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Man of ideas: Ben Soebiakto, born at perfect time
As the co-founder of IdeaFest – the largest of Indonesia’s creative festivals – Ben Soebiakto is the witness to the strong growth of creative communities and industries in the past decade.
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Ben Soebiakto (JP/Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak)
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ince its first appearance in 2011, the number of renowned figures delivering compelling speeches and sharing knowledge with future creative individuals has steadily increased.
The current phenomenon where creative minds as young as 15 years old can start a movement against child exploitation and trafficking like Faye Simanjuntak back in 2017 or Rich Brian, now 20, who had gathered loyal followers to his YouTube channel when he was still 11, long before releasing the phenomenal “Dat $tick” in 2016 that made him the globally acclaimed rapper he is today, was beyond anyone’s imagination some 20 years ago.
“Young people today have more privileges in life than the people of my generation, when they can learn not only in school, in the conservative way,” Ben Soebiakto, co-founder of IdeaFest, the largest of Indonesia’s creative festivals, told The Jakarta Post in an interview. “Society realizes now that informal education is also important.”
“These days, there are so many sources of inspiration for the young people to start setting their future. During my school and college years, there weren’t many inspiring people with the ability to dream to look up to.”
Coming from a family of medical doctors in Surabaya, East Java, young Ben was always into art and drawing, fixing his mindset of becoming a graphic designer in the future. The education system, however, failed him a grade because he couldn’t pass the required subjects – which are all other subjects taught in school.
But he made it to the design school of Trisakti University and finished it as the second best and the youngest graduate of his class.
“I’m a graphic designer, but I can also be a filmmaker, investor and event planner. Today’s era gives you the ability to explore so many things. You can have a certain educational background, but you can be a professional in something else,” he said.
