Indonesia initiates UN resolution on creative economy

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – With the contribution of the creative economy sector at Rp922.59 trillion (about US$65,72 billion) to the 2016 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and of 7.44 percent to the total national economy, Indonesia has initiated a resolution of the United Nations (UN) regarding the creative economy in the UN General Assembly where a consensus on it was reached on November 14, 2019, in New York.

The resolution entitled “International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, 2021” highlights the important role of the creative economy sector in promoting sustainable development, according to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s website as quoted by Indonesia Window here on Friday.

Indonesia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, stressed that Indonesia had taken various steps to promote the creative economy at the UN given its contribution to sustainable development in many countries.

For the first time Indonesia initiated a resolution at the United Nations regarding the creative economy that had never been done before by other countries.

The European Union and most of the delegates expressed high appreciation for the Indonesian initiative.

Indonesia’s resolution sponsored by 81 countries encourages investment in production and trade in the creative sector and supports the roles of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women, young people, and local communities in developing the sector.

The creative economy is a resilient sector and continues to grow amid the global economic crisis.

The 2018 report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed that the value of the sector has doubled in the period 2002-2015, from US$208 billion to US$509 billion with an average growth at seven percent in the same period.

The creative economy itself positively contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in achieving qualified education, economic growth, employment and decent works, reducing inequality, urban and settlement development, as well as sustainable production and consumption patterns.

The creative economy resolution agreed at the UN General Assembly Committee-2 was a follow-up to the World Conference on Creative Economy, which was initiated by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency in Bali in November 2018.

The Committee-2 is a special committee at the United Nations that deals with economy, development, finance and the environment.

Indonesia, represented by Ambassador Djani, was the Chair of the Committee in 2016-2017.

The Committee-2 is now chaired by the Ambassador of Senegal.

Reporting by Indonesia Window