ISWC 2026 — Call for Workshops (Proposal submission deadline: Feb 10, 2026)

Dear all,

Please see below the Call for Workshops for the 25th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2026), to be held in Bari, Italy, on October 25-29, 2026.

The full call is available on the ISWC 2026 website:
https://iswc2026.semanticweb.org/#/calls/workshops

We look forward to receiving your proposals and welcoming you in Bari.

Best wishes,

Andrei Ciortea and Ilaria Tiddi
ISWC 2026 Workshop & Tutorials Co-chairs


# ISWC 2026 Call for Workshops

The International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC) serves as the premier venue for presenting groundbreaking research, innovative systems, and application results in areas such as the Semantic Web, Knowledge Graphs, and Linked Data. Each year, ISWC attracts high-quality submissions and participants from academia and industry, bringing together researchers from diverse fields including artificial intelligence, databases, natural language processing, machine learning, information systems, human-computer interaction, and web science. These experts explore and develop cutting-edge methods and technologies to enhance the way we access, interpret, and utilize information on the Web.

Workshops at ISWC play a critical role in fostering focused, intensive scientific exchange on specific topics aligned with the conference's overarching themes. They provide a unique venue for exploring emerging ideas, discussing novel perspectives on established research, and engaging with related research communities. We encourage proposals for workshops that will inspire meaningful dialogue and collaboration among ISWC attendees, providing a platform to advance research and innovation in this dynamic field.

Important dates include:
- Submission deadline: February 10, 2026
- Notification to proposers: February 24, 2026
- Workshop website and CfP available online: March 20, 2026
- Workshop program with list of accepted papers available online: August 21, 2026
- Workshop days: October 25-26, 2026


## Workshop topics

We invite proposals for three types of workshops, each designed to foster innovation and collaboration within the Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph community:

- Novel: Workshops focusing on emerging topics that are expected to gain importance in the Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph community in the coming years. Proposers should clearly articulate why the topic is becoming increasingly significant and demonstrate its potential to attract substantial submissions and participation. Proposals will be primarily evaluated based on the timeliness of the topic and its potential for future impact.

- Cross-over: Workshops exploring the interplay and convergence between ISWC and other research communities (e.g., “X meets Semantic Web/Knowledge Graphs”). Proposers, ideally including representatives from both communities, must explain the relevance of connecting the two fields, outline common challenges, and highlight the value of fostering collaboration between them. Proposals will be assessed on their ability to bridge scientific communities and the value of the envisioned cross-disciplinary collaboration.

- Established: Workshops focusing on specific aspects of Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph research that have already demonstrated the ability to attract a significant number of submissions and participants, contributing meaningfully to scientific progress. Such proposals should justify the continuation of the workshop series, highlight its focused scope, and demonstrate its ongoing impact. Proposals will be evaluated based on the arguments for continuation and evidence of past success.

- Challenge: Workshops promoting open competition on a problem of choice within the Semantic Web domain (e.g., see the KBC-LM workshop series: https://lm-kbc.github.io/). Competitions are an effective way to advance the state of the art. Proposers should clearly specify the task to be addressed, provide an evaluation dataset, and define evaluation measures to compare the performance of participating systems. Proposals will be evaluated based on their relevance to the Semantic Web community, the potential number of interested participants, and the rigor and transparency of the task description and evaluation procedure.

Workshop proposals of all types are encouraged to promote the vitality and innovation of the Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph community.


## Review Criteria

Workshop proposals should focus on research topics and workshop formats that meet the following criteria:
- The topic aligns with the broader scope of ISWC 2026, emphasizing Semantic Web standards and technologies, knowledge representation, and graph data models as central elements.
- The proposal demonstrates a clear emphasis on a specific technology, challenge, or application area.
- The topic has the potential to engage a diverse and sufficiently broad audience, including participants beyond the typical ISWC community.
- The workshop format is dynamic, engaging, and well-suited for the intended audience. It incorporates interactive sessions beyond traditional paper presentations, such as roundtables, debates, Q&A sessions, roadmapping, or hackathons.

The decision to accept or reject a workshop proposal will be based on its overall quality, relevance, and potential to appeal to a substantial portion of the Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph community. Additional considerations, such as overlap with other workshop proposals, will also influence the final decision.


## Submission Guidelines and Requirements upon Acceptance

Workshop proposals should be submitted via EasyChair at this link:
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iswc2026

Submissions must be in English and formatted as a single PDF document no longer than 4 pages, adhering to the LNCS guidelines. Detailed formatting instructions are available in Springer’s Author Instructions.

Please refer to the conference website for the complete guidelines and requirements:
https://iswc2026.semanticweb.org/#/calls/workshops


## Timeline Template for Workshop Organizers

All workshops will adhere to a common timeline as follows (all deadlines are 23:59 AoE):
- Workshop website and CfP available online: March 20, 2026
- Challenge workshops release datasets (incl. test solution if available): April 3, 2026
- Challenge solution submission: June 26, 2026
- Challenge results: July 10, 2026
- Workshop paper submissions: July 24, 2026
- Workshop paper acceptance notification and accepted papers published on website: August 21, 2026
- Workshop days: October 25-26, 2026


## Workshop Chairs

Andrei Ciortea -- University of St.Gallen (Switzerland) and Inria, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, I3S (France)
Ilaria Tiddi -- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands)