With utmost confidence, Mayor Dr. Ir. Wahyu Hidayat, MM, of Malang expressed the firm commitment that Malang City will achieve the status of a global creative hub by 2025. He made this announcement at the Indonesia Creative Cities Festival Conference in Banjarmasin on October 19, 2023. The aspiration to be recognized as a UNESCO creative city was not a spontaneous decision; it had been meticulously planned and executed in stages since 2016. Alongside the Mayors of Banjarmasin and Ternate, the Deputy Mayor of South Tangerang, and the chairman of the ICCN, they collectively presented their vision for fostering the creative economy during the Leaders Forum.
Supported by the Malang City Creative Economy Committee, creative entrepreneurs, and local officials, the aspiration for Malang City to attain the status of a World Creative City in 2025 is steadily materializing. The approach to realizing this goal was outlined during a conference attended by delegates from 240 creative districts and cities across Indonesia.
The creative city status of Malang City was attained after a substantial effort, marked by official recognition from the Creative Economy Agency in 2019 and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in 2021. This achievement was made possible through the diligent implementation of the Malang City Creative Economy Development Roadmap, which prioritized specific sectors such as Games and Applications, films, videos, animations, and chips-based culinary endeavors. This strategic focus stems from the conviction that the creative economy has the potential to drive Malang City’s economic growth.
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During the ICCF 2023 event in Banjarmasin, a strong support network for Malang City’s KEK was observed, ranging from high-ranking officials like the Acting Mayor and Assistant 2, to heads of key departments such as Bappeda, Disporapar, Communications and Information, and Diskopindag. The Malang City Creative Economy delegation at ICCF 2023 included notable individuals like Vicky Arif, Novin Farid, Bobby Nugroho, Taufiq Saguanto, Lisa Oktarina, and Dadik Wahyu, all of whom actively contributed to the event. Additionally, prominent creative figures like Rizal, the owner of Bingkai Karya, and Jona, a content creator from Ncreator.id, were present, alongside several ASN personnel from Bappeda, Diskopindag, and Disporapar, who were overseeing ICCF 2023 activities.
The conference featured diverse discussions, including creative talks and forum leaders’ discussions, engaging hundreds of participants from morning until evening. The opening ceremony of ICCF 2023 showcased traditional art and Banjarmasin’s distinctive spoken word art.
