Build n Blaze Pioneers Digital Twin for ITU Metaverse Standards

March 14, 2024

In a groundbreaking achievement for metaverse standardization, Build n Blaze, under the visionary leadership of CEO Radia Funna, has successfully developed the world's first digital twin for the International Telecommunication Union's Focus Group on Metaverse (ITU FG-MV). This pioneering initiative, conceived and initiated by Funna at the 1st FG-MV meeting in Riyadh, represents a revolutionary leap forward—bringing international standards development directly into the very virtual environments it seeks to govern.

Transforming Standards Development Through Immersive Innovation

The Build n Blaze digital twin, hosted on the cutting-edge Virbela platform, provides FG-MV members with a comprehensive immersive virtual workspace featuring dedicated meeting rooms, collaborative areas, and a state-of-the-art auditorium capable of hosting up to 1,600 participants simultaneously. This unprecedented environment enables seamless global collaboration while providing hands-on experience with the metaverse technologies that are reshaping international communication and commerce.

"By creating this digital twin, we're not just discussing the metaverse—we're actively inhabiting and co-creating it," Funna explained during the platform's launch. "This project demonstrates the transformative potential of virtual worlds for international collaboration and standards development, proving that immersive technologies can enhance rather than replace traditional governance processes."

Pioneering "Immersive Standardization"

The digital twin represents the world's first implementation of "immersive standardization"—a proprietary methodology pioneered by Build n Blaze that brings standards development into virtual environments. This approach allows international experts to experience firsthand the technologies they are standardizing, leading to more informed, practical, and user-centered standards that reflect real-world implementation challenges and opportunities.

The initiative has already facilitated successful meetings and collaboration, providing invaluable insights into the challenges, opportunities, and best practices for conducting high-level international cooperation in virtual environments. These experiences directly inform the development of metaverse governance frameworks, technical specifications, and policy recommendations that will shape the future of virtual world deployment globally.

Setting New Standards for Global Collaboration

As the FG-MV continues its critical work developing international metaverse standards, the Build n Blaze digital twin serves as both a practical collaboration tool and a living laboratory for testing virtual world technologies in real-world applications. The platform enables seamless participation from global experts, breaking down geographical barriers while demonstrating the potential for virtual environments to enhance international cooperation.

Building the Future of Virtual Governance

The digital twin initiative exemplifies Build n Blaze's commitment to removing institutional silos and creating platforms for global knowledge sharing—principles that have guided Radia Funna's work across multiple UN agencies and international standards organizations. By bringing ITU's metaverse standardization work into virtual environments, the project demonstrates how theory and practice can converge to create more effective, inclusive, and innovative approaches to international governance.

Build n Blaze is the global authority in standards-driven digital transformation. Led by UN Special Advisor and global standards authority Radia Funna, we empower organizations to harness AI, metaverse, quantum, and emerging tech for sustainable, human-centered impact—ensuring innovation serves everyone, everywhere. Learn more at www.buildnblaze.com.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Build n Blaze CEO Joins OECD Panel at COP30 to Advance Environmentally Sustainable Digital Transformation

November 12, 2025

Build n Blaze CEO and UN Special Advisor, Radia Funna , has been invited as a featured panelist at the OECD COP30 Virtual Pavilion , joining an international group of policy experts, climate innovators, and digital transformation leaders for the session , Advancing an Environmentally Sustainable Digital Transformation: Implementing the OECD Recommendation on Digital Technologies and the Environment . The session will be held on November 14, 2025 and brings together global stakeholders to address one of the most pressing challenges of the digital age; ensuring that the technologies transforming our economies do not accelerate the environmental crises we are working to solve. A Critical Conversation at the World's Most Important Climate Forum COP30 has placed technology squarely at the center of global climate action. The OECD's invitation reflects institutional recognition that AI and digital technologies carry an environmental footprint that must be measured, governed, and reduced and that credible standards are the most powerful tool available to policymakers navigating this challenge. The panel draws directly on the OECD Recommendation on Digital Technologies and the Environment, adopted by OECD Ministers in June 2025 — the most comprehensive intergovernmental framework to date for aligning digital transformation with environmental sustainability goals. The session explores how countries and stakeholders across the digital ecosystem can leverage technology to support climate resilience while reducing AI's growing environmental footprint, discussing key challenges in designing and implementing environmentally sustainable digital policies and sharing good practices from around the world. The Standards Architect at the Intersection of AI and Climate Funna's invitation to the OECD COP30 panel reflects her unique position at the intersection of AI governance, environmental standards, and international policy. As Chair of the IEEE P7100 Drafting Group and architect of the world's first comprehensive framework for measuring AI's environmental impact — adopted as the foundational document for the P7100 standard — she brings unparalleled technical authority to the policy conversation. " If we get this right, AI won't just accelerate climate solutions, it will set the blueprint for how technology can deliver equitable, planet-positive impact at scale , " Funna has stated. " But getting it right requires measurement. You cannot manage what you cannot measure, and right now, the world is making trillion-dollar AI investment decisions without a common language for environmental accountability . " Building the Bridge Between Measurement and Action The session directly supports the Green Digital Action Declaration , agreed upon by 82 countries and 1,800 organizations at COP29, and the newly launched Green Digital Action Hub — a platform supporting technological climate solutions across 82 countries. Funna's measurement framework provides essential infrastructure for governments and organizations seeking to report credibly on AI's environmental footprint under these emerging global commitments. Build n Blaze's work on AI environmental measurement represents the kind of standards-based implementation support that the OECD Recommendation calls for; moving beyond aspiration to provide organizations with the technical tools and governance frameworks needed to translate climate commitments into verifiable action. The Build n Blaze Collaborative's Sustain-AI-ble initiative extends this work into a global platform for knowledge sharing, policy implementation, and cross-sector collaboration on AI sustainability. To explore how Build n Blaze's AI sustainability frameworks can support your organization's environmental reporting and compliance, visit the Build n Blaze Collaborative . Learn more about the OECD Recommendation on Digital Technologies and the Environment .