WeGO Engages with U.S. Mayors and Strategic Organizations at the 93rd Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
 

 

Washington, D.C., January 19, 2025 — From January 16–18, WeGO participated in the 93rd Winter Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. The prestigious event brought together 277 mayors from across the U.S., with President Joe Biden making an appearance as an honorary guest. During the meeting, WeGO’s Secretary General, Kim, gave a brief introduction of himself and WeGO during one of the sessions, highlighting the organization’s mission and global initiatives. The event served as an excellent platform for WeGO to connect with influential U.S. city leaders and introduce the Seoul Smart City Prize. The delegation engaged with mayors from key cities, including Washington, D.C., San Diego, Oklahoma City, Austin, San Antonio, Columbus, Colorado Springs, Burnsville, and several other cities in California.

In addition, WeGO held a productive meeting with the Mayor of Arlington, Jim Ross, to discuss Arlington’s WeGO membership and extend an invitation for Mayor Ross to serve as a presenter at the 2025 Seoul Smart City Prize Ceremony. Mayor Ross, a past award recipient, also facilitated a connection between WeGO and the National League of Cities (NLC), a prominent organization representing over 2,700 city, town, and village leaders across the United States.

Beyond engagements with city leaders, WeGO visited the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where they met with President and CEO Dr. John Hamre and the Korea Chair team. WeGO extended an invitation to Dr. Hamre to join the High Council of the Seoul Smart City Prize, further strengthening ties with international strategic organizations. WeGO’s participation at the conference underscores its commitment to fostering meaningful collaborations with U.S. cities and organizations, promoting innovation, and expanding the global network for sustainable urban development.

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:  Kakim Danabayev
E-mail: kakim@we-gov.org
Phone: +82-70-4202-9169