Appendix 3.1.1
International Mathematical Union Minutes of the 75th Meeting of the Executive Committee Santiago de Compostela, Spain August 18, 2006
Attendees: John Ball, President, Phillip Griffiths, Secretary, Jean-Michel Bismut, Vice President, Masaki Kashiwara, Vice President, and Members-at-Large, Martin Groetschel, Zhi-Ming Ma, Ragni Piene, Jacob Palis, ex-officio, and Linda Geraci, recording secretary and Sylwia Markwardt. C. Herbert Clemens and Sharon Laurenti joined the meeting for the CDE/DCSG agenda item.
1. Introduction
J. Ball opened the meeting at 9:10 a.m. on August 18. He welcomed members of the Executive Committee (EC) and Sylwia Markwardt.
2. Approval of the Minutes
The minutes of February 27-28, 2006, were approved without additions or corrections.
3. Members
a. There were no new member proposals. b. The EC voted to recommend to the General Assembly that the Czech Republic move from Group II to Group III. c. The EC voted to recommend to the General Assembly that Poland move from Group III to Group IV.
4. CDE and DCSG – Herb Clemens
In preparation for the General Assembly, H. Clemens presented a PowerPoint demonstration that he planned to show at the GA. H. Clemens said that when he became Secretary in 1998, the CDE had a small budget that was sometimes supplemented with funds from UNESCO. However there was a surplus of US $80,000 that over the next four to five years, the CDE awarded through conference support. H. Clemens reminded the EC that an ad hoc committee was formed after the ICM2002. The committee developed a plan that included establishing the Developing Countries Strategy Group, searching for outside funding to expand the activities of CDE, and providing a sufficient institutional presence and continuity for CDE /DCSG with the administrative support of Sharon Laurenti.
H. Clemen’s presentation outlined the future of the CDE including changing the name to the Commission for Developing Countries (CDC). The proposal will be presented to the GA for discussion and then will be finalized by the 2007-2010 EC and implemented in 2011. However, the EC will phase in the changes beginning in 2007.
It was noted that IMU Commissions are defined in the IMU Bylaws. The EC drafted a CDC model. For 2010, the GA delegates will elect six people including a president, two secretaries, one dealing with the CDC policy, and the second will be responsible for grant selection committee and four Members-at-Large.
5. GA Logistics – The GA agenda was discussed in detail.
a. The EC made proposals for the 15th General Assembly Committees as follows:
Nominations Committee John Ball, Chair (United Kingdom) Jennifer Chayes (United States) Christian Berg (Denmark) Weislaw Plesniak (Poland) Gavin Martin (New Zealand) Inderasan Naidoo (South Africa) Gunther Ziegler (Germany) Carlos Andradas Heranz (Spain) Carlos A. Di Prisco (Venezuela) Ebadolla S. Mahmoodian (Iran) Ludwig Faddeev, ex officio (Russia) Jacob Palis ex officio (Brazil)
Credentials Committee Peter Michor, Chair (Austria) Michael Cowling (Australia) Betul Tanbay (Turkey)
Finance and Dues Committee Jose de la Pena, Chair (Mexico) Albert Fathi (France) Phillip Griffiths (United States) Asghar Qadir (Pakistan) Mina Teicher (Israel) Lan Wen (China)
2 Resolutions Committee Christiane Rousseau, Chair (Canada) S.G. Dani (India) A. A. Maltsev (Russia) Carlo Sbordone (Italy) John Toland (United Kingdom) Phillipe Tondeur (United States) Kenji Ueno (Japan)
Tellers Helge Holden, Chair (Norway) David Natroshvili (Georgia) Peter Yu-Hin Pang, (Singapore) Jean Schmets (Belgium) Rafael Labarca (Chile) b. The following duties were defined for the committees and would be distributed to each committee member: Nominations Committee • Receive and review the nominations proposed by the ad hoc EC Nominating Committee • Receive nominations from the floor • Put forth a slate to be voted on by the General Assembly delegation.
Credentials Committee • Review the list of delegates that have registered at the General Assembly and verify each delegation is correctly constituted and present the list to the President of IMU • Ensure that voting procedures are understood
Finance and Due Committee • Review the proposed 2007-2010 budget • Make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning dues unit increase • Make recommendation to the General Assembly concerning action to be taken regarding dues in arrears
Resolutions Committee • Accept resolutions put forth by delegations prior to the close of the first day’s session of the General Assembly (August 19, 2006) • Review and edit the resolutions • Present the resolutions to the General Assembly with recommendations
3 Tellers Committee • Distribute ballots • Collect ballots • Verify ballots and discard invalid ballots • Count the votes • Report the outcome to the President of IMU
6. Review of the Activities of the Union
Voting: Amendments to Statute changes will be voted by a show of hands. Procedures for Election will be discussed but a vote is not needed.
Presentation of the Slates: L. Faddeev and M. Niss will give their reactions to the ad hoc Nominating Committees processes.
Procedures for Election: Eliminate 5.4
7. ICM Media Exposure
The New York Times has published and will publish articles concerning G. Perelman not accepting the Fields Medal. Nature, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The London Times, and several German, Russian and Australian papers, plus the BBC will interview John Ball. Sylvia Nasar’s article will be published the day prior to the ICM2006.
It was decided that J. Ball will announce the Fields Medalists in alphabetical order and will say that G. Perelman has declined to accept the award and nothing else.
8. IMU Archives
The EC agreed that it is important to preserve the International Mathematical Union history and discussed the archival process. There is a rule currently in place that the Fields Medal Committee documentation is to be archived and kept confidential for 50 years. Currently the IMU archives are kept in Helsinki, Finland, but the question is what has been sent to the archives in recent years. J. Ball will write to M. Tuulikki asking her questions regarding the IMU archival process. L. Geraci to investigate the 2002 Fields Medal Committee records. J. Ball said that the electronic archives should be backed up. It was also suggested that this might be a consideration of the CEIC. Martin Groetschel will ask the CEIC to add this issue to its Madrid meeting.
Action: J. Ball will write to M. Tuulikki asking her questions regarding the IMU archival process. L. Geraci to investigate the 2002 Fields Medal Committee records. [L. Geraci has the 2002 information and will send it to M. Tuulikki.]
4 M. Groetschel will ask the CEIC to add the issue of backing up IMU electronic information to its Madrid meeting. [The issue of archiving has subsequently been discussed by CEIC and a paper prepared for the consideration of the next EC.]
9. Closing: John Ball thanked the EC and especially Jacob Palis, Phillip Griffiths, Masaki Kashiwara, M. S. Raghunathan, and Jean-Michel Bismut for their work on the EC. Martin Groetschel as the new Secretary of IMU also thanked Jacob for his work and thanked Linda Geraci for her service for IMU. John Ball closed the meeting at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Geraci Recording Secretary
5 Appendix 3.3.1
REPORT OF THE 15th GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICAL UNION
Santiago de Compostela, Spain August 19-20, 2006
Opening The International Mathematical Union (IMU) President John Ball opened the meeting at 9:05 a.m. on August 19, 2006.
Address by the President – John Ball J. Ball welcomed the delegates, the 20 observers and the 10 other participants and introduced the (IMU) Executive Committee (EC) members. J. Ball particularly welcomed the newest IMU member Pakistan and its delegate Asghar Qadir. He acknowledged the attendance of the IMU affiliate members: John Kingman (EMS), Jose de la Peña (UMALCA) and the President of ICIAM Ian Sloan. J. Ball acknowledged the attendance of observers from IMU member countries and observers from IMU non-member countries: Marco Calahorrano and Juan Carlos de los Reyes (Ecuador), Abubakir Dzhuraev (Kyrgyzstan), Wandera Ogana (Kenya). J. Ball explained that observers do not have a vote in the General Assembly. J. Ball thanked the Spanish Local Organizing Committee for its gracious hospitality and especially Manuel de León, the head of the committee.
