Page 7 - Guide for smart and sustainable city leaders: Envisioning sustainable digital transformation

Forewords

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The eight-step cycle presented by this guide offers city leaders a framework to drive digital
transformation with social purpose, building on international standards and the sustained
momentum that results from commitment to continuous evaluation and data-driven decision
making.

I would like to thank every expert that has contributed to this guide as well as our partners in
its publication, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, United Nations University, and the World
Meteorological Organization.

The global ITU membership includes 193 Member States and over 900 companies, universities,
and international and regional organizations.

Our members work together on international technical standards that help cities innovate
efficiently and at scale. These standards provide cities with essential technical foundations
able to support smart city solutions appropriate to a city's particular context. This work is led
by ITU-T Study Group 20.
The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative supported by ITU together with another
18 UN bodies has developed a set of Key Performance Indicators based on ITU standards,
providing cities a framework to measure their progress towards smarter, more sustainable
communities.

International standards represent expert consensus on the building blocks required for digital
transformation to deliver meaningful improvements to our quality of life. They help cities to
innovate with confidence as part of a global community committed to building a better future
for all.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary-General
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

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