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Professor Santiago Caprio is elected as a member of the Expert Working Group (EWG) United Nations Human Settlements Programme to advise body responsible for the development of international guidelines on People-Centred Smart Cities.

Promoting a people-centred smart cities approach that is consistent with the purpose and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including full respect for international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to ensure that innovation and digital technologies are used to help cities and human settlements in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, taking into account the following considerations:

(a) Ensuring the equitable involvement and values of people, including women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, older persons and persons in vulnerable situations, and ensuring that digital and other new technologies help reduce spatial, economic, social and digital inequalities, overcome economic and social development challenges, and support respect for human rights for inclusive cities;
(b) Ensuring that urban digital infrastructure contributes to reducing the environmental impact of cities and minimizing the pollution and the consumption of natural resources caused by digitalization itself;
(c) Building the appropriate capacity and skills for people-centred smart cities, including by promoting digital literacy, education and the training of the officials and technical staff of national, regional and local authorities and governments in digital transformation, digital accessibility, data governance, smart city planning and digital public participation, among others, leaving no one behind;
(d) Facilitating appropriate multilevel digital governance to guide the development of people-centred smart cities, including data governance, management and use, system and data interoperability, ethical considerations regarding technologies such as artificial intelligence, the privacy and human rights of individuals and communities, and appropriate collaboration frameworks between governments, the private sector, academia and civil society;
(e) Creating economic opportunities and an enabling environment through innovation and smart technologies, including to reduce socioeconomic inequalities and foster cities’ shared prosperity;
(f) Centring smart city activities on people’s needs by maximizing transparency as well as community participation, representation and control;
(g) Safeguarding public trust by putting cybersecurity measures in place that protect data and infrastructure, including trusted, secure and resilient digital infrastructure;