United Nations launches global call-to-action to accelerate social progress through AI-powered virtual worlds

UN Virtual Worlds Day urges international cooperation to use emerging technologies for people-centered development.

2025-06-12

(Press-News.org) Turin, Italy — 12 June 2025 — Eighteen UN entities joined forces today during the 2nd UN Virtual Worlds Day to urge governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector to harness the transformative potential of AI-powered virtual worlds to drive development that works for all.

The call-to-action outlines 12 priorities—from expanding connectivity to promoting responsible use of emerging technologies—in order to ensure that no one is left behind in the fast-evolving digital era.

The two-day global forum brought together leaders, innovators, and youth changemakers from around the world to spotlight how emerging technologies—from digital twins to AI-enabled virtual environments—are already reshaping governance, education, agriculture, health, climate resilience and cities.

Twelve priorities for a digital future for all

Held under the theme “From Innovation to Impact: Delivering on the Pact for the Future”, the second edition of UN Virtual Worlds Day highlighted the importance of interagency cooperation and demonstrated the growing momentum across the UN system to foster shared innovation, global standards, and inclusive digital ecosystems.

The call-to-action emphasizes the importance of expanding access to meaningful connectivity; empowering people through digital public infrastructure; promoting responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI); protecting environmental sustainability and cultural heritage; fostering youth digital skills and innovation; and advancing global standards and multistakeholder collaboration.

The priorities in the call directly respond to the Pact for the Future, adopted at the 2024 UN Summit of the Future, and support the implementation of its Global Digital Compact and Declaration for Future Generations, as well as the World Summit on the Information Society+20 (WSIS+20) process beyond 2025.

The priorities also offer concrete proposals to inform the 2025 Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), which aims to accelerate action on poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, and social inclusion.

From Vision to Action: Partnering to deliver the Digital Future

The second edition of UN Virtual Worlds Day was co-organized by a broad coalition of UN entities, including: ITU, ITCILO, FAO, UNECA, UNECE, UNECLAC, UNESCWA, UNFCCC, UN Guatemala, UN-Habitat, UNICC, UNICEF, UNRISD, UN Tourism, UNU, UN Futures Lab, World Bank, and WIPO.

The collaboration illustrates the UN system’s capacity to co-create global solutions and work across sectors and regions to catalyze innovation that serves the public good, promoting open, rights-based digital transformation.

The event reaffirmed the need for practical, scalable partnerships to ensure that the benefits of virtual worlds and AI reach rural, remote, and underserved communities worldwide, leaving no one behind.

UN Virtual Worlds Day also unveiled the Citiverse Use Case Taxonomy Overview, the first flagship deliverable of the Global Initiative on AI and Virtual Worlds—a UN-led platform for promoting open, interoperable, and trustworthy AI-powered virtual worlds for people, businesses, and public services.

The interactive catalogue showcases real-world applications of AI-powered virtual environments transforming education, climate action, urban governance, public services, and economic resilience.

Editor’s notes:

To read the full Call-to-Action and explore the Citiverse Use Case Taxonomy:
www.itu.int/un-virtual-worlds-day/2025 Quotes from UN Partners

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
"As AI and virtual worlds transform how we connect, learn, and innovate, we must ensure no one is left behind. This edition of UN Virtual Worlds Day shows what’s possible when we come together to ensure digital spaces truly work across the globe for all people.”
– Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General

United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC)
"Virtual worlds, underpinned by AI, open new frontiers for collaboration, innovation, and global good. Our work ensures governments and cities have the tools to harness immersive technologies for inclusive, ethical transformation."
– Sameer Chauhan, Director, UNICC

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
"This initiative puts people at the centre of digital transformation. It bridges innovation with equity, ensuring that technology advances sustainable development and social justice."
– Magdalena Sepúlveda, Executive Director, UNRISD

International Labour Organization (ILO)
"AI, virtual reality, and immersive technologies are unlocking bold new frontiers in skills development, employment, and lifelong learning. By investing in inclusive and adaptive digital learning ecosystems, we enable people everywhere to thrive in a fast-changing world."
– Christophe Perrin, Director, ITCILO

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism)
"Immersive technologies can transform tourism by making it more sustainable, accessible, and inclusive. AI-powered virtual worlds allow people to experience culture and heritage in innovative ways that benefit communities worldwide."
– Natalia Bayona, Executive Director, UN Tourism

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
"Virtual worlds powered by AI offer new possibilities for knowledge sharing, climate-smart agriculture, and food systems innovation. This initiative helps connect rural communities to real-time solutions and learning."
– Vincent Martin, Office of Innovation, FAO

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
"Harnessing virtual worlds through common frameworks and standards can drive regional cooperation and smart, sustainable development. This initiative speaks to the heart of UNECE’s work to digitise its normative and capacity building instruments and enable communities to deal with the most pressing economic, environmental and social challenges in a data-driven and forward-looking manner.”
– Tatiana Molcean, UNECE Executive Secretary

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
“Children everywhere are increasingly growing up in a world shaped by digital technologies we’re only beginning to understand. At UNICEF, we see AI and virtual worlds not just as tools but as real chances to include children who have been left out, to inspire new ways of learning, and to make sure every child has a say in shaping our digital future. But this future won’t build itself. We have to design it thoughtfully, with fairness, inclusion, and child rights front and center.”
– Kaan Cetinturk, UNICEF Chief Information Officer

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
“Harnessing the potential of emerging technologies like AI and virtual environments is essential to overcoming structural development traps—such as low productivity, inequality, and institutional weaknesses—that persist across regions. The Latin American and Caribbean digital agenda, eLAC, offers valuable lessons on how regional cooperation, shared standards, and inclusive governance can drive people-centered digital transformation. Only through global collaboration can we ensure these technologies serve the public good and leave no one behind.”
— José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary, ECLAC

Media contacts:
Karima Cherif
Head of Communications and Outreach
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
E-mail: karima.cherif@un.org

David Hirsch
Senior Media Relations Officer
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
E-mail: pressinfo@itu.int

Jean Pierre Mora Casasola
Communications Officer
United Nations International Computing Centre
E-mail: mora@unicc.org

Patsy Nakell
Communication Manager
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
E-mail: pnakell@unicef.org

Miriam Rubio
Senior Communication Specialist
UN Tourism
E-mail: mrubio@untourism.int

Melisa Zelaya
International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO)
E-mail: m.zelaya@itcilo.org

Jovana Miocinovic
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
E-mail: jovana.miocinovic@un.org

Guido Camú
Chief Public Information Unit
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
E-mail: prensa@cepal.org

END

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United Nations launches global call-to-action to accelerate social progress through AI-powered virtual worlds

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