The 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day was held on 11–12 May 2026 at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) alongside a broad coalition of UN entities and partners. The event convened ambassadors, ministers, city leaders, UN agencies, international organizations, and innovators to examine the future of AI-enabled citiverse in cities and communities.
Participants of the meeting adopted the Executive Briefing on “AI, Spatial Intelligence and the AI-Enabled Citiverse” and launched the Call to Action for Humanity: Shaping the Future of Cities in the Age of AI and Citiverse.
In her opening remarks GCH President Christina Kitsos reminded us that AI will affect 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% of jobs worldwide – based on IMF estimates. Significant inequalities are to be expected, with enormous wealth concentrated in the hands of a few and the general impoverishment of the majority of the population. This is an opportunity to rethink income, compensation, and work in the service of humanity. The radical novelty represented by AI cannot leave public authorities indifferent. They must emerge from a state of paralysis and stop confusing technology with progress, innovation with the common good. She commended the inclusive approach of the ITU in developing international recommendations and standards. Having the opportunity to share the perspectives of local and regional governments of different sizes and from different continents is of great importance.
Discussions during the day centered on the concept of the AI-enabled citiverse, a digital paradigm integrating artificial intelligence, immersive virtual environments, and spatial intelligence to transform urban governance and service delivery. City representatives and local government leaders played a pivotal role, contributing practical insights drawn from on-the-ground experiences in urban transformation. Their engagement highlighted the importance of grounding digital innovation in local contexts and prioritizing people-centered approaches. ITU Director Seizo Onoe emphasized that “we must act now to prepare for success” and help countries and cities prepare for the transition. WIPO ADG Edward Kwakwa explained that in the multiverse of creativity and innovation trust, fairness, and sustainability must be our guiding principles.
The program featured dedicated sessions on AI governance, digital twins, and spatial intelligence, where participants shared practical solutions and lessons from cities already applying advanced technologies. These applications included forecasting housing demand, optimizing energy systems, and strengthening climate resilience. The use of AI will not reduce complexity of socio-economic decision making but can provide ex-ante simulations and speed up implementation enabling paradigm change. Several speakers elaborated on moving the narrative from digital gap between countries and communities to digital dignity, focusing on skills, standards, and solutions. While we can find solutions to real world problems in the virtual worlds, implications of AI-enabled technologies might also generate new challenges for our societies.
The five trends shaping the next era, presented by Dr Okan Geray, might enable the move from idea to pilot and to impact much more quickly, therefore can accelerate the development of digital city ecosystems based on the AI-enabled citiverse:
- World Models: a city-scale simulation of traffic, economy, infrastructure and even citizen behavior, before actions are taken. It allows for testing decisions in advance.
- Agentic AI: autonomous decision systems, which can plan, reason, and execute tasks independently across workflows and systems. It permits goal-driven autonomy.
- Physical / Embodied AI: autonomous operations of robots, drones and intelligent machines in the physical world in a safe and efficient manner.
- AI-native Virtual Worlds: living civic environments, where citizens and systems can interact persistently. It allows for immersive, interactive experiences and engagement.
- Digital twins + Immersive collaboration: real-time control systems, which can integrate IoT and AI predictions into real-time optimization of digital replicas of city systems.
The session organized by the GCH focused on how AI, digital twins, spatial technologies, and data-driven tools can help cities address interconnected crises related to housing, energy, and climate change. Speakers emphasized that cities are at the center of these challenges and that collaboration between local governments, international organizations, and communities is essential for building resilient and inclusive urban futures. A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that technology alone is not enough – trust, governance, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing between cities are equally important to ensure that digital innovations effectively serve communities. The session highlighted the growing importance of collaboration between cities and international organizations to assist with finding answers to the real-life questions of citizens and their leaders.
The 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day facilitated a local-to-global knowledge exchange aimed at fostering an inclusive and equitable citiverse as a next-generation AI-powered digital ecosystem. Emphasis was placed on ensuring that cities of all sizes could access the necessary tools and frameworks for sustainable and participatory digital development. Speakers stressed the need to strengthen the connection between global policymaking and local realities. Arturo Castellò from Valencia said that smart cities need to use technology to make their citizens smarter and their municipal services more efficient. Mayor Manual de Araujo of Quelimane presented their ‘Data Resilience & Mobility Initiative’ which includes the development of a digital twin to improve climate resilience, smart mobility and infrastructure, and e-governance. Roland van der Heijden from Rotterdam put focus on youth involvement, future skills, health, and education in the citiverse. Ntando Khuzwayo from Durban presented examples of how AI can help save lives by solving problems, and what the development of the city’s digital twin (a joint project with Bremen facilitated by ISCN) will bring to the equation.
Amid growing global priorities such as housing affordability, climate adaptation, and energy transition, the involvement of local and regional governments was identified as essential. Their participation demonstrated the value of collaborative governance and open innovation in translating global digital strategies into tangible local outcomes. The deployment of physical AI in cities will have a more significant effect than that of digital AI for municipal services. But AI-enabled technologies based on locally generated data will only serve the citizens if they can provide practical solutions – from higher quality of life to better access to municipal services and to more efficient disaster awareness and emergency alert systems.
The multistakeholder nature of the UN Virtual Worlds Day, especially the involvement of local governments serves as a great example of inclusive and effective multilateralism. GCH applauds the professional approach of Cristina Bueti and the ITU team. The discussion should be brought forward at other UN fora, such as the WUF in May, the AI for Good Global Summit in July, and the Forum of Mayors in October.