Address by the President of the Spanish Committee for ICSU and Secretary of Science and Technology. Francisco Marcellán Español addressed the delegates and the EC members, thanking the IMU for choosing Santiago de Compostela as the General Assembly site and wishing the IMU a successful meeting.
GA Agenda J. Ball told the delegates that the General Assembly (GA) is the supreme body of the IMU, which sets guidelines for the EC for the next four years. He said that this 15th GA would discuss many issues, some complex, and therefore it was important for the meeting to follow the distributed agenda. He also asked each delegation to refer to Bulletin #53, prepared in advance of the GA, which contains circulars letters and other documentation relevant to the GA and reports of the IMU activities and financial reports from 2002-2005.
Committees The first order of business of the GA was the appointment of its committees. J. Ball explained the duties of each committee and then presented the proposed committees that were prepared by the EC. The following committees were approved by the delegates:
Nominations Committee John Ball, Chair (United Kingdom) Carlos Andradas Heranz (Spain) Christian Berg (Denmark) Jennifer Chayes (United States) Ali Iranmanesh (Iran) Roberta Markarian Abrahamian (Uruguay) Gavin Martin (New Zealand) Inderasan Naidoo (South Africa) Weislaw Plesniak (Poland) G. Ziegler (Germany) Ludwig Faddeev, ex officio (Russia) Jacob Palis ex officio (Brazil) Credentials Committee Peter Michor, Chair (Austria) Michael Cowling (Australia) Betul Tanbay (Turkey) Finance and Dues Committee José de la Peña, Chair (Mexico) Albert Fathi (France) Phillip Griffiths (United States) Asghar Qadir (Pakistan) Mina Teicher (Israel) Lan Wen (China) Resolutions Committee Christiane Rousseau, Chair (Canada) S.G. Dani (India) A. A. Maltsev (Russia) Carlo Sbordone (Italy) John Toland (United Kingdom) Phillipe Tondeur (United States) Kenji Ueno (Japan) Tellers Helge Holden, Chair (Norway) Rafael Labarca (Chile) David Natroshvili (Georgia) Peter Yu-Hin Pang (Singapore) Jean Schmets (Belgium)
Duties of the General Assembly Committees Nominations Committee • Receive and review the nominations proposed by the ad hoc EC Nominating Committee • Receive nominations from the floor • Put forth a slate to be voted on by the General Assembly delegation.
Credentials Committee • Review the list of delegates that have registered at the General Assembly and verify that each delegation is correctly constituted and present the list to the President of IMU • Ensure that voting procedures are understood
Finance and Dues Committee • Review the proposed 2007-2010 budget • Make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning dues unit increase
2 • Make recommendation to the General Assembly concerning action to be taken regarding dues in arrears
Resolutions Committee • Accept resolutions put forth by delegations prior to the close of the first day’s session of the General Assembly (August 19) • Review and edit resolutions received from the delegations • Formulate resolutions • Present the resolutions to the General Assembly with recommendations
Tellers Committee • Distribute ballots • Collect ballots • Verify ballots and discard invalid ballots • Count the votes • Report the outcome to the President of IMU
Activities of the Union i. Commission on Development and Exchanges (CDE) – C. Herbert Clemens The CDE is a nine-member commission which for the period 2002-06 was allocated a modest budget of US $30,000 per year. It is focused on supporting mathematical activities in the developing world, including many countries that are not members of the IMU. It grants supplementary support to conferences in the developing world and research travel support for mathematicians working in the developing world. In the past a third piece of its work was carried out through the IMU EC in the support of major conferences that take place in the developing world.
The 2002 General Assembly approved the following resolution, “The General Assembly recommends the guidelines for receiving Colloquia support from IMU be further developed and available on the IMU website. These scarce funds should go primarily to supporting mathematicians from developing countries and high quality international conferences that take place in developing countries.” A committee was formed that included members of the EC and CDE and other mathematicians from the developing world to evaluate the best means of implementing this resolution and more generally to review IMU’s support for mathematics in developing countries. From this committee came the Developing Countries Strategy Group (DCSG) that worked within the CDE framework with the following mandate: to gain outside funding to expand CDE’s activities, to gather information on existing programs in support of mathematics in the developing world and to serve as a clearing house for these activities, to offer support to existing selected programs and to establish an institutional basis that would provide continuing administrative presence. During the past four years, the DCSG established an office, centered at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy, that is critical in supporting the DCSG’s work and in creating a database of mathematical activities and mathematical programs in the developing world as well as working to gain support from outside organizations. The IMU EC voted to increase the CDE budget by transferring most of the funds that existed in the IMU conference and symposia budget line to CDE for disbursement. The CDE and DCSG also are grateful for the support that they have received from outside organizations, including major support from the 3 Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund and funding from the London Mathematical Society and the American Mathematical Society, and onetime grants from the European Mathematical Union, USNCM and the Spanish Organizing Committee. The following is a partial list of funds granted by CDE: CIMPA Project in Cambodia; AMMSI, ICMI's program of African Mathematics Education, and the Clearinghouse of African Mathematics. The CDE and DCSG websites list all grants received from outside organizations and grants given by CDE in support of developing world mathematics and mathematicians working in the developing world (http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~cde/; http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~dcsg/). The DCSG was also instrumental as a bridge between the ICTP Ramanujan Prize and IMU. It had been decided by the IMU EC that a restructuring of CDE and DCSG is needed and it has recommended the following model: The CDE and the DCSG would merge and be reconstituted and be named the Commission for Developing Countries (CDC) with six elected members with regional balance being fundamental: President, Secretary for Policy, Secretary for Grants Selection, and an additional three members appointed by the IMU EC. The CDC would have a grants selection subcommittee that would be chaired by the Secretary for Grants Selection and would have four members from within and four additional members chosen by the subcommittee to ensure regional balance.
These countries would be invited to appoint associate members of the CDC for the following purposes: contribute to the work of CDC represent the groups interests in grants selection and traditional programs that have been supported
The CDC will work under the following guidelines: fundraise, including seeking further funding for the IMU Special Developing Fund maintain a web based clearing house for mathematics and mathematics education programs and projects in the developing world partnership with groups working in developing countries or working on mathematics or mathematical education in developing countries leverage the work of existing projects facilitate cooperation between groups engaged in these projects, and to generate and publicize opportunities for networking, mentoring and short or longer term teaching in developing countries advise foundations, government and nongovernmental organizations in mathematics and mathematics education employ a ½ time administrator
J. Ball thanked the members of CDE and Sharon Laurenti, administrator for CDE and DCSG, for their work over the past four years, especially in establishing the grant online application process. ii. International Commission on the History of Mathematics (ICHM) – John Ball J. Ball thanked Chair Karen Hunger Parshall and Secretary Elena Ausejo for their good work in heading the (Joint) International Commission on the History of Mathematics 4 and referred the delegates to their report found on page 102 of Bulletin #53. iii. IMU-Net – Ragni Piene R. Piene reported that at its April 2003 meeting, the EC recognized that the IMU needed to improve communication with the international mathematical community and decided to create the IMU-Net, appointing Mireille Chaleyat-Maurel editor. The bimonthly electronic newsletter was established and its first two issues in 2003 were sent to 2002 and 1998 ICM participants and then subsequent issues were only sent to those who chose to subscribe. Currently IMU-Net has 4346 subscribers and the EC would like to gain further participation. R. Piene encouraged GA participants to visit the IMU booth at the ICM to speak with M. Chaleyat-Maurel regarding ways that IMU can communicate with world mathematicians or to subscribe to IMU-Net. R. Piene thanked M. Chaleyat-Maurel and Wolfgang Dalitz, the IMU Webmaster, for their work on IMU-Net. iv. Committee on Electronic Information and Communication (CEIC) CEIC Committee Member Peter Michor and EC representative Martin Grötschel The main purpose of CEIC is to keep IMU members and mathematicians informed regarding electronic developments. Thanks to publishers and improvements in technology, huge changes have occurred, allowing electronic access to recent scientific literature. However, the access needs to be extended to include historical literature and more work needs to be done so that the developing world has the same access to mathematical literature as the developed world.
