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20 April 2025
Muhammad Hafidz Alfurqan Combines Communication and Creative Industry to Promote Hometown Traditions
For Australia Awards scholar Muhammad Hafidz Alfurqan, showcasing the beauty of his hometown to the world is the driving force for his combined Masters degree program at Sydney’s Macquarie University.
The Palembang-born-and-bred content creator began the Masters of Creative Industries and Masters of Media and Communication in July 2024 with the vision of bringing the capital of South Sumatra to global fame through social media.
'Palembang is the oldest city in Indonesia, and it has tremendous cultural potential. But we have a huge amount of homework to do to improve human development,’ he shared. The unemployment rate in Palembang is very high, while the score for the human development index is very low. I know many talented young people in Palembang, but to tap them into the right platform is a task we need to tackle.’
Believing that human development is the key to a flourishing city, Hafidz has worked tirelessly to create avenues to support Palembang’s youth. He founded the youth community Bestari Inspirasi Indonesia, which functions as a creative hub. It helps members maximise their potential, accelerate their skills, and access wider markets, and it fills a gap in youth support in Palembang, Hafidz said.
'The lack of a healthy platform only makes young people turn to criminal activities,’ he said. It was a shame, he added, as Palembang had fine signature crafts such as the songket woven cloth and famed local delicacies such as pempek fishcake, which could be larger industries. The heritage items are preserved by the locals through small businesses, but they need guidance to make their efforts sustainable and visible.
Hafidz said his goal was to see Palembang return to its former glory as the illustrious capital city of the Sriwijaya Kingdom in the 7th Century BCE. Realising he faced a long journey, he turned to social media as a tool to help.
Digital Native Turns to Creative Industry
As a 27-year-old, Hafidz is a digital native who likes to explore uncharted territories of social media. With over 30,000 followers on his Instagram account, @dagucoklat, Hafidz expands his reach through YouTube and TikTok by regularly sharing his life journey and insights on self-improvement.
'I share educational content wrapped in humour,’ he said. ‘The audience especially likes it when I share content in everyday language.’
The content is especially well-received whenever he shares his experience of introducing Indonesian culture to international friends, such as when he joined the Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) or when he worked as an Indonesian Language Ambassador.
'I also shared about the time I brought 30 products from Palembang small businesses to Sydney and shared them with my friends,’ he said. ‘The audience also liked it when my Australian friends listened to ‘Gending Sriwijaya’ by Indonesian conductor Addie MS.’
Hafidz was inspired to be a content creator after his classmates in high school made him the camera person for a senior year documentation project back in 2016.
‘My classmates laughed and cried when they watched the documentary I made about our school days,’ he said. ‘I realised then I loved to move people through the content I created.’
Since then, he has actively created content for social media, creating thoughtful concepts and researching topics that might appeal to a wider audience. His content mostly revolves around his beloved city of Palembang.
'I have found that alongside education and inspiration, social media is also a powerful tool to share our aspirations,’ he said. 'I’ve learned a lot from people who have commented and left feedback.’
Hafidz has also learned about promoting local culture through events after organising showcases for local businesses that preserve traditional crafts. A lot of these lessons were learned through trial and error, he said, especially in crowd management, digital marketing and promotional campaigns.
'This is where my studies at Macquarie University have helped me in my professional journey,’ he said.
Taking Sydney Insights to Palembang Markets
Hafidz said he chose his combined degree because it was so relevant to the work he was already doing.
'The course has a heavy emphasis on professional practice, which fits me perfectly because I love learning by doing,’ he said. 'Focusing on content creation for small business promotion, I find the study very applicable to what I have done professionally.’
Hafidz said by combining courses from two schools, the Masters of Creative Industries and Masters of Media and Communication, he could select courses that fit his career goals, such as creative entrepreneurship, startup business, story pitching, social media, algorithms and even documentary filmmaking.
'Everything I am learning is very interesting,’ he said.
One of his favourite courses is storytelling technique, which he can immediately put into practice with his social media content.
Alongside lessons from books and lecturers, Hafidz finds insights in his discussions with fellow students. 'I’ve met many professionals in the classroom, creative industry practitioners, academics, writers, filmmakers … inspiring people with whom I’ve created valuable networks with.’
Hafidz finds the landscape of different creative industries in Australia very interesting. His experience as a volunteer at the 2024 Sydney Fringe Festival introduced him to a new kind of event organising.
'I am amazed at how Australian event organisers preserve traditional values as well as cherish modern values and then showcase them with the help of advanced technology,’ he said. 'With an established ecosystem, there are many spaces for practitioners to innovate in various fields: tourism, filmmaking, digital content creation, stage performance, you name it,’ he said.
He believes that Indonesia, and especially Palembang, are rich in creative potential.
'I wish schools and universities in Indonesia could open study programs in the creative industry. We don’t have it yet, and there are only two in Australia currently,’ he said. 'The creative industry is a growing economy with a great future.’
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