Smart and sustainable local communities in global Covid-19 pandemic conditions

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes in everyone’s life. Villages and rural areas are among the places where people have sought refuge in order to stay away from others and to be able to comply with government regulations during an emergency. Crisis conditions require the choice of means of communication, remote employment and self-help and self-support. Smart and strong communities or villages – this means more than only technologically and economically advanced communities – can be more successful in overcoming the crisis. This study analyses the characteristics of smart communities, the external factors influencing the functioning of these communities, as well as the specific circumstances caused by the first wave period of the Covid-19 pandemic (from March 2020 till June 2020). Collecting basic information on smart communities, external factors and special circumstances, and using the methods of analysis, comparison and drawing conclusions, the most important factors that have positively affected communities in the pandemic conditions have been taken into account within the framework of this study, clearly indicating the sustainability and development advantages of smart communities in Latvia. Nobody knows what will be “new normal” after COVID-19, but some benefits of smart thinking are noticed

Sustainable Approach to Certification of Persons: Ensuring Reliability and Quality

“…As a result of the globalization process and technological developments, alongside competitiveness, quality, and social responsibility [1][2][3][4][5], the development of an integrated management system as a sustainable and holistic approach to governing and improving organizational processes has become the biggest challenge for organizations in any industry. The professional competence of individuals plays a key role in the creation of new knowledge and in innovation processes, as well as in the prevention of costs resulting from inefficient organizational governance [6][7][8][9]. Thus, modern researchers consider the knowledge, abilities, and skills of specialists in the field, i.e., their professional competence, as the most important potential of any organization [10][11][12].…”