The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in cooperation with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, invites researchers and specialists to participate in an international symposium titled “Publishing and Security: The Role of the Publishing Industry in Promoting Societal Awareness and Intellectual Security,” due to be held at ICESCO headquarters in Rabat on 22–23 April 2026.

The Symposium will address the growing challenges of intellectual and information security in traditional and digital spaces. The print and digital publishing industry plays a key role in shaping public awareness, either by promoting values of peace and coexistence or by fueling hate speech and extremism. Consequently, the development of the publishing industry is closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 4 and 16, which focus on quality education, peace, justice, and strong institutions respectively.

The Symposium will cover seven themes reflecting the relationship between publishing and security. These themes are: publishing and intellectual security; publishing and misinformation; digital publishing and information security; institutional publishing in a security context; regulatory policies and legislation; the role of libraries in promoting knowledge security; and the role of security agencies in combating misinformation and fake news.

In this context, ICESCO invites interested individuals to submit original, unpublished papers that fall within the themes of the Symposium. Papers should be between 12 and 20 pages long (approximately 3,000–5,000 words), written in 12-point Times New Roman font and accompanied by an abstract of no more than 300 words in one of the following languages: Arabic, English, or French.

The organizing committee has set 1 November 2025 as the deadline for submitting abstracts accompanied by CVs via email to:
TPC@ICESCO.org and events.sc@nauss.edu.sa.

Accepted submissions will be announced on 1 December 2025, along with a participation form. The deadline for receiving and accepting the full texts of research papers is 1 February 2026.

All submissions will undergo rigorous scientific review by a committee of experts in publishing and knowledge security. Accepted papers will be published in a numbered scientific book under the supervision of ICESCO.

At the end of the Symposium, practical conclusions and recommendations will be drawn up on responsible publishing policies that can strengthen societies’ immunity against extremism and hate speech, while supporting education and media systems in the Arab and Islamic worlds.