The following are CEIC activities: keeping IMU members informed of electronic developments Electronic World Directory of Mathematicians Federated World Directory of Mathematicians: basic, standard and advanced search options with an option for mathematicians to add themselves to the directory. World Digital Math Library (www.wdml.org). The aim of the WDML is to put mathematical literature online, link it to present literature and make it freely available. creating a registry of all projects, updated regularly, currently containing 179 journals from 24 projects that can be download onto one's own machine (This is especially important for mathematicians in developing countries.) v. International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) – Hyman Bass Established in 1908, ICMI is a parallel organization to IMU that serves the mathematical education community and includes a research component of its own. In 1953, ICMI became a commission of IMU as it is today. ICMI is governed by its own EC, which has met six times during the past four years. Member countries include IMU members and 14 other countries that are not members of IMU. ICMI officers attend parts of meetings of IMU that are pertinent to ICMI, and the ICMI Executive Committee has the IMU president and secretary as ex officio members.
The ICMI core activities are: Organization of congresses every 4 years, comparable in size to ICMs. Conduct ICMI studies, one per year on themes of current interest in mathematics education
5 Solidarity Program for developing countries including interacting with DCSG Awarding established prizes -- Felix Klein Award - 2 awards (2003 & 2005) and the Hans Freudenthal Award - 2 awards (2003 & 2005) UNESCO/ICMI Exhibit "Experiencing Maths,".launched at ICME-10 in 2004 in Copenhagen and has been shown in various countries. Pipeline Project – The IMU EC asked ICMI to gather and analyze statistics regarding the study of mathematics throughout the world. It was noted that the AMS, EMS, funding foundations and national societies may be interested in the outcome of this study. It was also noted by the Indian delegate that the statistics should include female participation. ICMI studies may be purchased at 60% discount. Springer owns the copyright in English;. ICMI has the copyright of other languages and will provide for translation into other languages. Bulletins -- Bulletins produced at the end of each fiscal year report on the activities of the IMU. A special Bulletin was produced in June 2002, reporting on the activities of IMU since the prior General Assembly in 1998. All colloquia supported financially or by imprimatur can be found in Bulletin #53.
Finance and Dues – Phillip Griffiths i. Financial Reports P. Griffiths reported that the Activities of the Union for the years 2002 – 2005, as well as the complete audited financial reports, are published in Bulletin #53, June 2006, beginning on page 110.
ii. Gifts and Grants P. Griffiths acknowledged the significant support of the contributors to the Special Development Fund for the years 2003-2006, the funds that allow young mathematicians from Developing Countries to attend the Congress through travel and other grants. Griffiths encouraged all countries to contribute to this fund. He reported that the American Mathematical Society is the largest contributor with other contributions from: Het Wiskundig Genootschap, Netherlands, Unione Matematica Italiana, London Mathematical Society, German Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Society of Japan. A full listing of the grants are on page 185 of Bulletin #53.
P. Griffiths pointed out that the IMU receives other grants, especially the important yearly $55,000 grant from the Abel Foundation with $45,000 unrestricted funds and $10,000 earmarked for the Ramanujan Prize. A complete listing of all grants is found on page 184 of Bulletin #53.
iii. Budget P. Griffiths presented the proposed Budget for 2007-2010, containing a dues unit increase and an increase of 5% each year for the next four years.
iv. Dues Increase P. Griffiths stated that the IMU cannot continue to fund the good programs that the EC has put in place, especially those related to developing countries. Griffiths cited the following reasons that the IMU EC is requesting that the delegates approve the budget, including the increases:
6 Following the mandate put forth by the 14th General Assembly Resolution #9, the EC has significantly enhanced its commitment to the developing world by expanding the work of its Commission on Development and Exchanges (CDE) through the newly formed Developing Countries Strategy Group (DCSG). The DCSG now receives a greater number of grant applications from developing countries than it has in the past and distributes more grants.
The CDE/DCSG has established a centralized office with a half-time employee located at ICTP in Trieste, which has succeeded in leveraging dues support significantly by obtaining outside funding for mathematics in developing countries, especially in Africa. This office has also developed an online application system, which has simplified the process for mathematicians seeking funding to attend the ICM.
The EC has continued to encourage its Committee on Electronic Information and Communication (CEIC) to develop guidelines regarding electronic communication. In June 2005 Best Practices for Retrodigitization was adopted, and the CEIC also has drafted the document Digital Mathematics Library: A Vision for the Future (www.ceic.math.ca).
The IMU has improved its website by expanding the information available and by providing links to other mathematical societies.
The IMU EC has engaged in further activities including adding an additional prize, the Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize for Applications of Mathematics, funded by the surplus from the Berlin ICM, and administered by the IMU.
It has informally established two Nominating Committees in response to Resolution #8 of the 2002 General Assembly, with corresponding changes to the Procedures for Election that the 2006 General Assembly will be asked to approve.
To guarantee ICM site selection equity, the EC appointed an ICM Site Advisory Committee that visited the countries that submitted ICM proposals and reported their findings to the EC.
IMU has also continued to support the work of its International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI).
The IMU EC has further worked to improve media coverage related to the International Congress of Mathematicians and to the work of IMU.
So as to improve communication with mathematicians, IMU now sponsors IMU- Net, a monthly electronic update for the mathematical community. v. Dues in arrears P. Griffiths reported on the IMU dues and the countries that are in arrears. As the governing body of the IMU, the EC is governed by the Statutes and has worked to inform all of its members whose dues are in arrears of Statute 26 which states: Any Adhering
7 Organization which is in arrears with its contributions for two years shall be warned and shall be deprived of its voting rights. Any Adhering Organization which is in arrears for four years shall cease to be an adherent of the Union. P. Griffiths said that Circular Letter #2/2006 informed all Adhering Organizations that the EC was going to recommend the expulsion of four Adhering Organizations and limiting voting rights for two Adhering Organizations. P. Griffiths was happy to report that every Adhering Organization but one paid their dues or a significant amount of their past dues or has indicated that they will pay very soon. P. Griffiths said that the Finance and Dues Committee would review the dues in arrears and make recommendations to the General Assembly.
Statutes J. Ball presented the proposed Statute changes, which were discussed and approved as follows:
i. Effective Date of Statutes: #35. Changes in the Statutes may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by any of the Adhering Organizations. Notice of changes so proposed shall reach the Secretary of the Union at least four months before the meeting of the General Assembly at which action is to be taken. No change shall be made in the Statutes except at a meeting of the General Assembly and with the approval of the two-thirds majority of the total number of votes assigned to the members. Statute changes become effective on the day following the close of the General Assembly, unless otherwise stipulated in the proposed Statute change. (needs formatting)
ii. Unit Contribution: #19. Each Adhering Organization of a member of the Union shall pay an annual subscription in accordance with the Group to which it adheres, as follows:
Group I II III IV V
Number of Unit 12 4 8 12 Contributions
Associate Members of the Union pay no dues.
iii. Associate Membership: #7-#12 7. To encourage a country to become a Member of IMU, a country may adhere to the Union as an Associate Member through an Adhering Organization as described in article 3. 8. The Adhering Organization of an Associate Member shall form a Committee for Mathematics as described in article 5. 9. When an application is made for Associate Membership of the Union, the Executive Committee shall examine the application and make a recommendation thereon to the members of the Union by correspondence or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The members shall accept or reject the application in the light of this recommendation and of any other considerations before them either by correspondence or at a meeting of the General Assembly. 10. A country that has previously been a member of the Union is not eligible to apply for Associate Membership. 11. Associate Membership is for a period of four years from the date of election,
8 renewable for one further period of four years on request to the Secretary of the Union. Associate Members are normally expected to apply for membership of the Union beginning no later than eight years from the date of election. 12. Extensions of Associate Membership beyond a period of eight years from the date of election may be granted for further periods of four years at a time. A request for such a four-year extension must be made to the Secretary of the Union. The Executive Committee shall examine the request and make a recommendation thereon to the members of the Union by correspondence or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The members shall accept or reject the application in the light of this recommendation and of any other considerations before them either by correspondence or at a meeting of the General Assembly.
