WeGO to promote smart city vision at global forum in Geneva

By Jun Ji-hye

The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) will share its vision for smart cities and sustainable development with mayors, governors and other leaders from around the world at a U.N.-sponsored global forum scheduled to take place in Geneva from Monday to Friday.

The World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS), organized and sponsored by U.N. organizations, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO, is an annual global event for information exchange on sustainable development.

This year, over 50,000 leaders will attend the event, during which over 250 sessions including thematic workshops and high-level dialogues will be held.

WeGO will host the high-level events in partnership with Geneva Cities Hub, Monday, organizing a “mayor's roundtable” for worldwide leaders to exchange knowledge on digital solutions for smart cities with a focus on climate change adaptability and energy transition.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will give an online speech on Seoul's transformation to become a people-centered smart city offering a variety of smart services based on cutting-edge technologies.

WeGO Secretary-General Park Jung-sook will emphasize the importance of addressing growing challenges using a holistic and smart approach, claiming that “in every sector of today's society, ranging from the economy, education, infrastructure, governance, welfare, environment, tourism, media to arts, policy implementation is not possible without the smart city mechanism.”

On the occasion, WeGO and Geneva Cities Hub will commence an signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding sharing the vision for a united partnership in fostering resilient and inclusive cities around the world.

WeGO, the Seoul-based international association of municipal governments, institutions and businesses, was established in September 2010 at the initiative of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Geneva Cities Hub is a platform for the global city networks and international institutions established by Geneva and the Canton of Geneva through the support of the Swiss Confederation.