The conference, attended by some 2,500 delegates from 30 countries, agreed on the Bali Agenda for Creative Economy to develop the creative economy to enable global economic growth as well as social and cultural development against the backdrop of the fourth industrial revolution.

Through the agenda, delegates agreed to promote the involvement of relevant international organizations to address the challenges the creative economy industry faces, and support and develop an enabling and facilitating environment to accommodate the growing international markets and local players in the creative sectors.

They also conveyed their commitment to strengthening the role of various stakeholders, both public and private, in the creative economy to promote full participation of the private sector in all aspects of the creative economy.

Another focus of the Bali Agenda is to provide an enabling ecosystem for the development of the creative economy through several steps, including fostering the development of e-commerce and intellectual property as tools to drive growth, to narrow the digital divide and generate digital solutions, promote the role of women and youth in the creative economy and their participation in the development of small and medium enterprises, start-ups and the entertainment industry, as well as support regulations that are needed to create an enabling environment for the creative economy.

“The Bali Agenda for Creative Economy will become a guideline to build collaborations between countries and stakeholders to develop the creative economy,” Ricky J. Persik, the deputy head of the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), said following the conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.

Ricky emphasized that the conference, which was organized by Bekraf in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry, was a testament to the fact that partnership and collaboration can produce meaningful initiatives.

The conference was attended by academics, businesspeople, community, media, international organizations and government representatives from various countries around the globe.

Ricky said several countries had proposed to host the next WCCE, but Dubai had been chosen as the next host.

“This is great as it is a sign that many countries acknowledge our event. Their acknowledgement is important as our big agenda was actually to make the creative economy a global agenda,” Ricky said.

The Foreign Ministry’s director general for multilateral affairs, Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, emphasized that the conference showcased the power of the creative economy, where barriers no longer exist.

“The conference has shown that creativity has solid potential to be the ‘currency’ to solve global problems, and even be a prominent part of the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals [SDG],” he said.

The Bali Agenda declared that the creative economy is an important means to achieving the SDGs and promotes creativity as a “new currency” — all the while recognizing the importance of culture — to develop rural economies.

Febrian added that the conference agreed to establish a so-called “center of excellence” for creative economy practitioners in Indonesia.

“This center will serve as a platform for creative economy players from all around the world to expand opportunities for all creative people to showcase creative minds on the global stage.”

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