iv. Number of Members-at-Large: #23 The Executive Committee of the Union consists of ten voting members, namely: the four Officers of the Union as designated in article 22, together with six Members-at-Large, elected by the General Assembly for terms of four years each, commencing on the first day of the calendar year following the year of their election. In addition, the retiring President shall be an ex-officio member without vote, for a period of four years. In the case of a vacancy among the Members-at-Large, the procedure shall be the same as designated in article 22. v. Term Limits for Members-at-Large: #22 The Officers of the Union are a President, two Vice-Presidents and a Secretary, all elected by the General Assembly by written ballot. The President and the Vice-Presidents shall hold office for a term of four years, shall assume office on the first day of the calendar year following that in which they have been elected and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election to the same office. The Secretary shall hold office for a term of four years, shall assume office on the first day of the calendar year following that in which he or she has been elected and shall be available for immediate re- election for one additional term. Members-at-Large shall hold office for a term of four years and shall assume office on the first day of the calendar year following that in which they been elected. No Members-at-Large can serve three or more consecutive terms. In the event of death, incapacity or resignation of the President, the Executive Committee shall choose one of the Vice-Presidents to carry on the functions of the President until a new President has been elected by the members of the Union for the unexpired term. In the case of any other office being vacated, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to fill the vacancy until the members of the Union shall have elected a successor for the unexpired term. These elections may be made at a meeting of the General Assembly or by Postal Ballot. vi. Statutes Official Text: This Statute was removed. However it was noted that IMU WebPages should be available in other languages.
IMU Nominating Committee – John Ball At the 2002 GA, Resolution 8 stated “The General Assembly of IMU expects the Executive Committee to develop a proposed mechanism to involve members from the Committees for Mathematics, not on the Executive Committee, to assist in the selection of slates. This proposal should be put forth to the 2006 General Assembly.” In response to this resolution, the IMU EC created two Nominating Committees, the IMU Nominating Committee and the ICMI Nominating Committee with the following structures, which worked as ad hoc committees in selecting the 2007-2010 IMU nominees. Ludwig Faddeev chaired the ad hoc IMU Nominating Committee and Mogens Niss chaired the ad hoc ICMI Nominating Committee. Both L. Faddeev and M. Niss
9 explained that the random selection process worked well and recommended that the GA adopt the Nominating Committee recommendations put forth by the EC. After discussion, the Procedures for Elections were adopted. They can be found on the IMU website: http://www.mathunion.org/Organization/election_procedures.html
Presentation of Slates The GA Nominating Committee met in the morning of August 18. It adopted the following slates:
IMU Executive Committee President: L. Lovász (Hungary) Secretary: M. Grötschel (Germany) Vice Presidents: Ma Zhiming (China), C. Procesi (Italy)
Members-at-Large (9 candidates for 5 or 6 posts) The EC will ask the 15th General Assembly delegates to approve a Statute change increasing the number of Members-at-Large on the EC from five to six. S. Baouendi (USA) M. de León (Spain) K. Fukaya (Japan) N. Ghoussoub (Canada) A. Lubotzky (Israel) R. Piene (Norway) C. Praeger (Australia) V. Vassiliev (Russia) M. Viana (Brazil)
CDE President: S. Dani (India) Secretary: G. Gonzalez-Sprinberg (France) Members-at-Large (8 candidates for 6 posts) G. Boente (Argentina) P. Cordaro (Brazil) J-P. Gossez (Belgium) L. Lilov (Bulgaria) M. Teuw Niane (Senegal) M. Sanz-Sole (Spain) T. Suzuki (Japan) J. Zhang (China)
ICHM (4 candidates for 2 posts) C. Houzel (France) Wenlin Li (China) A. Malet (Spain) P. Neumann (UK)
ICMI President: M. Artigue (France)
10 Secretary: B. Hodgson (Canada) Vice Presidents: J. Adler (South Africa) B. Barton, (New Zealand)
Members at Large (7 candidates for 5 posts) M. Bartolini Bussi (Italy) J. Carvalho e Silva (Portugal) O. Figueras (Mexico) C. Hoyles (UK) S. Kumaresan (India) F. Leung (Hong Kong) A. Semenov (Russia)
There were no names nominated from the floor; therefore the above slates were put to a vote.
The 16th GA elected following IMU officers for 2007-2010.
Executive Committee (EC) President: L. Lovász (Hungary) Secretary: M. Grötschel (Germany) Vice Presidents: Ma Zhiming (China), C. Procesi (Italy)
Members-at-Large S. Baouendi (USA) M. de León (Spain) R. Piene (Norway) C. Praeger (Australia) V. Vassiliev (Russia) M. Viana (Brazil)
Commission on Development Exchanges (CDE) President: S. Dani (India) Secretary: G. Gonzalez-Sprinberg (France)
Members-at-Large G. Boente (Argentina) P. Cordaro (Brazil) J-P. Gossez (Belgium) M. Teuw Niane (Senegal) M. Sanz-Sole (Spain) J. Zhang (China)
(Joint) International Commission on the History of Mathematics (ICHM) C. Houzel (France) P. Neumann (UK)
International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) President: M. Artigue (France) Secretary: B. Hodgson (Canada)
11 Vice Presidents: J. Adler (South Africa) B. Barton, (New Zealand)
Members-at-Large M. Bartolini Bussi (Italy) J. Carvalho e Silva (Portugal) C. Hoyles (UK) S. Kumaresan (India) A. Semenov (Russia)
Presentation of the Finance and Dues Committee The Finance and Dues Committee met on the evening of the 19th and drafted the following recommendations that were presented to the GA: 5% dues increase per year for the next four years Enforcing Statute 32 in dealing with countries whose dues are in arrears
Voting The GA approved the following for fiscal years 2007-2010: 5% dues increase per year for the next four years IMU budget that was presented by the EC Recommendations on countries with dues in arrears, i.e., Peru to be deprived of its voting rights if dues from 2000 forward is not paid by December 31, 2006, dues prior to 2000 will be forgiven; Nigeria to be deprived of its voting rights if dues from 2000 forward is not paid by December 31, 2006, dues prior to 2000 will be forgiven; Philippines to be deprived of its voting rights if dues from 2000 forward is not paid by December 31, 2006, dues prior to 2000 will be forgiven; Tunisia to be deprived of its voting rights if dues from 2000 forward is not paid by December 31, 2006, dues prior to 2000 will be forgiven; Cuba cease to be an adherent of the Union if dues is not paid from 2000 forward by December 31, 2006, dues prior to 2000 will be forgiven.
It was noted that there is a small number of African countries that are members of the IMU and that paying dues may not be the reason. The new CDC was encouraged to work to increase the number of African members of IMU.
ICSU Presentation – Sir Roger Elliott The Treasurer of ICSU, International Council for Science, Sir Roger Elliott discussed the vision and strategic plan of ICSU. ICSU’s total annual budget is 3-4 million Euros, mostly coming from subscriptions, 90% of which are paid by national members. ICSU also receives support from the French government. ICSU supports interdisciplinary projects and is a catalyst for large international programs. Further information is available on the ICSU website at http://www.icsu.org.
