwangi and Ternate.
Banyuwangi has regularly planned various events to strengthen its tourism industry, including many events closely related to cultural expressions. In 2015 alone, the Banyuwangi Local Government has been involved in:
- four performing arts events: Wayang Kulit Festival, Barongan Nusantara Festival, Gandrung Sewu Festival, and Kuwung Festival;
- four live music concerts: Percussion Festival and Larlare Orchestra, Banyuwangi Peaceful Concert, Jazz Ijen Banyuwangi, and Banyuwangi Beach Jazz Festival;
- two festivals: Barong Ider Bumi and Banyuwangi Ethno Carnival;
- one visual arts exhibition: the Banyuwangi Art Week.
On the other hand, the Ternate Local Government has annually been involved in various cultural expression events, such as the Legu Gam Festival (festival), the Gendang Sahur Festival (live music concert), the Culture Parade (performing arts), and the Gebyar Nusantara Expo and Show (visual and performing arts).
Specific expected results were not available at the time of writing this report.
State and local budget, although exact numbers were not available during information collection.