UN Virtual Worlds Day 2025: Global call-to-action to accelerate social progress through AI-powered virtual worlds

​​​​​​​UN entities joined forces during the 2nd UN Virtual Worlds Day to urge governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector from around the world to harness AI-powered virtual worlds to drive development that works for all

Twelve priorities for a digital future for all
Held under the theme “From Innovation to Impact: Delivering on the Pact for the Future", the second edition of UN Virtual Worlds Day highlighted the importance of interagency cooperation and the growing momentum across the UN system to foster shared innovation, global standards, and inclusive digital ecosystems.

The call-to-action emphasizes:

• the importance of expanding access to meaningful connectivity;
• empowering people through digital public infrastructure;
• promoting responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI)​;
• protecting environmental sustainability and cultural heritage;
• fostering youth digital skills and innovation;
• advancing global standards and multistakeholder collaboration.

These respond to the Pact for the Future of the 2024 UN Summit of the Future, support the Global Digital Compact and Declaration for Future Generations, as well as the World Summit on the Information Society+20 (WSIS+20)​, and inform the 2025 Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2).

From Vision to Action: Partnering to deliver the Digital Future
The second edition of UN Virtual Worlds Day was co-organized by a broad coalition of UN entities, including: ITU, ITCILO, FAO, UNECA, UNECE, UNECLAC, UNESCWA, UNFCCC, UN Guatemala, UN-Habitat, UNICC, UNICEF, UNRISD, UN Tourism, UNU, UN Futures Lab, World Bank, and WIPO.

The collaboration illustrates the UN system's capacity to co-create global solutions and work across sectors and regions to catalyze innovation that serves the public good, promoting open, rights-based digital transformation.

UN Virtual Worlds Day also unveiled the Citiverse Use Case Taxonomy Overview, the first flagship deliverable of the Global Initiative on AI and Virtual Worlds—a UN-led platform for promoting open, interoperable, and trustworthy AI-powered virtual worlds for people, businesses, and public services.

See the event's highlights: https://youtu.be/i_vXqEYjE80