Guidelines for Future ICMs and Program Committee Guidelines Discussion -- Noga Alon, Chair of the 2006 Program Committee Noga Alon illustrated the work of the Committee since its appointment in April 2003. He presented the following structure of ICM2006: 20 Plenary Lectures; 20 sections with 169 invited section lecturers, with speakers from 24 countries; short communications; poster sessions; presentation of mathematical software and
12 special activities and other activities (e.g., panel discussion, informal seminars.) It was noted that there was one plenary lecturer and 12 invited section lecturers who were women. N. Alon presented a table of the geographical and gender distribution of plenary and section speakers at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 ICMs.
Future ICMs – Martin Grötschel The IMU EC gives complete control to each of its Committees, hence the need for guidelines, giving rise to the Proposed Guidelines of August 18, 2006. M. Grötschel explained the rationale behind the various guidelines, which can be found on the IMU website at: It was requested that Clause 6.3 include that no EC member should be a plenary or sectional speaker. It was also stated that there is an apparent lack of interest in participating in the Congress.
New version: The IMU EC gives complete control to each of its Committees; hence there is strong need for guidelines for all its Committees. The IMU EC proposes new Guidelines for the Program Committee (PC) and the Organizing Committee (OC), dated August 18, 2007 describing the responsibilities of the two Committees concerning the scientific program of an ICM. M. Grötschel explained the rationale behind the various aspects of the guidelines. Several suggestions were made from the floor. The EC was asked to consider the proposals and make the guidelines available on the IMU Webpage after the modifications have been made.
Presentation of Resolutions Committee The Resolutions Committee presented resolutions that were discussed and redrafted. The following resolutions were adopted by the 15th General Assembly:
Resolution 1 The General Assembly resolves that the next meeting of the General Assembly be held at a time and place conveniently linked to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, India, in 2010.
Resolution 2 The General Assembly expresses its gratitude to those bodies which contributed to the Special Development Fund in the past four years.
Resolution 3 The General Assembly expresses its deep gratitude to the Organizing Committee of the ICM 2006 chaired by Manuel de León and to the Organizing Committee of the General Assembly chaired by Juan M. Viaño Rey, for a splendid organization and a warm welcome to delegates.
Resolution 4 The General Assembly gives warm thanks to the Executive Committee, to the President John M. Ball and to the Secretary of the IMU Phillip A. Griffiths for their excellent work during the period 2003-2006.
Resolution 5
13 The General Assembly expresses its gratitude to the country of Spain for supporting a large number of mathematicians from developing countries to come to the International Congress and the General Assembly. Resolution 6 The General Assembly expresses its gratitude to the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, the ICTP in Trieste and the Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum in Berlin for their generous support to the IMU.
Resolution 7 The General Assembly thanks Mireille Chaleyat-Maurel, Linda Geraci, Sharon Laurenti and Sylwia Markwardt for their many contributions to the IMU.
Resolution 8 The General Assembly of the IMU reaffirms the importance of the issues treated by ICMI. It recognizes the importance of continuing and strengthening the relationship of IMU with ICMI and urges the increased involvement of research mathematicians in mathematical education at all levels. Resolution 9 With the ultimate goal of creating an enduring network of digital mathematical literature, the General Assembly of the IMU endorses the new version of the “Best practices” document of its Committee on Electronic Information and Communication (CEIC), posted June 2005 at http://www.ceic.math.ca, as well as the March 2005 draft of “Digital Mathematical Library: a vision for the Future”. Resolution 10 The General Assembly of the IMU continues to endorse the principle of universality expressed in the International Council for Science (ICSU) ARTICLE 5 of the STATUTES, as adopted by the 1998 General Assembly, and endorses the additional ICSU Statement on the Universality of Science (2004). Notwithstanding heightened tensions, security concerns, etc., the General Assembly urges free exchange of scientific ideas and free circulation of scientists and mathematicians across international borders. The IMU opposes efforts by governments to restrict contacts, interactions, access and travel in the world mathematical community, particularly when such restrictions penalize individual mathematicians for the actions of governments.
Resolution 11 The General Assembly recommends that the incoming Executive Committee of the IMU studies the establishment of stable administrative structure and funding mechanisms, including possible fund-raising, for the support of the expanding IMU activities, and report to the 2010 General Assembly with concrete proposals.
ICM Executive Committee Site Recommendation for ICM2010 – John Ball J. Ball announced that the Executive Committee recommended Bangalore, India as the site of ICM 2010. He thanked Canada for its excellent proposal and for graciously accepting the EC’s decision. The EC had appointed a site subcommittee consisting of John Ball, Zhiming Ma and Ragni Piene, which had visited both countries and requested answers to a list of questions, prior to reporting to the EC. J. Ball underlined the importance of continuing in the future to have a professional, open and equitable site selection process. The GA delegates voted to hold the ICM2010 in Bangalore, India, with the GA to be held in Hyderbad, India, prior to the ICM.
14 Presentation of the ICM2010 Local Organization Committee – John Ball The Indian Local Organizing Committee presented the structure for ICM2010, with the ICM being held in Bangalore and the General Assembly being held in Hyderbad. The dates are:
Member of the IMU
i. The General Assembly approved the request by the Czech Republic to move from Group II to Group III as of January 1, 2007. ii. The General Assembly approved the request by Poland to move from Group III to Group IV as of January 1, 2007.
Close of the 15th General Assembly J. Ball thanked the IMU EC members whose terms expired: Jacob Palis, Phillip Griffiths, Jean- Michel Bismut; and Masaki Kashiwara, with special thanks to Linda Geraci, IMU Administrator, who carried out her tasks with great talent, dedication and good humour. The President thanked the Assembly for its work and declared the 15th General Assembly closed at 4:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda L. Geraci
15 Appendix 4.1.1
Appendix 4.1.1
Von: Linda Lee An: [email protected]; IMU Secretary; CC: Betreff: Closing Bank Account Datum: Mittwoch, 9. Mai 2007 22:39:44 Anlagen:
Sylwia & Martin,
I requested a wire transfer today in the amount of $61,074.19 to your US dollar account at Berliner Bank. PNC Bank has told me this will be the balance in the account after the fees for May. Hopefully they are correct and the account will be closed after interest for May is posted.
Linda Appendix 4.2.1
IMU SCHEDULE OF DELINQUENT DUES- in Swiss Francs ( as per May 11, 2007 )
Balance Balance Balance Balance Country 2006 2005 Prior Years 12/31/06 Due
Bulgaria 1.320,00 1.320,00
Croatia 1.320,00 1.320,00 2.640,00
Cuba 1) 9.084,33 1.200,00
Georgia 1.320,00 1.320,00 2.640,00
Pakistan 1.320,00 1.320,00
Peru 1.320,00 1.320,00 2.640,00
Ukraine 2.640,00 2.640,00 5.280,00
TOTALS 9.240,00 6.600,00 9.084,33 17.040,00
1) Cuba needs to pay 2002 dues of CHF1,200 to have prior dues waived. Agreed they could pay dues in 2007 to Germany.
