WeGO Hosts Global Youth-Expert Dialogue on Smart Cities During Seoul Smart Life Week
Seoul, October 1st — The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) successfully hosted the 2025 Sustainable Smart City Champions Session at COEX, as part of Seoul Smart Life Week, bringing together youth awardees, global experts, and city leaders in a vibrant exchange under the theme: “Youth x Experts: A Dialogue on Smart Cities.”
With over 90 participants in attendance, the session featured a dynamic panel discussion where Global Youth Award winners posed pressing questions to leading experts on topics such as AI, housing, digital equity, climate resilience, and data ethics.
Moderated by Eunbyul Elena Cho, Program Director at WeGO, the panel brought together renowned experts including:
- Dr. Alexandre Hedjazi, Director of the Global Environmental Policy Program and Head of the Geneva Center of Excellence on Smart Sustainable Cities (UNECE / University of Geneva)
- Dr. Matteo Tarantino, Associate Professor at the Catholic University of Milan
- Dr. Byoung Joon Kim, Vice President for Globalization at Kookmin University
- Dr. Christina Yan Zhang, CEO of the Metaverse Institute
The session built on the broader WeGO Sustainable Smart City Champions Program, which reached over 600 youth participants from around the world in 2024 through online lectures and hands-on workshops in cities including Geneva, Toronto, Athens, Milan, and Seoul.
A key highlight of the event was the inaugural Global Youth Award Ceremony, newly launched in 2025, recognizing 16 winners across seven categories, including Smart City, Net Zero, Advanced Technology, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, SDGs, and Culture. The awardees hailed from a wide range of domestic and international institutions, reflecting WeGO’s commitment to expanding youth engagement on a global scale.
The award was developed in partnership with a diverse group of organizations, including:
- University of Geneva and Catholic University of Milan
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- Next Challenge Foundation
- Silk Road University Network
- Kookmin University
- The State University of New York (SUNY), Korea
- 3K Software / All Nations Global Emerging Leadership School
Mr. Jeong-kee Kim, Secretary General of WeGO, opened the session by emphasizing the importance of youth participation in designing tech-enabled, human-centric cities. He was joined by Mayor Fred Jung of Fullerton and Mr. Sung-bin Yim, Chairman of the Global Youth Award and Vice-Chairman at the Institute of Smart City & Architecture, who delivered congratulatory remarks.
The session concluded with a Lucky Draw, and an open invitation for participants to stay involved in WeGO activities through the Champions program and upcoming international events. Attendees under 35 were also encouraged to submit reflections for a chance to become WeGO Youth Supporters at future events.
About WeGO
The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), is a membership-based international association of local governments, smart tech solution providers, and institutions committed to the transformation of cities into smart sustainable cities through facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP). WeGO was founded by 50 member cities in 2010 as the World e-Governments Organization, hence our acronym. In response to the evolving concept of smart cities, WeGO expanded its vision and mandate at the 7th General Assembly (2017) and its name to the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. WeGO’s Secretariat is based in Seoul, Korea, and has regional offices in East Asia (Chengdu, China), the Mediterranean (Beyoglu, Turkey), Africa (Abuja, Nigeria), Middle East & North Africa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Latin America (Cuenca, Ecuador), and Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan). As the leading platform on smart city development, WeGO’s mission is to share knowledge and good practices in e-Governance; strengthen administrative efficiency and transparency; advance digital capacity; facilitate civic involvement; bridge the digital divide and inequality; and promote cooperation solidarity among cities and local governments around the world.
WeGO serves for its members as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.
Press Contact:
Name: Junho Jeong / Wooyoung Chang
E-mail: secretariat@we-gov.org
Phone: +82-70-4202-9169