[CvGmt News] IMU-Net 3: January 2004

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IMU-Net 3: January 2004

A Bimonthly Email Newsletter from the International Mathematical Union
Editor: Mireille Chaleyat-Maurel, University René Descartes, Paris, France


CONTENTS

1. From the Editor
2. European Mathematical Society (EMS)
3. Mathematical Union of Latin America and the Caribbean (UMALCA)
4. Commission on Development and Exchanges (CDE)
5. International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI)
6. ICME 10: "Early bird" registration ending soon
7. New developments in mathematical publishing
8. Subscribing to IMU-Net

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1. FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Reader,

This is now the first issue sent to people who have subcribed to IMU-Net.
I thank you for your interest and confidence. As the Editor, I am pleased
that many readers have sent letters asking questions or commenting on
initiatives such as the EWDM. By the way, this important topic will be
treated in subsequent issues.

In this issue we describe the work of the two Affiliated Members of IMU,
the EMS and UMALCA, and of two of the Commissions of IMU, CDE and ICMI.
In later issues we will continue to give such information, together with
topics of interest for the mathematical community.

I hope you enjoy reading IMU-Net!

Mireille Chaleyat-Maurel

Editor

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2. EUROPEAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY (EMS)

The European Mathematical Society was founded in 1990. The Society has
some 2500 individual members. Most national mathematical societies and
many research institutes of the countries within Europe, both East and
West, are institutional members. The Society stimulates the organisation
of various mathematical meetings, in particular the European Congress
that meets every fourth year, Summer Schools, EMS Lectures, 'Diderot
Forums', and joint meetings with other societies. The Society has a
broad definition of 'Europe', not limited to the European Union, but an
important part of the Society's function is to represent European
mathematicians in Brussels and try to ensure that the European Union's
scientific research initiatives give proper support to mathematics.
We also seek to influence other international bodies such as the
European Science Foundation and UNESCO.

The Society provides some travel support for Eastern European
mathematicians and also tries to improve the situation for mathematics
in developing countries. It has subcommittees on applied mathemtics,
raising public awareness, women in mathematics, and mathematics
education. It supports Zentralblatt. Through its website
http://www.emis.de
a library of journals is available electronically. Its publications
include the Journal of the European Mathematical Society and the
quarterly EMS Newsletter. The Society has recently created its own
publishing house
http://www.ems-ph.org/
owned by a distinct European Mathematical Foundation. Still in its
early stages, the publishing house aims to become a major player on
the European mathematical scene. For further information about EMS,
visit our website.

The fourth European Congress of Mathematics (4ECM) will take place
in Stockholm (Sweden), 27 June-2 July 2004. For information, see:
http://www.math.kth.se/4ecm/

Sir John Kingman
President of EMS

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3. MATHEMATICAL UNION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (UMALCA)

The Mathematical Union of Latin America and the Caribbean, was founded in
Rio de Janeiro on July 26, 1995 with the aim to foster the development of
Mathematics across the whole continent, improving teaching and research
conditions, sponsoring scientific meetings, and promoting the exchange of
graduate students and researchers in the region. In 2001 UMALCA joined the
International Mathematical Union as an affiliate member. Information about
the leadership, membership, and structure of UMALCA can be found on its
web site:
http://umalca.usach.cl/
Since the very beginning, UMALCA has been most active in promoting the
exchange of talented young researchers within Latin America. Calls for
travel grant applications are issued three times a year. Applicants
selected by the Scientific Council have their travel expenses to carry
out scientific research or attend a meeting in another country in the
region covered by the Union This program is greatly contributing to
enhancing scientific collaboration between Latin American research groups.


Another major activity is the organization of scientific meetings. Since
1999, UMALCA has taken over the responsibility for the Latin American
School of Mathematics (ELAM), a traditional event in the region that is
now held on a regular basis every third year. The most recent edition took
place in Cartagena, Colombia in 2002. It focused on PDEs, and attracted
about 100 students and researchers. The next ELAM should be held in
Montevideo, Uruguay in 2005. The Latin American Congress of Mathematicians,
held by UMALCA every fourth year, is the main scientific meeting in
Mathematics in the whole region. It includes plenary lectures and parallel
sessions, as well as mini-courses, at the very highest level.


