REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The British Council, in collaboration with some local artists of Yogyakarta, is offering to promote the local arts, culture and tourism by adopting the "Festivals of Edinburgh" concept to bring together festivals of the region.

Creative Industry Consultant of British Council Felencia Hutabarat said in a press conference here on Monday that the initiative was offered under the name of "Jogjafestivals."

"It is a platform where the existing festivals of Yogyakarta can be promoted together," Hutabarat stated.

Jogjafestivals will include a few festivals, such as Artjog, Biennale Jogja, Ngayogjazz, and the Yogyakarta Arts Festival, among others.

"This is not a new festival but the coming together of many to create a new platform like the Festival of Edinburgh," she explained.

The British Council, an international organization of the United Kingdom for cultural relations and educational opportunities, has gathered and been working together with some local artists, festival organizers, and the local administration to develop a promotional and marketing concept for Yogyakarta's festivals.

Basically, they support the concept, Hutabarat affirmed.

"This is because when you come together, you can work together on a lot of different things. If they do this by themselves, it would cost them more as they have very little money for promotional activities," she noted.

The British Council had hosted two workshops where some foreign festival directors covered the fundamental points on establishing collaboration, such as mapping out the brand of Yogyakarta, finding stakeholders, and funding the challenges and strategic planning processes to create sustainable festivals.

The two workshops also motivated participants to unite in a forum to realize the joint promotion initiative under the brand name of Jogjafestivals, which is expected to contribute to building a new image for Yogyakarta and make it known as "the Festival City."

The third workshop will be held from April 22 to 24 at the Greenhost Boutique Hotel, Prawirotaman, Yogyakarta, and will be opened by Head of Marketing and Innovation of Festivals of Edinburgh James McVeigh.

"Festivals are about the coming together of people," McVeigh said.

They should not only be attended by foreign people but by locals as well, he pointed out.

"One of the reasons people go to festivals is that they want to meet the locals to feel the authenticity," he remarked.

Edinburgh's reputation as the world's leading festival city is deep-rooted.

The Edinburgh International Festival began in 1947 in the post World War II era.

It was established as a much-needed platform for 'the flowering of human spirit' and evolved into an operation that involves 12 major individual festivals, hosts of more than 25,000 international artists, accredited media, and has an audience of over four million. In addition, it generates 261 million pounds for the Scottish economy.

"Some great festivals were small. They did not have ideas to grow by themselves. However, it is not about growth but about specific artistic vision," McVeigh noted.

The growth of the festivals' market is directly related to the distinctions people find. In business terms, it is known as the USP, or the Unique Selling Proposition.

"Something very distinctive means that it stands out from the rest," McVeigh said.

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