[CfP][FOIS 2026] Call for Contributions
Giorgio Ubbiali
[apologies for cross-posting]
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16th International Conference on Formal Ontology in Information Systems (FOIS 2026)
21–25 September 2026, Vitória, ES, Brazil – 9 September 2026, Online
Website: https://www.foisconference.org/
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FOIS is the flagship conference of the International Association for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA) a non-profit organization promoting interdisciplinary research and international collaboration in formal ontology.
FOIS is a meeting point for all researchers with an interest in formal ontology. Formal ontology is the systematic study of the types of entities and relations making up the domains of interest represented in modern information systems. The conference encourages submission of high quality, not previously published results on both theoretical issues and practical advancements. FOIS 2026 will have distinct tracks for foundational issues, ontology applications and methods, and domain ontologies.
FOIS aims to be a nexus of interdisciplinary research and communication for researchers from many domains engaging with formal ontology. Common application areas include conceptual modeling, database design, knowledge engineering and management, software engineering, organizational modeling, artificial intelligence, robotics, computational linguistics, the life sciences, bioinformatics and scientific research in general, geographic information science, information retrieval, library and information science, as well as the Semantic Web.
FOIS 2025 will be held both online and in Vitória, ES, Brazil, organized by the Federal University of Espírito Santo.
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Call for Papers (main track)
Mandatory abstract submission: 16 March 2026 (strict)
Paper submission: 23 March 2026 (strict)
Website: https://www.foisconference.org/cfp/
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The conference encourages submission of high quality, not previously published results on both theoretical issues and practical advancements.
Important dates
Mandatory abstract submission: 16 March 2026 (strict)
Paper submission: 23 March 2026 (strict)
Rebuttal period: 6–13 May 2026
Notifications: 27 May 2026
Camera-ready submission: 17 June 2026
Virtual conference: 9 September 2026
Onsite conference: 21–25 September 2026
Submission types
FOIS 2026 seeks full-length high-quality papers on three tracks:
Foundational track: for papers that address content-related ontological issues, their formal representation, and their relevance to some aspect of information systems.
Application and Methods track: for papers that address novel systems, methods, and tools related to building, evaluating, or using ontologies, emphasizing the impact of ontology contents.
Domain Ontology track: for papers that describe a novel ontology for a specific realm of interest, clarifying ontological choices against requirements and foundational theory, and showing ontology use.
Reviewing Process
Each paper will be reviewed by at least 3 members of the program committee and 1 member of the senior program committee, who will provide a meta-review. All reviews will be anonymous. Accepted papers will have the FAIRness of their related artifacts evaluated (if applicable). The FOIS proceedings will be published by IOS Press (Sage) as open access,
For further details, especially on submission instructions, evaluation criteria and requirements, the review process, and paper publication, see here: https://www.foisconference.org/cfp/
FOIS 2026 Organization
General Chairs
João Paulo A. Almeida, Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Brazil
Tiago Prince Sales, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Program Commitee Chairs
Sergio de Cesare, University of Westminster, UK
Fernanda Baião, PUC-Rio, Brazil
JOWO Chairs
Mara Abel, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil
Mattia Fumagalli, Free University of Bolzen-Bolzano, Italy
Online Chair
Maria Hedblom, Jönköping University, Sweden
Local Organizing Committee
Monalessa Perini Barcellos, Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Brazil
Julio Cesar Nardi, Federal Institute of Espírito Santo (IFES) Colatina, Brazil
Paulo Sérgio Santos Jr., Federal Institute of Espírito Santo (IFES) Serra, Brazil
Ontology Show Case Chairs
Torsten Hahmann, University of Maine, USA
César Bernabé, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
Demonstrations Chairs
Bart Gajderowicz, Utah State University, USA
Claudenir Morais Fonseca, University of Twente, Netherlands
FAIR Chair
Luiz Olavo Bonino, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Industry chair
Jim Logan, Ontogenesis Solutions, LLC, USA
Early Career Symposium Chairs
Renata Wassermann, University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil
Maria Luiza Campos, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil
Journal-First Chairs
Greta Adamo, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Ludger Jansen, PTH Brixen College, Italy
Research Project Chairs
Fumiaki Toyoshima, Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Adrien Barton, CNRS, Toulouse, France
Tutorial Chairs
Guendalina Righetti, University of Oslo, Norway
Laure Vieu, CNRS, Toulouse, France
Publicity Chairs
Giorgio A. Ubbiali, PTH Brixen College, Italy
Vitor Souza, Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Brazil
Proceedings Chair
Sander van Leeuwen, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
JOWO Proceedings Chair
Cauã Roca Antunes, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil