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KEN offers potential for sustainable nationwide events
A white paper on an integrated management of events, tourism and creativity will boost the economic and environmental sustainability of the government's new KEN program, which focuses on quality over quantity.
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Back to normal: A discussion takes place during the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali on Oct. 14. The annual festival was included in the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry’s calendar of events this year. (Courtesy of Ubud Writers & Readers Festival/Martino)
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ourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno launched in April a program called Kharisma Event Nusantara (KEN) 2021 in an effort to keep the tourism and creative economy industry alive, especially the events sector, which had been battered by the pandemic.
It is interesting to explore the potentials, challenges and future hopes that may arise from the program, which replaces the Calendar of Events (COE) introduced under former tourism minister Arief Yahya, considering how the events industry is still struggling to return to normal. The change in name is more than symbolic: It is a response to the urgency for an all-encompassing policy on the management of events, tourism and creativity, which are sometimes referred to as the industry’s “trident”.
The new policy is therefore expected to serve as a “white paper” on the industry’s governance. As an improved version of the COE, KEN serves as a medium to maintain and boost the Indonesian economy.
According to the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry website, KEN 2021 has its advantages and uniqueness and shall incorporate various events across all provinces, from the village, subdistrict and to the provincial level. Throughout the year, industry players are obliged to follow the Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environment (CHSE) sustainability protocol, especially those in the KEN database.
Event organizers are increasingly being required to improve and adapt accordingly. The demand for management to adjust in alignment with adaptive technologies has in some way forced event managers to constantly improve their skills and capacities.
A striking difference between the COE and KEN is that the latter is highly selective in choosing events from all over Indonesia. The key is in their quality instead of quantity.
If there were up to 100 or so events in past years, there will be only 83 events this year in the country’s 34 provinces, divided into several categories: Best adaptation-based events, international events, national events, regional events and regular events.