Appendix 4.3.1
International Mathematical Union Proposed Budget for 2007-2010 (Swiss Francs) Approved 5% Dues 5% Dues 5% Dues 5% Dues Expenses Budged for increase increase increase increase Schedule A: 2003-2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Secretarial help, IMU office 22.000 22.660 22.660 22.660 22.660 Secretarial help, President 5.000 5.150 5.150 5.150 5.150 Accountant 9.000 9.270 9.270 9.270 9.270 ICMI 11.000 11.330 11.330 11.330 11.330 CDE 6.000 6.180 6.180 6.180 6.180 Office expenses (including postage) 16.000 16.480 16.480 16.480 16.480 Travel expenses of the EC 30.000 30.900 30.900 30.900 30.900 President's and Secretary's expenses 4.000 4.120 4.120 4.120 4.120 Contribution to ICSU 9.500 9.785 9.785 9.785 9.785 IMU Bulletin 5.000 1.500 1.500 1.500 1.500 Audit fee 8.500 8.755 8.755 8.755 8.755 General Assembly 4.000 4.120 4.120 4.120 4.120 World Directory of Mathematicians 20.000 0000 Contingencies 2.000 2.060 2.060 2.060 2.060
Subtotal of Schedule A 152.000 132.310 132.310 132.310 132.310
Schedule B: IMU non-CDE conference support 90.000 20.000 20.000 20.000 20.000 ICMI scientific activities 29.000 29.870 29.870 29.870 29.870 CDE scientific activities 40.000 115.000 115.000 115.000 115.000 CDE support staff 56.000 56.000 56.000 56.000 CEIC scientific activities 15.000 15.450 15.450 15.450 15.450 Website support 6.253 6.253 6.253 6.253 ICM Site Committee 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 Program Committee for ICM 8.000 8.240 8.240 8.240 8.240 Subvention to ICM 28.000 28.840 28.840 28.840 28.840 Prize Committees (subvention) 11.100 11.100 11.100 11.100 Travel grants (young & senior) 40.000 61.000 61.000 61.000 61.000 Media Relations 3.500 3.500 3.500 3.500 Subtotal of Schedule B 210.000 357.253 357.253 357.253 357.253
Total Expenses (A & B) 362.000 489.563 489.563 489.563 489.563
Income Membership dues 279.840 336.798 353.565 371.304 390.015 ICSU Grant 10.500 0000 Special Development Fund 60.000 32.000 32.000 32.000 32.000 Interest on bank accounts 39.000 16.000 16.000 16.000 16.000 Abel Fund 59.220 59.220 59.220 59.220 Draw from Reserves 45.545 28.778 11.039 0 Return to Reserves -7.672 Total Income 389.340 489.563 489.563 489.563 489.563
Income less Expenses 0000 Appendix 4.4.1
Von: IMU Secretary An: [email protected]; CC: Betreff: IMU EC CL 17/07: reimbursement policy & ICMI Datum: Dienstag, 10. April 2007 22:43:45 Anlagen: ICMI-BassHodgson_2004.pdf
To the IMU 2007-2010 Executive Committee
Dear colleagues,
Below are two brief remarks on ICMI and the IMU reimbursement policy.
1. IMU reimbursement policy
Since EC members are starting to travel on behalf of IMU to participate in various IMU related activities I would like to say a few words on expense reimbursement.
IMU has no "official reimbursement policy". The secretaries have always covered all (reasonable) expenses. As you know IMU's budget situation you can easily infer that,if IMU would try to cover business class air fare, ruin would be immediate. All EC members organizing an EC meeting have spent a lot of effort to make local sources available in order to reduce the IMU expenses. (Ragni is doing a great job in this respect right now.) This unselfish behaviour has helped IMU to survive financially up to now. Local support of this type will in almost all other cases not be available, e.g., if EC members travel to ICSU, CEIC,CDE or other events. In such cases I will always try to be very non-bureaucratic concerning reimbursements. Just send me a list of items you would like to get reimbursemed for, the bills, and your bank account data and we will transfer the money to your account.
I just ask everybody to be somewhat modest, and in case other sources are available, to utilize them.
If you think that a precise reimbursement policy is necessary, I suggest that we discuss this issue at the Oslo EC meeting.
2. Article on ICMI
Since ICMI will be a permanent topic during our EC term I thought I should send you a copy of the article "The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction What? Why? For Whom?" by Hyman Bass and Bernard R. Hodgson that appeared in 2004 in the Notices of the AMS. Some of you may not have seen it. It provides good background material on the ICMI history and activities.
Note that ICMI will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year in Rome, March 5-8, 2008. The preliminary program and more details can be found at http://www.unige.ch/math/EnsMath/Rome2008/
Best regards
Martin Appendix 4.4.1 / 10.3.1 The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction What? Why? For Whom?
Hyman Bass and Bernard R. Hodgson
Mathematics is an international—even universal— Our focus here is the International Commission discipline, and this aspect finds institutional ex- on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI), the mathe- pression every four years in the International Con- matics education counterpart to the IMU. gress of Mathematicians (ICM), where a world community of mathematicians assembles to re- A Brief Bio of the ICMI port progress on shared problems and with a com- The International Commission on Mathematical mon technical language. But these things, which we Instruction2 was founded at the fourth ICM held in now take for granted, were not always so. The “in- Rome in 1908.3 It was initiated to support a then ternational movement” in mathematics took hold widespread interest among mathematicians in only at the end of the nineteenth century, the first school education. The Rome Congress adopted a res- congress being the 1897 ICM in Zürich. The body olution, submitted on the initiative of the American that now provides the international infrastructure mathematician, teacher-educator, and historian of for mathematics—for example, sponsoring the mathematics David Eugene Smith (1860–1944), cre- ICM’s—is the International Mathematical Union ating an international commission with the initial (IMU),1 an international nongovernmental and non- mandate of making “a comparative study on the profit scientific organization with the purpose of methods and plans of teaching mathematics at sec- promoting international cooperation in mathe- ondary schools” (quoted in [5, p. 13]). The idea of matics. The members of the IMU are not individu- such an international commission had in fact been als but countries, and the adhering (membership) formulated by Smith himself three years earlier in entity in each member country is typically its Acad- the newly established journal L’Enseignement emy of Sciences or a professional organization of Mathématique (L’EM) in his response to a survey pro- mathematicians. The IMU is known to mathemati- posed by the editors on the “conditions to be sat- cians mainly indirectly through the publicly visi- isfied by a complete—theoretical and practical— ble expressions of its work, like the ICM’s and the teaching of mathematics in higher institutions” [2]. awarding of the Fields Medals. The birth of the ICMI was not modest. The great German mathematician Felix Klein (1849–1925), Hyman Bass is the president of the ICMI and Roger Lyndon for whom mathematics education was a deep Collegiate Professor of mathematics and mathematics and career-long interest, became its founding education at the University of Michigan. His email address is [email protected]. 2Historical information about the ICMI can be found in the Bernard R. Hodgson is the secretary-general of the ICMI ICMI 75th-anniversary paper [3] by Howson as well as in and professeur titulaire of mathematics at Université Lehto’s recent book [5] on the history of the International Laval, Québec. His email address is bhodgson@ Mathematical Union. mat.ulaval.ca. 3So we are close to the first centenary of the ICMI, to be 1http://www.mathunion.org/. celebrated in Italy in 2008.
