Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI
Discovering the Citiverse
Introduction
The Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI – Discovering the Citiverse was launched by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) and Digital Dubai.
The Initiative serves as a global platform that aims at fostering open, interoperable and innovative AI-powered virtual worlds that can be used safely and with confidence by people, businesses and public services.
The Initiative:
- Serves as the avenue for developing normative frameworks addressing principles, enablers and governance for applying AI-powered virtual worlds solutions in cities.
- Provides training and hosts events to disseminate knowledge, raise awareness and share best practices and solutions among cities worldwide.
- Delivers a sandbox environment to test, and experiment with metaverse scenarios in cities around the world.
Key pillars
The Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI actively works through three key pillars, each comprising dedicated tracks that address core aspects of virtual worlds and AI.
Pillar 1 – Bringing Virtual Worlds to Life
Pillar 2 – Connecting Cities with the Virtual and Real Worlds
- Emerging Technologies
- Use-case Identification
- Sandbox Experiment Facility
- Virtual Worlds Toolkit
- Annual Training
Pillar 3 – Tunneling the citiverse
- Annual Assembly
- Citiverse Challenge
- Network of Cities
- Talent Grants Programme for Developing Countries
Meet the Executive Committee
Chair
Director General, Digital Dubai
Vice-Chairs
Minister, Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology, Tanzania (United Republic of)
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, Kenya
Mayor, Municipality of Queretaro, Mexico
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Aston Group
Chair of the Board of Directors and Executive Director, Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC), Belgium
Chair, ITU-T Study Group 20 “Internet of Things, digital twins and smart sustainable cities and communities”
Deputy Mayor, City of Tampere, Finland
Councillor for Tourism, Digital Agenda, Innovation, and Investment, Valencia, Spain
Director, United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC)
Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO)
Meet the Steering Committee
Chair
Chair of United for Smart Sustainable Cities Initiative (U4SSC) and Senior Digital City Strategy Advisor, Dubai Digital Authority
Vice-Chairs
Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, The Sandbox
Executive Director of Economic Policy, Competitiveness and Innovation, City of Tampere, Finland
Professor, Harvard University
Chair of European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) on Local Digital Twins
Founding Board Director and Standardisation Lead, Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC)
Chief, Digital Solutions Centre, UNICC
Tech Investor and Strategic Board Member, AMVS Capital
Related activities
2nd UN Virtual Worlds Day
11-12 June 2025, Turin, Italy
UN Executive Briefing on unlocking the potential of virtual worlds and the metaverse for the SDGs
1st UN Citiverse Challenge
Designing digital public infrastructure of future cities
Contact us
Interested in learning more or getting involved in the Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI – Discovering the Citiverse?
Please contact Ms Cristina Bueti at virtualworlds@itu.int.
