WeGO pursues sustainable city development based on e-government by fostering collaborations among e-governing cities, bringing efficiency and transparency into public administration by strengthening the digital capacity of cities, enhancing online public services, facilitating civic involvement, helping bridge the digital-divide among social strata within a city and among cities of the world, and promoting mutual cooperation and solidarity among cities.

WeGO was officially proposed by the Mayor of Seoul at the World e-Governments Mayors Forum (WeGMF) hosted by Seoul in July 2008 when 33 city mayors and representatives from around the globe gathered together and adopted the “Seoul e-Governments Declaration.” At the World Cities CIO Forum (WCCF) held in September 2009, Chief Information Officers from 42 cities around the world appointed the mayor of Seoul as an interim president of WeGO and agreed that the secretariat of WeGO would be established in Seoul and that Seoul would host the Inaugural General Assembly in September 2010. Accordingly, WeGO was officially launched at the Inaugural General Assembly on 6 to 8 September 2010.