The first Congress was held at IMPA in Rio de Janeiro in the year 2000,
and was attended by some 800 participants from all over the world.
Preparation for the second Congress
http://www.matmor.unam.mx/eventos/latino/
to take place in Cancun, Mexico, in June 20-26, 2004 is well on its way,
and a scientific success comparable to that of the first edition is
expected. Just as important, UMALCA also organizes more elementary
mathematical schools, the Emalcas, aimed primarily at Central America
and the Caribbean. The Emalcas have been held every year since 2001,
alternately in Mexico and in Venezuela, benefiting from the structure
existing in those countries to attract students from the whole sub-region.
Starting from 2004, this program will be greatly expanded to enhance its
regional reach, by having other smaller Emalcas held in various countries,
with the participation of students from the host country and its neighbors.
Bolivia, Cuba, and Costa Rica are among the countries where such schools
should be held in the near future.

The Union is also actively concerned with the problem of raising the level
and quality of mathematical teaching throughout the continent. An important
contribution was the organization of an international conference on
mathematical education in Mexico City, in February 2002, jointly with the
Mexican Academy of Sciences. Moreover, a committee on mathematical education
is being set to conduct the Union's further activities in this direction.
Another important service to the mathematical community is the ongoing
creation of the Directory of Mathematicians in Latin America and the
Caribbean, at the web site
http://umalca.impa.br
The main goal is to help design a global picture of Mathematics in the
continent, besides being the basis for the contribution of Latin America
and the Caribbean to the IMU's World Directory of Mathematicians.

Marcelo Viana
Coordinator of the Scientific Council of UMALCA

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4. COMMISSION ON DEVELOPMENT AND EXCHANGES (CDE)

IMU initiative toward mathematics and mathematicians in developing
countries.

For the last 20 year the International Mathematical Union has maintained
a standing commission called the Commission on Development and Exchanges
(CDE) in order to support research mathematics and mathematicians in
developing countries. The current president of CDE is Paulo Cordaro of
Brazil and the current secretary/treasurer is Herbert Clemens of the USA.
The CDE, with a rotating membership of 10 mathematicians from around the
world, accepts and reviews applications for two programs, the Individual
Research Travel program and Research Conference Support program. Successful
applicants receive partial support for their travel or conference from IMU
funds. The annual program budget is about US$35,000. Further information
about these programs may be found at the IMU/CDE website
http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/CDE

As supported by delegates to the 2002 IMU General Assembly in Shanghai,
the IMU Executive Committee, under the leadership of IMU President John
Ball, has developed a plan to increase the organization's attention to
mathematics and its practitioners, both researchers and educators, in
developing countries. Over the last year, an Ad Hoc Committee convened
by the IMU's Executive Committee, has met and submitted its
recommendations. The plan drafted by the Ad Hoc Committee begins with a
recommendation to more than double the budget of the two current programs
of its Commission on Development and Exchanges. It also contemplates the
naming of a small oversight group charged with
1) coordinating the establishment of a data base of mathematical centers
and mathematicians in developing countries to facilitate information flow,
2) increasing professional connections between these individuals/centers
and mathematical resources in highly developed regions,
3) seeking outside funding to further augment IMU investment in mathematics
programs in the developing world,
4) working to achieve stable low or no cost electronic access to the
mathematical literature throughout the developing world.
The oversight group will also be asked to establish working relationships
with the other organizations which support mathematical activity in
developing countries, such as the International Center of Theoretical
Physics (Italy), CIMPA (Centre International de Mathématiques Pures et
Appliquées, France), the Japanese Mathematical Society, and others.
Also under consideration is a part-time staff position to help administer
the expanded IMU program.

Herb Clemens
Secretary/Treasurer  of CDE

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5. INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON MATHEMATICAL INSTRUCTION (ICMI)

The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) is a
commission of the IMU. Established at the Fourth International Congress of
Mathematicians held in Rome in 1908 with the initial mandate of analysing
the similarities and differences in the secondary school teaching of
mathematics among various countries, ICMI has expanded its objectives and
activities considerably over the years. The Commission aims at offering
researchers, practitioners, curriculum designers, decision makers and
others interested in mathematical education, a forum promoting reflection,
collaboration, exchange and dissemination of ideas and information on all
aspects of the theory and practice of contemporary mathematical education
as seen from an international perspective. ICMI thus takes initiatives in
inaugurating appropriate programmes designed to further the sound
development of mathematical education at all levels, and to secure public
appreciation of its importance. The Commission is also charged with the
conduct of the activities of IMU bearing on mathematical or scientific
education.

Members of ICMI are those countries which are members of IMU and other
countries specifically co-opted to the Commission. Each member of ICMI
appoints a Representative and may create a Sub-Commission for ICMI to
maintain liaison with the Commission in all matters pertinent to its
affairs. ICMI currently has 81 members.

