UN Launches Global Call to Action: Harnessing AI Virtual Worlds for Social Progress

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ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. Photo: ITU

UN Launches Global Call to Action: Harnessing AI Virtual Worlds for Social Progress

The two-day global forum, held under the theme “From Innovation to Impact: Delivering on the Pact for the Future,” brought together leaders, innovators, and youth changemakers from around the world.

RMN News Tech Desk
June 13, 2025

Turin, Italy – June 12, 2025 – The United Nations has issued a global call-to-action, urging governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector to leverage the transformative potential of AI-powered virtual worlds to accelerate social progress and drive development that benefits everyone. This significant announcement was made during the 2nd UN Virtual Worlds Day in Turin, Italy, where eighteen UN entities collaborated to emphasize the importance of these emerging technologies.

The initiative aims to ensure that no one is left behind in the rapidly evolving digital era, outlining 12 key priorities for a digital future that works for all. These priorities range from expanding connectivity to promoting the responsible use of new technologies. The call-to-action specifically highlights 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.
Advancing global standards and multistakeholder collaboration.

These priorities are a direct response 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. They also provide concrete proposals to inform the 2025 Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), which focuses on poverty eradication, full employment, decent work, and social inclusion.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General, emphasized the overarching goal: “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”.

The two-day global forum, held under the theme “From Innovation to Impact: Delivering on the Pact for the Future,” brought together leaders, innovators, and youth changemakers from around the world. Participants showcased how emerging technologies, including digital twins and AI-enabled virtual environments, are already reshaping crucial sectors such as governance, education, agriculture, health, climate resilience, and urban planning.

The second edition of UN Virtual Worlds Day underscored the growing momentum across the UN system for fostering shared innovation, global standards, and inclusive digital ecosystems through interagency cooperation. The event was co-organized by a broad coalition of UN entities, including ITU, ITCILO, FAO, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, and the World Bank, among others. This collaboration exemplifies 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.

A significant development at the event was the unveiling of the Citiverse Use Case Taxonomy Overview. This interactive catalogue is the first flagship deliverable of the Global Initiative on AI and Virtual Worlds – a UN-led platform dedicated to promoting open, interoperable, and trustworthy AI-powered virtual worlds for people, businesses, and public services. The taxonomy showcases real-world applications of AI-powered virtual environments that are transforming education, climate action, urban governance, public services, and economic resilience.