Dear colleagues,

I am delighted to share with you the inaugural edition of the ITU Digital Transformation and Cities Digest. This will be a regular email to provide you with information on our latest work related to digital transformation, smart sustainable cities, and the metaverse, as well as upcoming events and new publications.

The main theme of this edition is ITU's role as a global platform for developing a metaverse standardization roadmap. Since its establishment last December, the ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse (FG-MV) has welcomed highly productive engagement from both ITU members and external experts.

I hope you enjoy this short digest which aims to provide valuable information to support your important engagement with the work of the ITU. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement please send an email to digitaltransformation@itu.int.

Sincerely,

Seizo Onoe,
Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU.

In less than six months the Focus Group on metaverse (FG-MV) went from being an idea to a global platform, bringing together over 650 experts from around the world for its first meeting in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in early March. Today, the Focus Group is laying the groundwork for technical standards to help everyone benefit from the metaverse, and is working across the full spectrum of metaverse technical, regulatory, and societal issues. Its eight Working Groups are:

• WG1 - General
• WG2 - Applications & Services
• WG3 - Architecture & Infrastructure
• WG4 - Virtual/Real World Integration
• WG5 - Interoperability
• WG6 - Security, Data & Personally identifiable information (PII) ​Protection
• WG7 - Economic, regulatory & competition aspects
• WG8​ - Sustainability, Accessibility & Inclusion​ ​​

The second meeting of FG-MV will be held on 4-6 July 2023 followed by a Forum on Creating a metaverse for all through international standards" jointly organized with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology that will take place on 7 July 2023. Both events will be held in Shanghai, China.

To join any of the Working Groups or the Task Group on collaboration, as well as to see information on latest meetings visit the Focus Group webpage.

The Focus Group meeting was preceded by the inaugural Forum on embracing the metaverse. With growing government, industry, and public interest in the transformative potential of the metaverse, the ITU and the National Cybersecurity Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia organized the first ITU Forum on the metaverse in Riyadh on 7 March 2023.

One of the key messages that emerged from the Forum was the importance of collaboration and international standards in realizing the potential of the metaverse. As the metaverse takes shape, it is critical that stakeholders work together to establish international standards and best practices to ensure interoperability, security, and accessibility. View recording of discussions at the Forum here, read the Forum outcome document, or watch the overview video.

A session on Harnessing the Opportunities of the Metaverse will take place during the forthcoming Global Symposium for Regulators 2023 on 8 June 2023 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

For latest information on ITU's work related to the metaverse visit https://www.itu.int/metaverse.

As part of the UN Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs, the ITU jointly organized with Saudi Arabia a webinar on the subject of "Leveraging the metaverse in cities to achieve the SDGs”. The webinar explored the need for safe and meaningful innovation environments to create a positive impact on the SDGs.

The webinar also looked at the opportunities and challenges of building sustainable cities in the metaverse, a virtual world where users can interact with each other and digital objects in a simulated environment. As cities around the world face challenges such as rapid urbanization, climate change, and social inequality, the metaverse presents an opportunity to promote smartness and sustainability while accelerating towards the achievement of the SDGs. To watch the webinar recording and access all of the presentations click here.

Building a people-centered digital future for cities and communities
This Brochure showcases the ITU’s commitment to creating an inclusive, accessible and sustainable digital future that supports the needs of people and communities. The Brochure provides an overview of our key initiatives, programs and Recommendations that accelerate digital transformation. Explore how together, we can make a real difference and build a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future for all. To read or download a copy click here.