Indonesia, as a maritime country, has many coastal areas with fishing villages that have significant potential, especially in sociological, economic, and environmental aspects, to be developed as models for sustainable development. Indonesia, with its long-standing fishing traditions, showcases the abundant potential and traditional that could help address global challenges such as climate change, rapid urbanization, and environmental and economic issues. This study aims to develop a conceptual model for sustainable cities and communities based on local potential and Wisdom towards the establishment of a Blue Village in the fishing village of Mundu Pesisir, Cirebon, Indonesia. The urgency of this study lies in the importance of developing sustainable strategies to address these challenges in coastal towns. This study involves an interdisciplinary team, including experts in sociology, social welfare, architecture, law, economics, and information technology. Through the identification of local natural and sociocultural resources, as well as the formulation of sustainable development strategies, this study develops a conceptual Blue Village model that can be applied to other coastal villages. The method employed in this study is qualitative descriptive, involving the steps of conducting a literature review, analyzing local potential, organizing focus group discussions, conducting interviews, and finalizing the conceptual model. The study employed, a purposive sampling technique, involving 110 participants. The results of the study include the modeling of a sustainable city and community development based on local potential and Wisdom aimed at creating Blue Villages in Indonesia, and It is expected to make a significant contribution to the creation of competitive and sustainable coastal areas capable of addressing the challenges of climate change and socioeconomic dynamics in the future.

Rural tourism, which offers authentic cultural and nature-based experiences, is increasingly recognized as a vital tool for sustainable development. Ethiopia, with its rich rural landscapes and cultural heritage, holds immense potential for rural tourism, but the sector remains underdeveloped. This study assesses the facilitating conditions and challenges of rural tourism in Ethiopia using a mixed-methods approach. Results indicate that Ethiopia’s economic growth, improved rural infrastructure, large rural population, higher ethnic and religious diversity index, and 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites provide strong foundations for rural tourism. However, significant challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited marketing, restricted access to financing, ethnic conflicts, environmental degradation, and insufficient stakeholder cooperation hinder its growth. To address these barriers, the study proposes a model encompassing strategic investments in infrastructure, enhancing marketing and promotion, access to finance initiatives, conflict resolution strategies, sustainable tourism practices, enhancing stakeholder coordination, and supportive policy frameworks. By employing these strategies, Ethiopia can harness the full potential of its rural tourism sector, contributing to economic development and community well-being while promoting cultural preservation and environmental sustainability. Also, the proposed model is highly applicable to other developing economies that share similar contexts. Besides, given the importance of the seven fundamental pillars of the model, it remains relevant across tourism types like coastal destinations.

This study explores the influence of digital technologies, including media, on pre-service teachers’ interactions and engagement patterns. It underscores the significance of promoting digital competence to empower pre-service teachers to navigate the digital world responsibly, make informed decisions, and enhance their digital experiences. The objective is to identify key themes and categories in research studies related to pre-service teachers’ digital competence and skill preparations. Conducting a systematic literature review, we searched databases such as SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, and Taylor & Francis, including forty-three articles in the dataset. Applying qualitative content analysis, we identified four major themes: digital literacy, digital competencies, digital skills, and digital thinking. Within each theme, categories and their frequencies were examined. Preliminary findings reveal a growing prevalence of digital competence and literacy articles between 2019 and 2024. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for further research and implementations, with specific criteria used for article selection detailed in the paper. A digital literacy policy for teacher education preparedness is included.

Malaysia’s economic development strategies have evolved significantly since independence, focusing on reducing poverty, enhancing education, and integrating technology to foster sustainable growth. Despite substantial progress, challenges persist in achieving inclusive development across rural and urban sectors. This study examines the effectiveness of Malaysia’s New Economic Model (NEM) in addressing poverty and unemployment through technological and educational advancements. Employing a qualitative approach, it reviews literature on technology’s impact on economic growth, poverty alleviation, and the role of tertiary education in national development. Analysis reveals that while NEM initiatives have attracted foreign investment and improved infrastructure, gaps remain in educational access and technological self-reliance. The findings underscore the need for targeted policies that enhance educational outcomes, promote inclusive technology adoption, and address structural inequalities to achieve sustainable economic development. Recommendations include bolstering vocational training, enhancing rural infrastructure, and fostering public-private partnerships in technology innovation to ensure equitable economic progress.

The significance of infrastructure development as a determinant of economic growth has been widely studied by economists and policymakers. Though there is no much debate about the importance of infrastructure on growth, the extent to which infrastructure affects growth in the long run is often debated among researchers. This paper aims to examine the effect of infrastructure development on economic growth in ten sub-Saharan Africa. This study uses balanced panel data of ten African countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa over the period of 2010–2020 by analyzing a set of independent variables with relation to the dependent, which is GDP per capita. The study has found that water supply & sanitation index and electricity index have positive and significant relationship with economic growth, while transport index and Information & Communications (ICT) have negative relationship with economic growth in these countries.

This paper reviews and compares the opportunities and challenges in terms of port and intermodal development in China and India—the two fast-growing economic giants in the world. The study analyzes the future direction of these two countries’ port-hinterland intermodal development from the sustainability perspective. Both China and India face some major opportunities and challenges in port-hinterland intermodal development. The proposal of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offers plentiful opportunities for China. A challenge for China is that its development of dry ports is still in the infancy stage and thus it is unable to catch up with the pace of rapid economic growth. As compared with China, India focuses more on the social aspect to protect the welfare of its residents, which in turn jeopardizes India’s port-hinterland intermodal development in the economic sense. The biggest challenge for India is its social institution, which would take a long time to change. These in-depth comparative analyses not only give the future direction of port-hinterland intermodal development in China and India but also provide references for other countries with similar backgrounds.