WeGO Strengthens Global Urban Collaboration at the Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors’ Forum 2025 in Expo City Dubai
Dubai, October 29, 2025 — The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) proudly participated in the Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) & Mayors’ Forum, held in Expo City Dubai from October 26 to October 29, 2025. Hosted under the theme “Collaborate. Inspire. Transform.”, APCS brought together over 150 mayors and representatives from 320 cities across every continent. The Summit served as a dynamic platform for fostering collaboration, discussing innovative strategies, and advancing sustainability, growth, and inclusion in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
WeGO’s Role as a Knowledge Partner of the Event
WeGO participated in the event as a Knowledge Partner of APCS, playing a pivotal role in shaping discussions around smart, sustainable, and inclusive urban development. WeGO’s Secretary General delivered opening remarks at the Big Picture Session: From Data-Rich to Data-Smart: Unlocking Urban Intelligence for the Next Generation of Cities on the second day of the event. Secretary General Kim highlighted WeGO’s philosophy that “technology and data collection alone does not make a city “smart”, it is how cities apply innovation to make life safer, fairer, and more inclusive for all citizens.” and introduced the Seoul Smart City Prize to all attendees, encouraging them to share their approach to digital innovation in urbanism.
Strategic Engagements and Bilateral Dialogues
During the Summit, the Secretary General of WeGO engaged in high-level bilateral meetings with prominent city leaders. These included Nicole Jonic, Deputy Mayor of Ipswich, along with representatives from the Council of Mayors Southeast Queensland, Australia; Jacek Sutryk, Mayor and Jakub Mazur, Deputy Mayor of Wrocław, Poland; Francesco Senese, Representative of the Mayor of Naples for Foreign Affairs, Italy; Cllr. Daryl Barron, Deputy Mayor of Dublin and next Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ireland; and Arnaud Ngatcha, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Europe, International Relations and the Francophonie, France. These discussions focused on strengthening city cooperation, exploring joint initiatives, and advancing WeGO’s mission to support smart and sustainable urban development globally.
Through these meetings, WeGO was able to learn more about each city’s current projects and their needs in terms of city development. The Secretariat took the opportunity to invite participating cities to apply for the prestigious Seoul Smart City Prize and to attend the Smart Life Week in Seoul in 2026 to recognize and promote their innovative urban solutions while fostering global collaboration among cities.
Expanding Partnerships and Academic Collaboration
Beyond the Summit, the WeGO Secretariat took the opportunity to visit the Canadian University in Dubai, where they met with Professor Karim Chelli, President & Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs of CUD. This visit laid the foundation for a new collaboration between WeGO and the university, particularly regarding the Sustainable Smart City Champions program, also inviting Professor Chelli to participate in the second edition of the Global Youth Award. This initiative aims to empower the next generation of urban leaders and innovators, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to drive sustainable urban transformation.
By engaging global leaders and fostering partnerships at APCS, WeGO aimed to turn dialogue into action, supporting cities to build a future where they thrive through human-centered innovations.
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
E-mail: j.jeong@we-gov.org
Phone: +82-70-4202-9169