IAEA Publishes Safeguards Symposium Programme Nov 2026 With Public Livestreams

A special plenary titled “The People at the Forefront of Safeguards” will explore career paths in the field, with a public livestream available through the IAEA website.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has published the programme for its fifteenth Symposium on International Safeguards, taking place from 9 to 12 November 2026 in Vienna, Austria. Hosted at the Vienna International Centre, the gathering will examine nuclear verification under the theme "Innovation and Resilience in a Changing World – Safeguards as a Shared Responsibility". Members of the public will be able to watch the opening and closing plenaries, alongside a session on safeguards careers, through livestreams.

The symposium brings together experts and practitioners to discuss developments affecting the international safeguards system and exchange knowledge about verification work. Its programme includes topical plenaries, special panels, oral presentations and poster sessions covering different aspects of nuclear verification. Keynote speakers will contribute perspectives from innovation, organisational resilience and multilateral affairs, connecting safeguards practice with wider institutional and international challenges.

Held every four years, the symposium returns amid rapid technological change, renewed interest in nuclear energy and shifting geopolitical conditions. The IAEA says these developments are reshaping the opportunities and challenges facing safeguards, with practitioners also encountering unprecedented safety and security risks during field operations. This year's discussions will focus on the adaptability, cooperation and innovation needed to maintain effective and credible verification.

Public plenaries open safeguards discussions to a wider audience

The opening and closing plenaries will feature IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and Massimo Aparo, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards. Public livestreams will allow people outside the Vienna venue to follow these sessions and hear the perspectives presented by agency leaders and invited experts. Publication of the programme gives attendees and online viewers an opportunity to explore the planned discussions before the event.

Jenni Rissanen, the symposium's Scientific Secretary and leader of the department's Strategic Planning Team, said the programme offers a first look at opportunities for open exchange and shared learning. She invited experts, practitioners and the wider public to explore the sessions and join the discussion as the event approaches. The mix of plenaries, panels and technical presentations provides different settings for examining challenges across the global safeguards community.

Careers plenary and new Training Days support professional development

A special plenary titled "The People at the Forefront of Safeguards" will explore career paths in the field, with a public livestream available through the IAEA website. Participants attending in person can also speak directly with safeguards practitioners during a Speed Mentoring Reception. These activities give people interested in nuclear verification opportunities to hear about professional routes and discuss the work with those already involved.

The symposium will introduce Training Days, offering participants additional opportunities to strengthen their safeguards knowledge. Topics range from legal frameworks to verification techniques, with direct interaction with IAEA experts built into the learning opportunities. The sessions will cover key concepts, techniques and practices, adding focused training to the wider conference programme.

Innovation and cooperation shape the response to changing risks

Since the previous symposium in 2022, technological advances and growing interest in nuclear energy and its applications have continued to change the operating environment for safeguards. Geopolitical shifts and risks faced by personnel in the field make organisational resilience and cooperation particularly important to the agency's work. The symposium's three themes connect those pressures with the shared effort required to sustain the effectiveness and credibility of international nuclear verification.