Geneva, 12 May 2026 – The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) joined 20 United Nations organizations to call on governments, mayors, and the private sector to unlock the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation to shape the future of urban living. The message was at the heart of events for the 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day, held on 11-12 May at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland.

With 70 per cent of the world’s population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, the UN event focused on opportunities presented by the “AI-enabled citiverse” – a digital ecosystem combining AI, spatial intelligence, digital twins, and immersive technologies to enhance urban planning, decision-making, and quality of life.

The UNJSPF was represented by Dino Dell’Accio, Deputy Chief Executive of Pension Administration, who spoke in a fireside chat on grounding virtual worlds in Ethics, and Agata Ruta, Chief Operations Officer of the Office of Investment Management, who addressed the topic of AI, digital value and the future of work. Recognizing that decisions made in cities today will define the future of urban life, participants issued Call to Action for Humanity: Shaping the Future of Cities in the Age of AI and Citiverse.

In the words of Mr. Dell’Accio: “We are entering a new era where AI systems increasingly interact with the physical world, infrastructure becomes intelligent, and decisions are driven by real-time data. It is critical that this transformation is accompanied by strong and ethical governance”.

“To unlock the true value of AI, organizations must move beyond fragmented data and invest in trusted, well-governed data ecosystems. We must aim at building a responsible, data-driven future of work”, added Ms. Ruta.

The UN partners also released an Executive Briefing on Artificial Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence and the AI-Enabled Citiverse, providing practical guidance for ministers, regulators, and city leaders to navigate the next phase of urban digital transformation.
Both the Call to Action and the Executive Briefing emphasize that the benefits of AI and the citiverse must reach all communities, including developing economies and underserved populations.

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About UN Virtual Worlds Day 2026
The 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day was co-organized by ITU together with ITCILO, FAO, UNDP, UNECA, UNECE, UNECLAC, UN Guatemala, UN-Habitat, UNICC, UNICEF, the UN Innovation Network, UNJSPF, UNRISD, UN Tourism, UNU-EGOV, the UN Futures Lab, the World Bank, WIPO, and WMO, in partnership with the Global Cities Hub.
The Executive Briefing and Call to Action are available at: https://www.itu.int/un-virtual-worlds-day/2026/.