The reference urban plan is an urban planning tool often used to orient the development of Chadian cities. However, expanding Chadian urban centers, such as Sarh, face challenges in implementing urban planning orientations of their urban plans within the set deadlines. The objective of this study is to identify the factors impeding the effective implementation of the reference urban plan for Sarh town. The methodology employed encompasses a literature review, individual interviews with urban planning experts, geographic information system (GIS) data, household surveys and statistical analysis. The results revealed that less than a quarter (19.72%) of the households surveyed were aware of the reference urban plan. The applied logistic regression model identified age, occupation and level of education as the main factors influencing public participation in the preparation of the reference urban plan. On average, 33.33% of the urban planning guidelines and 21.74% of the projected urban projects were implemented, with a difference of 1631.28 hectares (ha) between the projected plan and the actual plan for the town. Five factors were identified as contributing to the failure to implement the reference urban plan for Sarh town, including low funding, inadequate land management, a lack of political will, weak governance and poor communication. Consequently, participatory and inclusive planning approaches, effective financial mobilisation, strong governance, and the use of modern technologies such as GIS tools are recommended to enhance the implementation of urban planning tools.

This project analyzes the evolution of the manufacturing sector in Portugal from 2009 to 2021, focusing on the variations in the number of active companies across various subcategories, such as food, textiles, and metal product industries. The goal of this analysis is to understand the dynamics of growth and contraction within each sector, providing insights for companies to adjust their market and operational strategies. Key objectives include analyzing the overall evolution in the number of companies, identifying subcategories with notable changes, and providing a comprehensive analysis of observed trends and patterns. The study is based on data from PORDATA 2024, and the research employs temporal trend analysis, linear and quadratic regression, and the Pareto representation to identify patterns of growth and decline. By comparing annual data, the project uncovers periods of growth and decline, allowing for a deeper understanding of the sector’s dynamics. The findings also highlight variations in periods of economic crises and during the Covid-19 pandemic, and recommendations for action are presented to support businesses resilience and continuity. These results are valuable for companies within the manufacturing sectors analyzed and policy makers, guiding strategic decisions to navigate the complexities of the market dynamics and to ensuring long-term organizational sustainable success.

A comprehensive survey was conducted in 2012 and 2020 to assess the financial culture of Hungarian higher education students. The findings revealed that financial training effectiveness had not improved over time. To address this, a conative examination of financial personality was initiated by the Financial Compass Foundation, which gathered over 40,000 responses from three distinct age groups: Children, high school students, and adults. The study identified key behavioral patterns, such as excessive spending and financial fragility, which were prominent across all age groups. These results informed Hungary’s seven-year strategy to enhance financial literacy and integrate economic education into the National Core Curriculum. The research is now expanding internationally with the aim of building a comparative database. The study’s main findings highlight the widespread need for improved financial education, with more than 80% of adults demonstrating risky financial behaviors. The implications of these findings suggest the importance of early financial education and tailored interventions to foster long-term financial stability. The international expansion of this research will allow for the examination of country-specific financial behaviors and provide data-driven recommendations for policy development.

The Modern Cities Program is the largest-scale urban development effort in the history of the country, with which the Government of Hungary aims to promote the simultaneous development of municipalities at the same hierarchical level. Its projects focus on the preservation of intangible and tangible cultural heritage, the transformation of urban public spaces and green areas into community spaces, the creation of institutions for sports and recreational activities, research and development, digitalization, projects for innovative and creative professionals, and public educational and cultural institutions. The study aims to analyze the funding granted for developing the cultural and creative sector of cities with county rights through the Modern Cities Program in the period 2016–2025, by comparing the size of their population, their strategic importance in regional economic policy and the relationship between the value of the cultural heritage with the amount of funding received. The paper unveils the distribution of grants over time and space, the modalities and proportion of grants, and the way the cities that has received grants align with the national strategy. This will also reveal a shift in the regional importance of the cities and their relationship. Until February 2024, the Government of Hungary has contributed more than HUF 322.6 billion (809.5 million EUR) to the implementation of 98 cultural and creative projects in 22 cities with county rights through its urban development support program that has been established for the development and regeneration of cities with county rights and to counter the dominance of the capital.

Recovery and resilience plan (RRP) approved by the European Commission fosters the development of lifelong learning programs to upgrade employees’ skills and knowledge for digital and green transitions. Within higher education, the field of information and communication technology (ICT) is also a priority area, so we compared the demographic variables of students enrolled in formal first-cycle higher education programs in ICT with those enrolled in lifelong ICT programs within the framework of the Advanced Computer Skills project funded by the RRP in Slovenia. The results show that formal first-cycle higher education in the field of ICT remains strongly male-dominated, whereas, among participants in lifelong learning, the percentage of females stands out. Bachelor programs in ICT are primarily enrolled by young people aged up to 24 years, while shorter university-based lifelong learning programs attract mostly older participants with higher completed formal education and from a broader range of prior educational backgrounds. Finally, when all three variables (gender, age and level of prior formal education) are considered, participants in lifelong learning are much more similar to part-time students than full-time bachelor ICT students, although the percentage of men in formal education is still predominant even in part-time studies. The research findings highlight the need for further efforts to offer lifelong learning in ICT to enable individuals to improve their employment prospects, progress in the workplace or even change their field of work.