Nowadays, while cities are often subject to research in terms of their development, especially smart development, studies on rural areas are rare. However, the development of the latter is very important. It is important that rural areas develop economically and socially. Smart villages are a challenge for the modern energy sector. The authors of the article try to answer the question: What are the challenges for the modern energy sector in the context of rural development? The aim of this article is to identify challenges for the modern power industry in the concept of smart countryside development. The article begins with the presentation of the essence of smart villages and the essence of energy policy. The research facilitated the identification of basic challenges that prevent or slow down the development of the smart villages in terms of modern energy solutions, as perceived by experts and residents, and farmers and entrepreneurs operating in rural areas. The article identifies a number of energy challenges in the context of a smart village. They include, among others, a lack of awareness regarding the impact of energy on the environment, a low level of public knowledge about new energy solutions, and a lack of social trust in modern energy solutions in rural areas. The research was conducted in rural areas in the north-western part of Poland. At the end, the article presents a model of rural development in the context of the modern energy sector. The research also allowed the creation of a smart village development model that focuses on smart economy, intelligent environment, intelligent people, and intelligent governance. Since these are universal solutions, they can be used as a proposition for other countries.

Role of the sharing economy in the contemporary economy JEL codes: O11, O35 Keywords: sharing economy, collaborative economy, prosumer, ICT Summary. The article presents the essence and role of the sharing economy. Sharing economy owe its rapid development in recent years, the fast development of technologies like social communications, mobile technologies and portals supporting direct cooperation of people. The article presents the role of youth as current and future prosumers in sharing economy. The generation that is currently growing up surrounded by so widely and rapidly developing techniques and technologies of information transfer will be a very aware prosumer on the market.

The article attempts to answer the question regarding the implementation of the smart city concept in the context of e-administration and its influence on smart and sustainable development. It should be noted that the use of IT in the public administration in Poland is at an early stage of development. 1 The level of e-services is still low, and the major part of the administration remains at the second level of e-services maturity (Interaction-the user can communicate electronically with individual offices, but offices do not always communicate via the web with the user). The analysis of the research material indicates that at the moment a vast majority of Polish cities fits into the Smart City 2.0 model, in other words their local administrations cautiously use modern technologies to improve the quality of life for citizens. It is also possible to state that several of them aspires to advance to the third generation of smart cities.

For many years, infrastructure markets have been treated as a strategic element of each country. Substantial technological changes forced postal and telecommunications operators to adapt their services to the information society, use new business opportunities, and take account of the emerging and rapidly developing direct and indirect competition. The aim of the presented article is developing a model of action to ensure access to information using the postal infrastructure which, until full digitization, will fulfil the constitutional needs of citizens. In order to achieve the indicated aims, the article refers to the nature of the regulation, which constitutes a point of reference to the examined problem. In addition, selected economic policy tools are presented, which allow the development of a model of action that will reduce the problem of digital exclusion. The article uses research methods such as critical analysis of scientific literature, synthesis and generalization, the Delphi method, multidimensional comparative analysis, and graphic visualization.

Smart villages are an approach to the local development of a village that reflects the contemporary dynamics and direction of development processes as well as the challenges of civilization. It originates not only from observing the processes taking place in the countryside but from "smart" ideas that are widely advertised, for example in the concept of smart development. In Poland, saturation with internet access services is lower in rural areas than in cities. However, the information transmission network is being expanded all the time. Yet, the development of technology alone is not enough to develop smart areas. The concept of smart villages refers to rural areas and communities. This concept must also include regional and local specificities to a large extent. In smart villages, traditional and new networks and services are strengthened by means of digital technologies, telecommunications, innovation and better use of knowledge, for the benefit of residents and enterprises. The objectives of the presented article are:-presentation of areas that have an impact on the development of smart villages,-an indication of the directions of rural development. The article presents the following research hypothesis-increasing the awareness of rural residents will be conducive to the development of the smart village concept.