JUNE/JULY 2004 NOTICES OF THE AMS 639 president, while the first secretary-general was significant number of mathematicians. (More on Henri Fehr (1870–1954) from Switzerland, one ICME-10 below.) of the co-founders of L’EM .4 The initial ICMI man- date, an international comparative study, ultimately Connecting Mathematics and Mathematics became a massive six-year project producing 187 Education volumes containing 310 reports from 18 countries Mathematics education and mathematics, though [5, p. 14]. Later ICMI presidents—thus far always obviously linked, are fundamentally different as research mathematicians—include such figures as domains of practice and scholarship. Their main Jacques Hadamard (from 1932 to the war), historical intersection has been the induction and Marshall H. Stone (1959–62), André Lichnerowicz advanced mathematical preparation of mathe- (1963–66), Hans Freudenthal (1967–70), Hassler matical researchers and scientists, a small but now Whitney (1979–82), and Jean-Pierre Kahane growing fraction of the population served by school (1983–90), and Miguel de Guzmán (1991–98).5 So education, and this primarily at postsecondary the interest and productive engagement of serious levels. While most mathematicians teach, mathe- research mathematicians with school mathematics matics education treats teaching much more seri- education, even at the international level, has a ously as a professional practice, requiring dedicated long and substantial, albeit uneven, history. training and certification. Theories of learning and A small but significant place for mathematics ed- of assessment play much more prominent roles, as ucation was reserved at the ICM’s, in a section ini- does curriculum analysis. And these have become tially called “Teaching and History of Mathematics”. as well multidisciplinary domains of mathematics It was in this section at the 1900 ICM in Paris education research, using a variety of methods, that David Hilbert gave the talk “Mathematical many of them unfamiliar to most mathematicians. problems” that shaped much of twentieth-century So how are mathematics and mathematics edu- mathematics. As the history of mathematics later cation, as domains of knowledge and as commu- acquired a section of its own, the name changed nities of practice, now linked, and what could be to “Teaching and Popularization of Mathematics” the most natural and productive kinds of connec- and most recently to “Mathematics Education and tions? The ICMI represents one historical, and still Popularization of Mathematics”, reflecting the evolving, response to those questions at the inter- broader nature of the field. national level. First of all, the ICMI, now formally Over time, as the mission of general education constituted as a commission of the IMU (see the expanded (more advanced knowledge, for more next section), is thus structurally tied to mathe- people), the needs and complexity of mathematics matics. In fact, nominally and in terms of gover- education grew as well, leading to the develop- nance, the ICMI is subordinate to mathematics. ment in due course of corresponding communities (Recall, for example, where the presidents of the of both practicing professionals and scholars. The ICMI have come from.) This is, on the one hand, a small venue afforded by the one section of the unique and potentially invaluable resource. Else- ICM’s became inadequate for the communication where in mathematics education—for example, in of problems and ideas in this expanded domain. the fields of practice and in the institutional This led ICMI president Hans Freudenthal to orga- arrangements within universities—mathematics nize the first International Congress on Mathe- and mathematics education exist in different worlds matical Education (ICME) in Lyon in 1969. These that rarely communicate with each other and most ICME’s have since evolved into quadrennial con- often not well when they do. Yet history teaches gresses in years divisible by four,6 the next one to us that there is a tradition of healthy interest and be ICME-10 in Copenhagen, July 4–11, 2004, where engagement of (some) mathematicians in mathe- we expect some 3,500 participants, including a matics education, and current experience indicates strongly that mathematicians have vital things to 4An initial aim of the “international journal” (to use its contribute, in multidisciplinary settings, to math- own description) L’Enseignement Mathématique, launched ematics education, a potential not always suffi- in 1899, was “to associate the world of teaching to the ‘great ciently appreciated by mathematics educators. On movement of scientific solidarity’ which was emerging the other hand, mathematicians sometimes lack a at the end of the 19th century” [1, p. 11]. From the very sufficient knowledge and/or appreciation of the beginning of the ICMI, L’EM was adopted as its official complex nature of the problems in mathematics organ, which is still the case today. The other current education, and they often tend to see issues of channels of communication of the commission are the ICMI Bulletin, published twice a year, and the ICMI web- 6The successive ICME’s, from ICME-2 in 1972 to ICME-9 site, http://www.mathunion.org/ICMI/. in 2000, were held respectively in Exeter (UK), Karlsruhe 5It is with great sadness that we report the untimely pass- (Germany), Berkeley (USA), Adelaide (Australia), Budapest ing of Miguel de Guzmán on April 14, 2004. Information (Hungary), Québec (Canada), Sevilla (Spain), and Tokyo/ about his life and work can be found at http://www. Makuhari (Japan). The ICMI has recently accepted the in- xena.ad/lcf/fev2002/guzman.htm. vitation received from Mexico to host the 11th ICME in 2008.
640 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 51, NUMBER 6 mathematical integrity and rigor of the curricu- The Structure of the ICMI Today lum as the beginning and end of the story. (See the Structurally the ICMI now exists as a member of the Notices article by Tony Ralston [6] for an insight- IMU family. After interruptions of activity around ful recent commentary on this cross-boundary the two world wars, the ICMI was reconstituted in behavior.) This kind of stance and disposition 1952, at a time when the international mathemat- presents problems when it infects positions of ical community was being reorganized, as an offi- authority and policy setting in mathematics edu- cial commission of the International Mathematical cation. In particular, this exposes a latent danger Union.7 This still defines the formal position of the in the inherited governance arrangements of the ICMI today. Thus, the Terms of Reference of the ICMI, completely under IMU control. Many in the ICMI are established by the General Assembly of ICMI community argue for greater ICMI autonomy, the IMU, which is also responsible for the election yet still within the IMU environment. of the Executive Committee, the administrative ICMI vice president Bent Christiansen argued leadership of the ICMI. Furthermore, the vast ma- in 1982 that (see [5, p. 260]) the ICMI should not jority of the funding of the ICMI comes from the decide what are proper or relevant solutions to IMU. Once these election and budget matters are problems in mathematics education, but should settled, the ICMI works with a large degree of provide a structure under which interaction and autonomy. exchange of views could be facilitated. It should As is the case for the IMU, members of the ICMI provide the type of leadership and structure re- are not individuals, but countries—namely, those countries which are members of the IMU and other sponsive to the needs and interests of the grow- countries specifically coopted to the commission. ing mathematics education community and do so There are currently eighty-one members of the under the auspices of the IMU. He also revoiced the ICMI, sixty-five of which are also members of the frequently expressed need of a permanent secre- IMU. Each member of the ICMI appoints a repre- tariat for the ICMI. sentative and may create a subcommission for the Jean-Pierre Kahane, in his 1990 Farewell Message ICMI. Such a subcommission serves the dual pur- as president of the ICMI, gave the reasons for the pose of (a) providing an organized local (national) ICMI being a commission of the IMU, in terms of forum for dealing with issues of mathematics ed- …the intimate link between mathemat- ucation and for exchange of information, and (b) ics and its teaching. In no other living offering a link between the local and international science is the part of mise en forme, mathematics education communities. There are transposition didactique, so important at currently fourteen such subcommissions. a research level. In no other science, The ICMI’s organizational outreach includes five however, is the distance between the permanent so-called Affiliated Study Groups, each taught and the new so large. In no other 7 science has teaching and learning such Through the IMU, the ICMI thus belongs to the Interna- tional Council for Science (ICSU). This implies that the social importance. In no other science is ICMI is to abide by ICSU statutes, one of which establishes there such an old tradition of scientists the principle of nondiscrimination and free circulation of committed to educational questions scientists. Lehto’s book [5] vividly testifies to the importance ([4, p. 6]; see also [5, p. 262]). of this rule in the life of both the IMU and the ICMI.
JUNE/JULY 2004 NOTICES OF THE AMS 641 focusing on a specific field of interest and study ing working groups and study groups that have in mathematics education consistent with the aims structured meetings throughout the congress and of the commission. The Affiliated Study Groups are that may well produce published reports for the neither appointed by the ICMI nor operate on congress proceedings. behalf or under the control of the ICMI. They are ICME-10 in Copenhagen in July 2004 (see the next thus independent of the ICMI for their work, also section) will also feature the first awarding of two in terms of finances, but they collaborate with the medals in mathematics education research, re- ICMI on specific activities, such as the ICMI Stud- cently inaugurated by the ICMI. The Felix Klein ies or components of the program of the ICME’s. Medal for lifetime achievement will be awarded to They present reports on their activities to the Gen- Guy Brousseau from France. The Hans Freudenthal eral Assembly of the ICMI. The current ICMI Affil- Medal for a major program of research will be iated Study Groups, with their year of affiliation, awarded to Celia Hoyles of the UK. Information are: about these awards and citations of the work of the • HPM—The International Study Group on the laureates can be found on the ICMI website, Relations between the History and Pedagogy of http://www.mathunion.org/ICMI/.8 Mathematics (1976), A second major ICMI program is the series of • PME—The International Group for the Psychol- ICMI Studies, a most successful set of activities ogy of Mathematics Education (1976), launched in the mid-1980s. Each study focuses on • IOWME—The International Organization of a topic or issue of prominent current interest in Women and Mathematics Education (1987), mathematics education. Its International Program • WFNMC—The World Federation of National Committee (appointed by the ICMI) first drafts a Mathematics Competitions (1994), and “discussion document” that articulates the theme • ICTMA—The International Study Group for Math- and purpose in great detail. This is widely dis- ematical Modelling and Applications (2003). seminated to solicit papers from the field. From According to its Terms of Reference, the com- these submissions, invitations are issued to about mission is “charged with the conduct of the eighty participants in an international conference, activities of IMU, bearing on mathematical or the results of which are synthesized into a research scientific education and [takes] the initiative in volume presenting a state-of-the-art expert report inaugurating appropriate programs designed to on the study theme. This process typically stretches further the sound development of mathematical over a period of about three years per study. These education at all levels, and to secure public appre- studies have acquired a growing importance and ciation of its importance.” This is clearly reflected influence on the field. Here is a chronological list in the objectives and activities of the ICMI, which of past and current studies and their conference have considerably expanded over the years. sites.
