Barcelona, 4 November 2025 — With the signing of the Placement Agreement, Mr. Jan Wester has officially taken office as the new Director of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium for Networked Local Digital Twins towards a European Citiverse (LDT CitiVERSE EDIC).
The LDT CitiVERSE EDIC is a collaboration of 14 European countries that will work on a common European digital infrastructure for interoperable platforms and advanced AI services, with the ambition to create the European Citiverse. Wester will fulfill this role for the next 3 years as seconded director from the Spatial Information Directorate of the Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning. He will work with a Pan-European team and in close cooperation with the Living-in.EU community.
The EDIC builds on the results of various European initiatives. These results are made available in a diverse portfolio of products, services and facilities that include test and experiment facilities (e.g. CitCom TEF), computing power (e.g. AI factories), the EU LDT-toolbox, but also training courses, maturity assessments and a procurement helpdesk.
The agreement was signed by Ernesto Faubel, chair of the LDT-CitiVERSE EDIC Assembly, Jan Wester, director LDT CitiVERSE EDIC and Bob van Graft, director at the Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning during the Smart City Expo.
From pilots to economies of scope and scale
By building a network of local digital twins, EU cities and regions can more efficiently develop, exchange and reuse digital twin modules and advanced AI solutions enabling them to address complex societal challenges, such as climate adaptation, housing and mobility. The Edic secures interoperability and scale creating a future-proof digital infrastructure that safeguards European values, strengthens digital autonomy.
“Digital twinning and virtualization is key to address a growing lack of resources and a common ground for stakeholders. A healthy perspective on scale and operationalization is the key to success. This requires cooperation and validation from practice. The interoperable products, services and facilities of the EDIC provide a solid foundation for a thriving Public-Private ecosystem that improves public services and stimulates market innovation.”
– Jan Wester, director of LDT CitiVERSE EDIC
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