UN Virtual Worlds Day
AI, Spatial Intelligence, and the Citiverse: Shaping Trusted Digital Futures
11-12 May 2026
Geneva, Switzerland
Shaping the Future of Cities — UN Virtual Worlds Day 2026
The 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day, co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) together with ITCILO, FAO, UNDP, UNECA, UNECE, UNECLAC, UN Guatemala, UN-Habitat, UNICC, UNICEF, the UN Innovation Network, UNJSPF, UNRISD, UN Tourism, UNU-EGOV, the UN Futures Lab, the World Bank, WIPO, and WMO, in partnership with the Global Cities Hub, will take place on 11–12 May 2026 at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
The event will convene ambassadors, ministers, city leaders, UN entities, industry pioneers, and innovators for two days of high-level dialogue and an Ambassador Roundtable on the future of AI-driven cities and communities. Discussions will explore how the convergence of artificial intelligence, immersive virtual environments, spatial intelligence, and other frontier technologies is reshaping urban governance and enabling new approaches to delivering public services, including emerging concepts such as the AI-enabled citiverse. The programme will also examine how these developments can help translate the Global Digital Compact into trusted, inclusive, and people-centred outcomes for cities and communities worldwide.
Seizo Onoe
Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
H.E. Mrs Fancy Chepkemoi Too
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya
H.E. Mr Luigi Maria Vignali
Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
H.E. Ms Angellah Jasmine Mbelwa Kairuki
Minister, Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology, Tanzania
H.E. Mr Marat Kangarlinski
Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
Msgr. Lucio Adrián Ruiz
Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, Holy See
Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona
Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
Sameer Chauhan
Director, United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC)
Dino Cataldo Dell’Accio
Deputy Chief Executive, United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)
Jonathan Reichental
Founder of Human Future
Christina Kitsos
Vice Mayor of Geneva, Switzerland, and President of Global Cities Hub
Hyoung Jun Kim
Chair of the 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day and Chair, ITU-T Study Group 20 “IoT, Digital Twin, Smart Sustainable Cities & Communities”
Helen Koepman
Deputy Head of Unit, AI for Societal Good, AI Office, European Commission
Manuel de Araújo
Mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique
Dmitry Mariyasin
Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Paula Llobet Vilarrasa
Councillor for Tourism, Digital Agenda, Innovation, and Investment, City of Valencia, Spain
Karl Filip Coenegrachts
Chair of the Board of Directors and Executive Director, Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC)
Roland van der Heijden
Chief Citiverse Officer, City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
ITU-T Study Group 20
Internet of Things, digital twins and smart sustainable cities and communities
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