THE INDONESIA Ministry of Culture and Tourism will cease to function as the government authority overseeing cultural norms and values, as part of an on-going cabinet reshuffle which saw the appointment of Sapta Nirwandar as vice minister of tourism last week (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 14).
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s role as the government agency responsible for national cultural development will be transferred to the Ministry of Education.
Dr Wiendu Nuryanti, currently professor of architecture and tourism planning with the department of architecture at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, and senior consultant with the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of State Enterprises, has been earmarked for the post of vice minister of culture.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik revealed that the tourism authority had been designated a new role—to develop the country’s creative economy.
“There is a relatively new world economic movement and development, and that is the creative economy. The (Indonesia) President wants this sector to be developed very seriously. This will be incorporated with the tourism sector,” he said.
According to Wacik, Indonesia’s creative industry has the potential to generate up to 100 trillion rupiah (US$11.2 billion) annually. Currently, it contributes some 80 trillion rupiah per year, he added.
