WeGO Champions Program 2025 Workshops Wrap-Up: Advancing AI, Sustainable Solutions, and Youth Leadership in Athens, Brescia, Milan, and New York
Athens / Brescia / Milan / New York, December 8, 2025 – 2025 marked another dynamic year for the WeGO Champions Program, which concluded with a series of workshops across Europe and North America, bringing together 150 students and young professionals in attendance. The sessions explored the intersection of artificial intelligence, nature-based solutions, and youth-driven urban leadership, underscoring the critical role of emerging technologies and collaborative governance in shaping the future of urban environments.
Athens, Greece: Urban Youth Leadership, Climate-Positive Regeneration, Nature-Based Solutions
Hosted on October 21st at the University of Patras, the 2026 edition of the WeGO Champions workshop in Athens, Greece, built on the momentum of previous years, centering on nature-based solutions and climate-positive regeneration in dense urban neighborhoods. The event brought together 20 architectural students and young leaders for an immersive dialogue with WeGO’s Secretary General Jeong-kee Kim. Secretary General Kim opened the workshop by reaffirming WeGO’s commitment to fostering youth leadership, digital transitions, and cross-regional collaboration in urban sustainability.
Prof. Alcestis Rodi, Professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Patras and Dr. Alexandre Hedjazi, Director of the Global Environmental Policy Program and Head of the Geneva Center of Excellence on Smart Sustainable Cities, showcased the neighborhood of Kypseli as a model for regenerative urbanism, focusing on rooftops and courtyards as key elements for climate adaptation. They discussed how nature-based solutions and integrated green-blue-grey strategies can transform urban spaces, offering practical recommendations to advance climate-positive initiatives. The workshop highlighted Athens as a hub for youth-driven innovation in sustainable urban design.
Brescia, Italy: AI and Smart and Sustainable Cities Governance: The Role of Digital Twins and Metaverses
On October 27, 2025, Brescia hosted a workshop exploring the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and digital twins in urban governance. Organized at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, the session attracted 19 students and featured a dynamic exchange between Prof. Matteo Tarantino, Associate Professor at the Catholic University of Milan and Christina Zhang, Director of Research at the Metaverse Institute. They addressed how immersive digital environments, such as digital twins and metaverses, are revolutionizing urban planning and stakeholder engagement. The discussion highlighted the opportunities and challenges of adopting these technologies, particularly for small and medium-sized cities.
Milan, Italy: AI and Smart and Sustainable Cities: The Block and the Building Scales
The Milan workshop on October 30, 2025, adopted a dual-scale perspective, focusing on the application of AI in neighborhood and building-level urban innovation. With 57 students in attendance, the session featured insights from Stefano Minini of the MIND Innovation District and Andrea Natale of Schneider Electric. Eng. Minini showcased how data sharing and generative AI are reshaping urban development at the block scale, while Eng. Natale demonstrated the impact of sensor technologies and machine learning on building operations. The workshop highlighted the integration of real-time data streams to optimize energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and operational resilience. The discussions also addressed the need for standardized approaches and greater engagement with architectural and planning professionals to fully realize the potential of AI-driven urban design.
New York, United States of America: Emerging Markets, Amazing Cities
The last WeGO Champions Workshop of 2025 was hosted in New York City, held alongside Cornell Tech’s Urban Tech Summit, bringing together 50 students and early-career professionals to explore AI’s role in urban governance and economic competitiveness. The event featured globally recognized experts, including Lourdes Casanova, Co-Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business, and Stefaan Verhulst, Co-Founder and Chief Research and Development Officer at GovLab, who discussed the transformative potential of digital twins, immersive platforms, and data-rich urban management systems. Participants analyzed how these technologies could bridge gaps in urban planning and public engagement, while also addressing the practical challenges of adoption in resource-constrained cities. The workshop emphasized the importance of global collaboration in accelerating the responsible use of AI, ensuring that cities worldwide can navigate technological change and close the growing capacity gap.
The WeGO Champions workshops of 2025 demonstrated the power of youth leadership, digital innovation, and nature-based solutions in advancing sustainable and resilient urban futures. From Athens’ focus on climate-positive regeneration to Brescia and Milan’s exploration of AI-driven governance, and New York’s examination of global urban tech trends, the discussions highlighted the need for integrated, scalable, and inclusive approaches to urban development. As cities continue to evolve, the WeGO Champions Program remains a vital platform for fostering collaboration, innovation, and youth engagement in the pursuit of smarter, greener, and more equitable urban environments.
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 4th 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), 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