WeGO Kicks Off its 2025 Champions Workshops Abroad in Geneva

[Geneva, June 24-25, 2025] – The WeGO Sustainable Smart City Champions workshop on “Youth, Leadership, and Sustainable Transformations” marked the first overseas offline workshop of the year 2025. It was successfully held at the United Nations Headquarters and the University of Geneva for a two-day session on June 24 and 25, 2025. The event brought together 21 participants, including graduate students and youth advocates, to explore topics such as foresight methods, youth co-leadership, and intergenerational dialogue in global sustainability governance, while also building awareness around WeGO’s Champions Program and its digital training course on smart and sustainable cities.

Senior officials from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the University of Geneva served as facilitators, offering both institutional insights and methodological frameworks to the students. Speakers included Dmitry Mariyasin, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNECE; Paul Ladd, Director of Sustainable Development at UNECE; Alexandre Hedjazi, Head of the UNECE-UNIGE Center of Excellence Smart Sustainable Cities at the University of Geneva; Matteo Tarantino, Associate Professor from the UNECE-UNIGE Center of Excellence Smart Sustainable Cities at the Catholic University of Milan; and Tinka Stossel, Youth Advocate and Researcher at the University of Geneva.

Held in the historical United Nations Headquarters, the first day offered an introduction to the role of foresight in international governance. Dmitry Mariyasin and Paul Ladd provided an in-depth session on how UN bodies are incorporating anticipatory strategies in planning for long-term sustainability. Participants discussed youth involvement in environmental negotiations, generational gaps in leadership, and practical illustrations from UNECE initiatives related to sustainability, smart mobility, the circular economy, and digital transformation.

On the second day, Professors Alexandre Hedjazi and Matteo Tarantino, along with researcher Tinka Stossel, shifted the focus from global institutions to local and academic dynamics through an interactive session on how youth leadership can accelerate transitions in urban governance, housing, and digital futures. The session also included a review and introduction to WeGO’s online course ‘Accelerating, Benchmarking, Communicating Smart & Sustainable Cities’ Transitions.’ Participants shared experiences from their communities, contributing to a comparative and experiential learning process.

The Geneva edition of the WeGO Youth, Leadership and Sustainable Transformations workshop concluded with significant outcomes that underscores its success and potential for future impact. Participants gained understanding of foresight as a leadership tool and were equipped with knowledge of key international policy instruments.

The workshop laid a foundation for deeper cooperation between WeGO Champions and UNECE’s youth and urban initiatives. Key outcomes included the formation of a youth-led foresight working group dedicated to supporting upcoming UNECE strategic planning efforts and integrating selected participants into WeGO’s digital curriculum of online lectures.

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
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