A European network dedicated to citizen-centred Local Digital Twins (LDTs) and Citiverses launches on 6 October with a half-day online event Accessible by Design: Launching the Citizen-Centric LDT Network.

Initiated by the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness project (presented back in February) the network will grow through collaboration with the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC ecosystem. It brings together cities, public authorities, researchers, industry and civil society organisations to explore how accessibility, Universal Design and citizen-centred approaches can contribute to the development of Local Digital Twins and Citiverses across Europe.

The programme will take participants from technical standards and practical applications to the wider European strategy for Local Digital Twins and citiverses.
The agenda will feature a live demonstration of inclusive wayfinding using avatars and chatbots, insights into the economic and market potential of Universal Design, lessons from applying accessibility and geospatial standards in Gothenburg’s Digital Twin, and sessions exploring intelligent systems, responsible AI and the modelling of human behaviour.
The event will conclude with a roundtable on collaborative and sustainable city solutions, bringing the discussion from individual technologies and standards towards their practical adoption by European cities. It will close with an open invitation to join the emerging network: a collaborative space for sharing good practice on citizen-focused LDTs, connecting directly with peers across cities, and linking municipalities with digital solutions.

Agenda: 

10:00 – 10:05: Meet and Greet and Project Introduction I Anna Wennblad, Project Leader of the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness project at Lindholmen Science Park 

10:05 – 10:15: Project Demo of wayfinding with avatars and chatbots I Aki Kossi, Tech Lead at Younite AI 

10:15 – 10:40: Economic potential of Universal Design in smart city technology & Bringing Universal Design functionalities to market I Loredana Gavrilescu, Business Lead at Iceberg Plus 

10:40 – 11:00: The LDT CitiVERSE EDIC: securing quality and trust through interoperability I Jan Wester, Director of the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC 

11:00 – 11:10: Online coffee break 

11:10 – 11:35: From barriers to access: Universal Design in smart city technology (Research & Learnings from our process) I Jenny Lindström Beijar, Founder of Our Normal Association 

11:35 – 11:55: Integrating Standards for Geo Data and Accessibility in the Gothenburg Digital Twin I Eric Jeansson, Geo Data Strategist at City of Gothenburg 

11:55 – 12:05: Online coffee break 

12:05 – 12:40: Building intelligent systems with Digital Twins I Laura Olin, Chief Product Officer & Aki Kossi, Tech Lead at Younite AI 

12:40 – 13:05: AI assistants and youth with neurodiversity: Design considerations for responsible, inclusive and supportive AI tools I Jenny Lindström Beijar, Founder of Our Normal Association 

13:05 – 13:15: Online coffee break 

13:15 – 13:30: Synthetic Societies: Modeling Human Behavior at Scale I Timmy Ghiurău, Co-Founder of The Point Labs/Midbrain 

13:30 – 13:55: Roundtable on Collaborative & Sustainable City Solutions I Led by Claus Popp Larsen, Focus Area Leader for Connected Cities at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden 

13:55 – 14:00: Closing remarks by Anna Wennblad, Project Leader European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness

Free, online, live captioned, materials meeting WCAG.