Applications Invited for the 1st UN Citiverse Challenge: Designing Digital Public Infrastructure of Future Cities

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About the Organization

ITU is connecting the world – and beyond. As the United Nations specialized agency for digital technologies, we are working towards harnessing innovation and connecting everyone to ensure a better future for all.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been at the forefront of global technology standardization for almost 160 years. With a membership of 194 member states and more than 1000 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations the ITU serves as the primary international platform for all stakeholders to work together to ensure that the metaverse can be harnessed for the benefit of all, while minimizing potential risks and promoting sustainable development.

About the Event

The 1st UN Citiverse Challenge invites students and startups to imagine and design innovative solutions that leverage the transformative potential of the citiverse and digital public infrastructure to address pressing global challenges. By focusing on three critical themes—access to public services, sustainability and resilience, and tourism and digital culture—participants will develop bold ideas and prototypes to shape the cities of tomorrow.

The UN Citiverse Challenge is directly aligned with the vision of the Pact for the Future and the principles of the Global Digital Compact (GDC), emphasizing inclusive, sustainable, and equitable approaches to digital transformation. Participants have the opportunity to lead the way in advancing the GDC’s goals by exploring how cutting-edge technologies and human creativity can foster a more connected and resilient world.

This challenge champions a transformative approach to urban innovation, harnessing digital public infrastructure alongside technologies such as AI, metaverse immersive environments?, digital twins, IoT? and open-source solutions to reimagine cities as inclusive, engaging, resilient, and sustainable hubs of progress for its citizens and e-citizens.

Key Themes:

• Access to Public Services: Redesign digital identity and financial systems to empower underserved populations, ensuring inclusivity and equity.
• Sustainability and Resilience: Develop open, interoperable digital infrastructure to enhance energy access, optimize resources, and improve climate adaptation and disaster preparedness.
• Tourism and Digital Culture: Create solutions that preserve cultural heritage, enhance accessibility, and foster immersive, inclusive cultural experiences.

Problem Statements:

Participants will tackle real-world challenges tied to the SDGs and global priorities:

• Access to Public Services (SDG1 & SDG11): Over 850 million people lack official identification, and 1.4 billion are unbanked, limiting access to essential services . The citiverse and digital public infrastructure can empower these citizensindividuals through inclusive, interoperable digital identity and financial systems.
• Sustainability and Resilience (SDG7 & SDG13): Nearly half the world lacks reliable power, while climate-related disasters drive displacement and resource strain1. Digital public infrastructure in the citiverse can strengthen climate adaptation, optimize resources, and enhance energy access.
• Tourism and Digital Culture (SDG9 & SDG11): Cultural heritage faces risks of misrepresentation, limited access, and inequitable preservation. The citiverse offers transformative potential to preserve cultural assets, foster inclusive tourism, and provide immersive, authentic experiences, while leaving no one behind.

What’s at Stake:

• Global Recognition: Present your ideas to global leaders in technology, urban planning, and policy-making.
• Collaboration Opportunities: Partner with UN agencies and key stakeholders to refine and scale your ideas.
• Intellectual Property (IP) Workshop: Selected startups will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual one-day IP workshop hosted by WIPO, gaining valuable insights into IP protection, commercialization strategies, and innovation management.
• Join UN Tourism Innovation Network: the winners will be invited to be part of the UN Tourism Global Innovation Network.
• Impact the Future: Shape global digital public infrastructure to align with the Pact for the Future and the GDC’s call for inclusivity, sustainability, and digital trust.
• Drive International Standards: The challenge offers participants the chance to contribute to pre-standardization efforts, exploring innovative solutions that can inform the development of international standards for digital public infrastructure. The outputs of this challenge will can help shape technical recommendations and frameworks under ITU-T Study Group 20 on Internet of Things (IoT), digital twins and smart sustainable cities and communities.

Prizes:

Exciting prizes await the most innovative and impactful solutions! The winning individual or team will receive recognition for their creativity and ingenuity and also receive a cash prize.

• Students Category: CHF 5,000 for the winning team or individual.
• Startups Category: CHF 5,000 for the most scalable and impactful solution.

Possible Outputs:

Category 1: Students

• Prototypes: Working prototypes demonstrating how digital public infrastructure can be integrated into the citiverse to solve global challenges listed in the problem statements.
• Cultural Experience Designs: Designs for immersive cultural experiences in the citiverse, focusing on the digital preservation of cultural heritage, enhancing accessibility to cultural assets, and promoting inclusive tourism in the citiverse.
• Research Papers: Research papers or reports that provide evidence-based insights, use cases, and recommendations for how digital public infrastructure can be implemented and scaled in the citiverse, addressing issues like equity, sustainability, and resilience.
• Community Engagement Initiatives: Propose initiatives or campaigns that encourage partnerships between governments, businesses, and communities to develop and scale digital public infrastructure solutions in the citiverse to mitigate the real world challenges.

Category 2: Startups

• Functional Prototypes: Functional prototypes using advanced technologies such as AI, metaverse platforms, digital twins, and open-source tools to address specific challenges in the citiverse listed in the problem statements.
• Scalable Solutions: Scalable, innovative solutions that can be implemented at a city or national level, focusing on how startups can help transform digital public infrastructure using the citiverse.

This challenge is a call to action for visionaries, innovators, and changemakers to collaborate in building an equitable and sustainable digital future. Join the 1st UN Citiverse Challenge and help redefine the digital public infrastructure of future cities in alignment with global priorities outlined in the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact.

Let’s shape the citiverse—a future where technology bridges divides and empowers all.

Eligibility

• Category 1: Students: Open to graduate-level students or recent graduates, individually or in teams, to propose innovative ideas or prototypes addressing real-world challenges in the citiverse.
• Category 2: Startups: Open to startups. Startups are required to submit cutting-edge prototypes or scalable solutions leveraging AI, metaverse, gaussian splatting, digital twins, and open-source tools.

Participation is free of charge, making this a unique opportunity to collaborate and innovate without barriers.

How to Apply

If you are in the startup category, please submit your proposal here.

Proposal deadline: 9 April 2025

For more information please check the Link

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