Creative Youth at Indonesian Heritage Sites - KMK

AFFILIATION
UNESCO Jakarta

DESCRIPTION 
While heritage tourism is a vital source of income in Indonesia, local communities often see little socioeconomic benefits. The heritage tourism strategy tends to focus on infrastructure development with limited investment in building local human resource capacity. This lack of livelihood linkage with heritage sites has often made local communities uninterested in heritage preservation. KMK intends to bridge this gap by offering business capacity building, mentorships and an exchange platform for young local cultural entrepreneurs to connect with heritage site managers, government authorities and other prominent stakeholders. 

KMK’s target beneficiaries are unregistered small businesses, which typically fall outside government support schemes. The KMK offers workshops to build financial literacy and boost business planning, market assessment and marketing capacity. Sessions about local heritage are key to inspiring these business owners’ products and enhancing their storytelling skills while raising their sense of social responsibility for protecting their heritage. Since beginning in one province in 2017, the programme has expanded to six provinces of Indonesia, directly serving more than 1 000 young cultural entrepreneurs. 

 

Beneficiaries

  • Young cultural entrepreneurs aged 18-35 residing in renowned heritage destinations of Indonesia, including UNESCO-designated sites. Emphasis on intangible cultural heritage proponents (e.g., batik, hand-weaving, traditional performing arts);

  • Engagement of individuals in diverse sectors: culinary services, tailoring, photography, rock bands, gaming, heritage walks, and guiding;

  • More than half of the beneficiaries are women. 

Outputs

  • A new model of community capacity building;  

  • Community-led tourism at heritage sites in Indonesia. 

Outcomes

  • The increased business capacity of the youth beneficiaries – new business partners and collaborative activities; 

  • Increased number of new products developed – business tools and heritage stories; 

  • New collaborations to support vulnerable groups (e.g., village older women, people with disabilities); 

  • Raised awareness among site managers, government authorities and business stakeholders about the potential of youth cultural entrepreneurs.