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Wisdom, lessons learned from leaders at IdeaFest 2022
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he star-studded IdeaFest 2022 charmed the Indonesian audience from Nov. 24 to 27 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) with inspirational talks from a diverse panel of speakers, from entrepreneurs to activists.
Among the speakers were a number of government officials, who shared some words of advice that transcended the audience’s political preferences.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, speaking at a session titled Leadership in a Polarized World on Nov. 25, highlighted important issues that will be faced by the coming generations, including food, energy and water security as well as climate change.
“Thankfully, we have the [foreign policy] tradition of bebas aktif [free and active], where a thousand allies are too few and one enemy is too many. That is the wisdom I received from our founding fathers, and what we will pass on to our successors,” he said.
Prabowo also emphasized a need for peace in the pursuit of prosperity, cautioning future leaders against acquiescing to the few over the needs of the people.
Meanwhile, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno highlighted the creative industry’s burgeoning potential, noting that Indonesia’s creative economy is the third-largest contributor to the national economy.
He also noted the three qualities needed to succeed in the increasingly competitive creative industry: innovation, adaptability and collaboration.
“With adaptation, we must be able to readily adapt to current situations and conditions as well as being more attuned to the changes that are happening. If we can’t adapt and become complacent, it’s going to be hard for us to grow.”
In terms of collaboration, Sandiaga cautioned against excessive pride, as everyone will always have their own weaknesses. These weaknesses, he continues, can be minimized or covered up through collaboration with fellow creative-industry players.
Sandiaga’s predecessor, former Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Wishnutama reminded the younger generation to properly appreciate their time, noting that even the richest and most powerful cannot turn back time.
“The richest person can’t buy back the time that has gone past, the most powerful cannot go back in time, and the smartest do not have the capability to go back even one minute,” he said.
“Sadly, we often let time pass. ‘I’ll do it later’ is often what happens even though we know we’ll miss our chances, and then we’ll think about how we should have done this and that.”
According to Wihnutama, he himself does not regret the time that has passed, as he knows he has done his best.
“I know at that time that I have done my best. I did not dither, and I did not let my time go to waste.”
