27 March 2026
Since 2019, the ITU Regional Office for the CIS has been consistently supporting CIS countries in developing smart sustainable cities. From 2023 to 2025, the Office implemented Regional Initiative 5 "Smart Sustainable Cities", aimed at facilitating the digital transformation of cities and communities across the region. Over six years, this focus area has evolved from isolated dialogue into a comprehensive ecosystem of knowledge, practical tools, and cross-sector partnerships.
The initiative traces its origins to February 2019, when the First Regional
Forum "Smart Sustainable Cities" was held in Minsk. Organized with the support of the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus, the event launched a regional dialogue on integrating digital technologies into urban planning and governance. During the forum, the Moscow case study was presented — the first ITU analytical report in the region, prepared in collaboration with the Government of Moscow and published as part of the global U4SSC Case Studies series. The document demonstrated how a unified digital platform, IoT, and data analytics contribute to improving energy efficiency, transport accessibility, and citizens' quality of life.
In 2020, despite pandemic challenges, the
forum in Minsk was held in a hybrid format, focusing on the digital resilience of cities during crises — from remote healthcare to smart utilities management. In
2021, the discussion shifted toward green digital solutions: energy-efficient data centres, smart grids, and digital environmental monitoring tools. In 2022–2023, the initiative expanded to a regional scale. A series of outreach
seminars was launched across Belarusian regions (Gomel, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Brest), where representatives of local administrations, utilities, educational and healthcare institutions received practical tools for implementing solutions in smart transport, digital health, remote learning, and energy management.
In 2023, the ITU Regional Office for the CIS published a key analytical report —
"Assessment of the Implementation of the Smart Sustainable Cities Concept in CIS Countries". The document was prepared based on a large-scale study, including a survey of 32 city administrations from 9 countries in the region, 28 expert interviews with representatives of ministries responsible for digital development, utilities, transport, and environment, as well as detailed case studies of Moscow (Russia), Minsk (Belarus), Astana (Kazakhstan), and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The report systematically analyses national strategies for the digital transformation of cities and the level of implementation of solutions across 12 key U4SSC areas (including smart transport, energy efficiency, digital health, waste management, and citizen engagement). As a result, common barriers were identified (data fragmentation, lack of inter-agency coordination), and pathways to overcome them were proposed through standardisation, capacity building, and the creation of urban digital twins.
Special attention was given to youth engagement and the development of innovation ecosystems. In October–November 2024, the "Smart Sustainable City" hackathon was held in Minsk, bringing together 20 teams of students and young developers. Participants created AI-powered solutions to improve energy efficiency, optimise traffic flows, enhance urban governance, and promote digital inclusion.
In October 2025, Minsk hosted the seminar "Digital Solutions for the Development of Cities and Communities", which gathered 104 experts — representatives of government bodies, research and educational institutions, technology companies, and end-users of digital solutions. Over two days, participants discussed current practices in deploying digital technologies in urban environments: from developing unified information and educational infrastructure and EdTech tools in smart cities to ensuring cybersecurity and improving the population's digital literacy. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of youth in digital transformation — during the roundtable "Youth as a Driver of Digital Transformation", mechanisms for engaging students and young professionals in creating startups and innovative solutions for cities and the digital economy were explored.
Over six years, ITU's work in the CIS region on smart sustainable cities has grown from expert dialogue to practical case studies: from analytical research and national strategies to pilot projects, hackathons, and local implementations. A key achievement has been the formation of a cross-sectoral ecosystem — where government agencies, cities, universities, and businesses jointly design a digital future focused not on technology for technology's sake, but on improving quality of life, environmental sustainability, and social equity. In the face of global challenges — from climate change to the digital divide — such an approach is becoming not just relevant, but essential.
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