On 12 December 2024, Global Cities Hub and International Telecommunication Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize and pursue their successful cooperation. The purpose of this MoU is to contribute to advancing the participation and engagement of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) in multilateralism, especially in digitalization, smart cities and AI governance and all related topics and processes.
The MoU builds on an already ongoing partnership. Cooperation in the WSIS framework will persist and the Smart City Leaders’ Talk is to be developed further. Smart city leaders reminded us that the main goal is to serve the people and offer solutions to their needs in time – referring to daily operations and emergency situations alike. Collaboration with the U4SSC in different formats offered valuable opportunities to city representatives to engage with and contribute to ITU’s work on smart city development regulation and standardization processes. The webinar “Celebrating World Cities Day and Shaping Urban Futures” connecting state representatives, mayors and experts. Mayors from cities of different sizes shared their experiences, lessons learnt and expectations regarding how to leverage digital solutions to create more inclusive, sustainable, and accessible environments. GCH’s participation in the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, a multi-stakeholder alliance to ensure meaningful connectivity to everyone everywhere, will continue as well.
President of GCH Sami Kanaan expressed his conviction that this MoU will contribute to advancing the participation and engagement of LRGs in multilateralism, especially in digitalization, smart cities and AI governance. GCH would be open to explore further collaboration, including the GIGA program, since internet access for schools is an issue best handled at the local level, and CitiVerse as part of the UN Virtual World Day program, making sure that LRGs’ participation will be solidified.
While acknowledging that cities are not decision-makers in the international organizations, he expressed appreciation that some organizations have realized the value of consulting local and regional governments. Creating the right regulatory conditions for a smart digital economy opens new opportunities for businesses, start-ups, and individuals at the local level. Developing smart and sustainable infrastructure makes cities more efficient and resilient while remaining human-focused. Citizens should have safe spaces to ask questions about digitalization – as the example of a Geneva-based initiative shows.
Secretary-general of ITU Doreen Bogdan-Martin emphasized her wish to deepen the partnership between the two organizations in the areas previously mentioned, and to broaden it to new areas such as the use of artificial intelligence and decreasing gender divide. Smart city development is a fundamental question where cooperation with local and regional governments brings added value. The WSIS+20 process is a multistakeholder exercise with a true potential to better include local communities.
In a broader sense the secretary-general praised the institutional ecosystem in the international Geneva. The multitude of international organizations, representations of Member States and other actors can bring important synergies and collaborations to the joint efforts of implementation of the Global Digital Compact.
Based on the MoU exchange of expertise and dissemination of information will be reinforced throughout the ITU and the Global Cities Hub contacts’ networks to increase awareness and capacity of cities and city networks and of Geneva-based international stakeholders on key issues related to advancing SDGs through digitalization with a particular focus on sustainable urban development.