Busung Village, located on Bintan Island, Riau Islands, is witnessing technological advancements in empowering the local community through a training program titled “AI: A Fast and Smart Solution for Promotional Content Creation.” This training was organized by Universitas Airlangga as part of its community service initiative, Airlangga Community Development Hub (ACDH), held on Bintan Island. The program took place over three days, from September 17 to 19, 2024. Around 20 participants, consisting of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) owners and ecotourism managers, joined the training. By leveraging AI technology, the community was encouraged to be more creative in developing digital content that could enhance the promotional appeal of local tourism and products.
The training was conducted in Busung Village, known for its Telaga Biru tourist destination, a stunning lake managed directly by the local community. Additionally, the participants included MSME entrepreneurs involved in processing marine products such as fish and chips. Given this significant potential, the adoption of technology became a crucial step in introducing the village’s products and tourism to a wider audience.
During the training, participants were guided in using two featured applications: Canva and ChatGPT. Canva, a user-friendly graphic design application, helped participants create attractive and professional visual content for promotional purposes. Meanwhile, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based tool, assisted in generating creative text, product descriptions, and engaging storytelling narratives to enhance the digital marketing appeal. The training was led by Mr. Taufik, a lecturer from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga.
“We find this training very beneficial. With Canva, we can create more appealing promotional designs, while ChatGPT helps us craft more professional and effective promotional text,” said one of the participants, a local MSME owner specializing in processed seafood products.
With the enthusiasm shown by the participants, the training not only provided new insights but also opened up opportunities to expand the reach of product and tourism promotions in Busung Village. This initiative is expected to enhance the competitiveness of local products while attracting more tourists to Telaga Biru.
This activity is a strategic step toward digitizing remote villages, helping communities utilize modern technologies like AI to support local economic growth. In the future, the people of Busung Village are expected to continue innovating by developing digital content relevant to the global market’s needs.
Author: Taufik, S.T., M.Kom.
