On 6 October 2026, European cities, researchers, industry and civil society will come together for “Accessible by Design: Putting accessibility at the heart of Europe’s Local Digital Twins”, a half-day online event exploring how accessibility, Universal Design and citizen-centred approaches can become an integral part of Europe’s emerging Local Digital Twin ecosystem.
As Local Digital Twins and Citiverses develop across Europe, an important question goes beyond technology and interoperability: how can we ensure that these new digital urban environments are designed to work for everyone?
This question will be at the centre of Accessible by Design, organised in connection with the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness project and LDT CitiVERSE EDIC. The event will bring together municipalities, civil society, researchers, designers and technology experts to explore how accessibility can be considered from the beginning when developing Local Digital Twins and citizen-facing Citiverse services.
From Universal Design to interoperable Local Digital Twins
The programme will connect different dimensions of inclusive digital urban development. Sessions will explore the economic potential of Universal Design in smart city technologies, accessibility and geodata standards, responsible AI tools for young people with neurodiversity, Digital Twin applications and approaches to modelling human behaviour.
Real-world experience will also be part of the conversation, including work on accessibility and geodata within the Gothenburg Digital Twin. Together, these perspectives will explore what accessible by design can mean in practice as cities increasingly use data, AI and virtual environments to understand and interact with their urban environments.
The LDT CitiVERSE EDIC perspective: interoperability, quality and trust
Jan Wester, Director of LDT CitiVERSE EDIC, will contribute to the programme with the session “The LDT CitiVERSE EDIC: securing quality and trust through interoperability.” His contribution will bring the wider European perspective to the discussion: how Local Digital Twins can become increasingly interoperable and connected, and what this development means for cities and organisations participating in the ecosystem.
For LDT CitiVERSE EDIC, interoperability is not simply a technical question. Building a European ecosystem of connected Local Digital Twins also requires creating the conditions for cities to trust, reuse and scale solutions across different local contexts. Accessibility and citizen-centred design add another important dimension to that conversation: ensuring that the digital environments being developed are not only technically interoperable, but also useful and accessible to the communities they are intended to serve.
Building a European community around citizen-centred Local Digital Twins
The event will also mark the launch of a new European network dedicated to citizen-centred Local Digital Twins and Citiverses. Initiated through the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness project and developed in collaboration with the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC ecosystem, the network aims to create an open space where cities, public authorities, researchers, industry and civil society organisations can exchange experience around accessibility, Universal Design and citizen-centred approaches. The ambition is to extend this collaboration beyond individual projects and create connections that can contribute to the wider development of Local Digital Twins and Citiverses across Europe.
Join the event
📅 6 October 2026
🕙 10:00–14:00 EEST
💻 Online
The event is open to organisations and professionals interested in Local Digital Twins, accessibility, Universal Design, smart cities and citizen-centred digital transformation.
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