Every four years, the IAEA hosts the Symposium on International Safeguards at its headquarters in Vienna.
The Symposium brings together global stakeholders in support of IAEA safeguards. It is an opportunity for State or regional authorities responsible for safeguards implementation, the research and development (R&D) community, industry and civil society to identify challenges and opportunities for IAEA safeguards, showcase research, share ideas, and build partnerships.
The fifteenth Symposium on International Safeguards, themed Innovation and Resilience in a Changing World – Safeguards as a Shared Responsibility, will take place from 9 November to 12 November 2026 in Vienna.
The objectives of the 2026 Symposium are to:
Innovate: Take stock of latest and emerging scientific and technological advancements, and share and advance ideas on how to integrate these into safeguards approaches, methods and tools – for enhanced IAEA capabilities and strengthened effectiveness and improved efficiency of safeguards.
Build resilience: Identify effective organizational approaches, practices, and cultures for adapting to and withstanding resource scarcity, technological complexity and operating environment uncertainty – to ensure the continued delivery of timely and effective verification.
Converge: Enhance shared awareness and understanding of the new challenges facing the safeguards community that arise from a changing operating environment and build common resolve and partnerships – to ensure the safeguards system’s continued effectiveness.
The Announcement and Call for Papers is available here.
Details of the 2022, 2018, and 2014 Symposiums are also available.