A major event in the life of the international mathematics education
community, the quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical
Education (ICME) is held under the auspices of ICMI and typically gather
more than three thousand participants from all over the world. Apart from
the ICME, the Commission organises or supports various  activities, such
as the ICMI Study Programme, in which each Study, built around an
international seminar, aims at investigating issues or topics of particular
significance in contemporary mathematics education and is directed towards
the preparation of a published volume intended to promote and assist
discussion and action at the international, national, regional or
institutional level; the ICMI Regional Conferences, supported by ICMI
morally and sometimes financially, in order to facilitate the organisation
of regional meetings on mathematics education, especially in less affluent
parts of the world; or the ICMI Solidarity Project, aiming at increasing
the commitment and involvement of mathematics educators around the world
in order to help the furtherance of mathematics education in those parts
of the world where there is a need for it that justifies international
assistance and where the economic and socio-political contexts do not
permit adequate and autonomous development. In addition, ICMI involves
itself in other activities on an ad hoc basis. For instance, ICMI has
recently reinitiated contacts with UNESCO and established collaboration
with ICSU Committee on Capacity Building in Science.

The official organ of ICMI since its inception is the international
journal L'Enseignement Mathématique, founded in 1899, see:
http://www.unige.ch/math/EnsMath/
Under the editorship of the Secretary-General, ICMI publishes the ICMI
Bulletin, appearing twice a year. The Bulletin is accessible on the
internet at the address
http://www.mathunion.org/ICMI/
where more information about ICMI can also be found.

The principal source of ICMI's finances is the support it receives from
the IMU. But one of the greatest strengths of ICMI is the time contributed
freely by the hundreds of mathematicians and mathematics educators
committed to the objectives of the Commission.

Bernard R. Hodgson
Secretary-General of ICMI

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6. ICME-10 : "EARLY BIRD" REGISTRATION ENDING SOON

The 10th International Congress on Mathematical Education, organised under
the auspices of ICMI, the International Commission on Mathematical
Instruction, is taking place in Copenhagen on July 4-11, 2004. The
deadline for early (i.e., least expensive) registration for the Congress
is February 28. Information on ICME-10 can be found at
http://www.icme-10.dk/

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7. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING OF MATHEMATICS

As an official satellite conference to the ECM 2004 KTH Stockholm will
host a workshop under the title "New Developments in Electronic
Publishing of Mathematics - a workshop integrating mathematicians,
libraries, editors and publishers". As special activities belonging to
the scope of the workshop two events are included: the 5th EMANI workshop,
where EMANI stands for Electronic Mathematics Archiving Network Initiative,
and the 3rd WDML workshop, where WDML stands for World Digital Mathematics
Library. The latter is a continuation of the activities of the DML planning
group pursued in 2002/3 and takes place under the umbrella of the IMU. The
conference dates will be June 25 to 27, 2004. June 27 also will the first
day to register on site for the ECM 4. The conference will be organised by
Kari Stange from the Royal Library in Stockholm, Hans Becker from the Lower
Saxony State and University Library in Göttingen, and Bernd Wegner from the
Technical University in Berlin.

Main topics of the workshop will be: Electronic publishing in mathematics,
enhanced authoring and mark-up tools for mathematics, electronic mathematics
knowledge management, mathematics in the semantic web, electronic
mathematical libraries, web offers in mathematics, search engines for
mathematical information, mathematics databases, digitisation of mathematical
publications, long-term preservation of digital mathematical documents,
access structures to mathematical offers, mathematics portals. A Scientific
and Program Committee has been installed, consisting of 13 members so far.

The following schedule is planned for the sessions: Friday, June 25, will
care about the EMANI internal meetings, and an open EMANI workshop dealing
with digital archiving in mathematics including related topics on long-term
preservation and accessibility, metadata,formats and mark-up languages.
Saturday, June 26, will offer sessions dealing with electronic publishing,
electronic libraries and electronic offers in mathematics on one side,
practical aspects of retro-digitisation, and a survey of ongoing and
planned digitisation projects on the other side. All general aspects
of the WDML not covered before will be subject of the session on Sunday,
June 27. This session will be chaired by Alf van der Poorten who represents
the IMU.

Preliminary registration and proposals for papers or talks should be sent
to Bernd Wegner: wegner at math.tu-berlin.de or editor at zblmath.fiz-karlsruhe.de.
Deadline for submission will be May 15, 2004. The website for the satellite
conference is maintained by SUB Göttingen under the URL
http://eic-ecm4.sub.uni-goettingen.de

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8. SUBSCRIBING TO IMU-NET


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http://www.mathunion.org/Publications/Newsletter/archive/index.html

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