Starfruit (malangkota.go.id) – By carrying Media Art, Malang City becomes one of four regencies/cities in Indonesia that have the potential to be proposed in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The selection of Media Art as the superior potential of Malang City was through a thorough discussion beforehand.
Media Art covers several slices of the creative economy sub-sector that are the reference of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenparekraf RI), such as applications, games, performing arts, fine arts, radio and TV, advertising, video and animation films, and photography. In addition, in 2017 and 2019, Malang City also received the title of Creative City with the best ecosystem according to Bekraf and Kemenparekraf with the leading sub-sector of applications and games. This is an important capital so that Malang City applies as a Creative City of Media Art for UCCN.
The National Selection Committee (Panselnas) Team for UCCN Nomination, Harry Waluyo, revealed that this visitation is an evaluation material whether Malang City meets the criteria to represent Indonesia, which will later only have two selected regions with different themes. In addition to Malang City, there are three other regions that are nominated, namely Makasar City which carries gastronomy, Ponorogo Regency and Tangerang Regency which carry crafts and arts.
"Malang City has submitted a dossier, and it has also been presented. Now we want to see the suitability in the field. There may be things that should have been included, but have not been included, or vice versa. So that the consistency of what is written and the conditions in the field are proven. In addition, UNESCO will of course also look at priorities, for example the relationship with global issues. Is there a contribution from Malang City in handling this global issue," said Harry Waluyo after visiting the Malang Creative Center (MCC), Thursday (26/9/2024).
Harry also appreciated the idea of Malang City which shows the common thread between what was built in the past, current work and efforts, and hopes for the future. "So I was taken to Candi Badut, then the facade of this building (MCC) appeared which took inspiration from the temple," he said.
Harry said the benefit of being part of UCCN is that access to international cooperation is increasingly open. "When we are part of the network, we can choose to work with those who are in accordance with their fields. For example, regarding media arts, yes, with countries that are in accordance with the theme of media arts. For example, Malang City chooses Braga in Portugal or it could also be Sapporo - Japan, Gwangju - South Korea," explained Harry.
He added that Malang City has the potential to penetrate the global world. "Here there are many human resources, supported by quality education. And the job market is not only in Malang, it can be on an Indonesian scale and can even go global. Malang City is very potential, what is important is the insight of friends in Malang who can enter according to the criteria set," he explained.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Malang City, Dwi Rahayu, SH, M.Hum, expressed his gratitude for the visit of the Panselnas team so that they could provide various inputs to be able to improve and enhance the quality of the files that will be submitted for the UCCN.
"There are many input notes that we can add to the file and we will do it. We will also continue to strengthen collaboration and make it our common prayer that Malang City can enter the top two," concluded Dwi.
For your information, currently Malang City is undergoing field verification of what was presented some time ago. The visitation which lasted for two days (September 25-26, 2024) is one of the assessment stages by Panselnas. In this visitation, the Panselnas team was invited to visit various iconic locations in Malang City.
Starting from Malang City Hall and Kayutangan Heritage on the first day, on the second day the Panselnas Team visited Kampung Warna-warni, Candi Badut, Mpu Purwa Museum, Insan Amanah school, Startup Majoo, and KEK Singhasari. The visit ended at the Malang Creative Center (MCC) to see firsthand various creative activities at MCC and at the same time open a discussion space for creative economy activists and activists in Malang City. (ari/yon)
