The 2nd Citiverse Assembly brings together global stakeholders to explore how virtual worlds, digital twins and immersive technologies can support more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities. Organised by the International Telecommunication Union, the event builds on growing international efforts to shape the “citiverse": the convergence of physical and digital urban environments.
The event
The Citiverse Assembly convenes policymakers, city representatives, researchers, and industry leaders to exchange knowledge on the development and governance of virtual urban spaces. Discussions focus on interoperability, standards, data integration, and real-world applications of digital twins in urban planning, climate adaptation, and public services.
Through high-level sessions and collaborative dialogue, the event aims to define frameworks that ensure digital urban environments are human-centric, trustworthy, and aligned with sustainability goals.
Why it matters for TerraDT
Participation in the Citiverse Assembly is highly relevant for TerraDT, as the project contributes to the next generation of climate digital twins that can inform decision-making at multiple scales, including cities. The event offers:
- Cross-domain exchange: engagement with stakeholders working on urban digital twins, complementing TerraDT’s climate-focused modelling with insights from smart city and virtual world communities.
- Standards and interoperability alignment: opportunities to contribute to discussions on frameworks that enable integration between climate models, urban data, and digital infrastructures.
- Application pathways: exploration of how TerraDT’s outputs—such as urban climate indicators and extreme event simulations—can be embedded into city-level digital environments.
TerraDT’s role
At the Citiverse Assembly, TerraDT brings a strong Earth system science perspective to discussions on digital urban futures. By contributing to the conversation, the project helps ensure that virtual representations of cities are grounded in robust scientific data.
This engagement supports TerraDT’s ambition to bridge global climate simulations with local urban applications, enabling more informed, data-driven decisions for climate adaptation and resilience in cities.
Maria Giuffrida
Maria Giuffrida is part of the TerraDT team at Trust-IT Services, where she co-leads stakeholder engagement, communication, and dissemination activities for the project. She holds an MSc in International Management from Bocconi University and a PhD in Management Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.
Within TerraDT, she plays a key role in shaping how the project engages with its stakeholders and communicates its results, ensuring that scientific developments are translated into clear, accessible, and impactful narratives for diverse audiences.