Amidst the movement to preserve Indonesia’s intangible cultural heritage, over 500 traditional artisans and university students from Yogyakarta, Central Java, Lombok, and Jakarta took part in a series of business trainings and creative workshops facilitated by Inovasi Tangguh Indonesia (InTI) and UNESCO Jakarta. Held between October 2024 and February 2025, these activities expanded the “Creative Youth at Indonesian Heritage Sites” initiative, with support from IDX30 Filantropi BNP Paribas.

Through virtual classes, mentoring sessions, and on-site workshops, participants gained practical skills in business planning, digital marketing, cultural storytelling, and artistic collaboration. Leading figures in the creative world, including Ugoran Prasad (Teater Garasi, Vocalist of Melancholic Bitch and Majelis Lidah Berduri), Maria Tri Sulistyani (The Founder of Papermoon Puppet Theatre), and fashion entrepreneur Lila Imeldasari (The Owner of Lemari Lila) and Elizabet Ayu Angeliia (Brand Owner of Kokaind), shared insights on navigating today’s creative landscape.

“In collaboration, differences aren’t a goal but the starting point for meaningful creation,” said Ugoran Prasad in the December 10, 2024 workshop, one of the pivotal sessions in shaping the participants’ artistic reflections from the performing arts sector.

In Klaten and Borobudur, batik artisans redesigned their product branding and cultural narratives, incorporating local themes such as early human stories from the Sangiran archaeological site. This enriched their designs and helped reposition their batik products as culturally resonant creative goods.

A total of 162 participants joined four major on-site workshops in Klaten, Borobudur, Yogyakarta, and Sangiran. In addition, 20 selected beneficiaries received personalized branding support via a dedicated WhatsApp mentoring group, resulting in new logos and branding strategies. Artist collectives like Sanggar Seni Asrita also received intensive two-day mentorship to strengthen their event management capabilities.

“Art practitioners are starting to realize that marketing is not just about selling, but storytelling,” said Veronika Fajarwati, UNESCO Field Facilitator of InTI. “It opens up new ways of networking and building cross-regional collaboration.”

In addition to this assistance, market access support through mini expos for several program beneficiaries was carried out in several locations such as the Amaranta Hotel and also at the Borobudur Spice which succeeded in significantly increasing the income of the participants while improving their ability to manage marketing collectively.

These efforts show that with the right support, cultural practitioners can thrive, preserving tradition while adapting it to the realities of today’s creative industries, all without losing their authentic voice.