The mission of the Extended Semantic Web Conference is to bring together researchers and practitioners dealing with different aspects of semantic technologies. Following a successful re-launch in 2010 as a multi-track conference, ESWC 2011 builds on the success of the former European Semantic Web Conference series, and seeks to extend its focus by collaborating with other communities and research areas, in which Web semantics play an important role, within and outside ICT, and in a truly international, not just 'European' context.
Research on semantic technologies can benefit from ideas and cross-fertilization with many other areas, including Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Database and Information Systems, Information Retrieval, Multimedia, Distributed Systems, Social Networks, Web Engineering, and Web Science. These complementarities are reflected in the outline of the technical program of the ESWC 2011; in addition to the research and in-use tracks, we have furthermore introduced two special tracks this year, putting particular emphasis on inter-disciplinary research topics and areas that show the potential of exciting synergies for the future. In 2011, these special tracks focus on data-driven, inductive and probabilistic approaches to managing content, and on Digital Libraries, respectively.
ESWC 2011 will present the latest results in research, technologies and applications in its field. Besides the technical program organized over twelve tracks, the conference will feature a workshop and tutorial program, system descriptions and demos, a posters exhibition, a doctoral symposium, as well as the ESWC summer school, which will be held prior to the conference from May, 22 to May, 28 in Kalamaki in the south of Crete.