Activities of the ICMI 1. The Influence of Computers and Informatics on The ICMI’s objective today could be globally Mathematics and Its Teaching (Strasbourg, described as offering researchers, practitioners, France, 1985) curriculum designers, decision makers, and others 2. School Mathematics in the 1990s (Kuwait, 1986) interested in mathematical education a forum for 3. Mathematics as a Service Subject (Udine, Italy, promoting reflection, collaboration, exchange and 1987) dissemination of ideas, and information on all 4. Mathematics and Cognition (book prepared by aspects of the theory and practice of contemporary PME, an Affiliated Study Group of ICMI) mathematical education, as seen from an interna- 5. The Popularization of Mathematics (Leeds, UK, tional perspective. How does the commission 1989) achieve such aims? We now discuss some of its 6. Assessment in Mathematics Education (Calonge, current major activities and programs. Spain, 1991) The ICMI’s primary responsibility is to plan for 7. Gender and Mathematics Education (Höör, the ICME’s, which entails choosing from among Sweden, 1993) host country bids, appointing an international pro- 8. What Is Research in Mathematics Education and gram committee to form the scientific program What Are Its Results? (College Park, USA, 1994) and select presenters, and overseeing progress of 9. Perspectives on the Teaching of Geometry for the the congress preparations. But the practical and 21st Century (Catania, Italy, 1995) financial organization of an ICME is the indepen- 10. The Role of the History of Mathematics in the dent responsibility of a local (national) organizing Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (Luminy, committee. This parallels to a large degree what the France, 1998) IMU does for the ICM’s. However, the format of an ICME differs interestingly from that of an ICM in 8An announcement about the ICMI medals appears in that it tends to be much more interactive, involv- “Mathematics People” in this issue of the Notices.
642 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 51, NUMBER 6 11. The Teaching and Learning of Mathematics at basis. For instance, the ICMI is currently collabo- University Level (Singapore, 1998) rating with UNESCO on an international exhibition 12. The Future of the Teaching and Learning of on the theme “Why Mathematics?” aimed particu- Algebra (Melbourne, Australia, 2001) larly at young people, their parents, and their 13. Mathematics Education in Different Cultural teachers. This exhibition will be launched at the 4th Traditions: A Comparative Study of East-Asia European Congress of Mathematics in Stockholm and the West (Hong Kong, 2002) in June 2004. It will then be shown at ICME-10 14. Applications and Modelling in Mathematics in Copenhagen and will later travel to various Education (Dortmund, Germany, February 2004) places. 15. The Professional Education and Development of A major aim of the commission is to support the Teachers of Mathematics (Águas de Lindóia, development of mathematics education in less- Brazil, May 2005) affluent regions of the world. To this end, the ICMI 16. Challenging Mathematics in and beyond the initiated in the 1990s a Solidarity Program in Math- Classroom (Trondheim, Norway, June 2006) ematics Education based on a twofold approach. 17. Technology in Mathematics Education (2006) The first component of this program is the ICMI Solidarity Fund, established by the ICMI in 1992 at The themes of these studies illustrate some of the the suggestion of its president, Miguel de Guzmán. many domains of mathematics education in which The overall objective of the Solidarity Fund is to mathematicians, among other expert professionals, increase, in a variety of ways, the commitment and have crucial knowledge and expertise to contribute. involvement of mathematics educators around the The study volumes for the first five studies were world in order to help the progress of mathemat- published by Cambridge University Press. Since ics education in those parts of the world where Study 6, the study volumes appear in the New ICMI there is a need for it that justifies international Study Series (NISS) published by Kluwer Academic assistance and where the economic and socio- 9 Publishers under the general editorship of the political contexts do not permit adequate and president and secretary-general of the ICMI. autonomous development. This initiative thus Another component of ICMI activities comprises aims to foster solidarity in mathematics education the so-called ICMI Regional Conferences. Despite between well-defined quarters in developed and the international nature of its position and role, less-developed countries. Particular emphasis is the ICMI from time to time lends its name to a placed on projects that enable the activation of a variety of regional conferences on mathematics self-sustainable infrastructure within mathemat- education, primarily in less affluent parts of the ics education in the region, country, or province at world. A number of ICMI Regional Conferences issue. Central to this program of international have thus been held over the years. These meetings assistance was the establishment of a fund to pro- are supported morally by the ICMI and sometimes vide financial support for the approved projects. The with modest financial contributions as well. Recent Solidarity Fund is based on voluntary donations and forthcoming ICMI Regional Conferences from individuals and organizations and is kept include: separate from the ICMI’s general funds. SEACME-8—8th South East Asian Conference on • The second component of the ICMI Solidarity Mathematical Education (Quezon City, Philip- Program aims at having a balanced representation pines, 1999) from all over the world among the presenters and • All-Russian Conference on Mathematical Educa- the general participants in activities such as the tion (Dubna, Russia, 2000) ICMI Studies or the ICME’s. In support of this goal, • ICMI-EARCOME-2—Second ICMI East Asia the ICMI has implemented, starting with ICME-8 in Regional Conference on Mathematics Education 1996, a general policy of forming for each ICME an (Singapore, 2002) ICME Solidarity Fund established by setting aside • XI-IACME—11th Inter-American Conference on 10 percent of the registration fees in order to pro- Mathematics Education (Blumenau, Brazil, 2003) vide grants to congress delegates from nonafflu- • EMF 2003—Espace mathématique francophone 2003 (Tozeur, Tunisia, 2003) ent countries. At each of the recent ICME’s, some 100 to 150 participants from economically chal- • ICMI-EARCOME-3—Third ICMI East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education (Shanghai, lenged regions of the world have thus been given China, 2005) financial support to facilitate their presence at the congress. • EMF 2006—Espace mathématique francophone 2006 (Sherbrooke, Canada, 2006) In the same spirit, efforts are made by the In addition to the above activities of a regular organizers of each ICMI Study to find financial nature, the ICMI takes other initiatives on an ad hoc resources so as to facilitate the participation in the Study Conference of a substantial delegation 9http://www.wkap.nl/prod/s/NISS. from nonaffluent countries.
JUNE/JULY 2004 NOTICES OF THE AMS 643 An Invitation to ICME-10 A congress such as ICME-10 provides a unique The 10th International Congress on Mathematical opportunity to learn about recent developments in Education, ICME-10, will be held in Copenhagen on mathematics education around the world and to be the campus of the Technical University of Den- introduced to innovations and recent research on mark on July 4–11, 2004. A distinctive flavor of the teaching and learning of mathematics at all ICME-10 is the fact that it is being hosted, not by levels, from primary to tertiary education. The a single country, but by the ensemble of the Nordic scientific program aims to provide food for thought countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and and inspiration for practice to all, from the estab- Sweden. The congress is expected to gather around lished mathematics educator to the novice in the 3,500 participants, including mathematicians with field, and to all with an interest in mathematics ed- an interest in education, researchers in mathe- ucation. It is structured so as to allow plenty of matics education, and teachers from all over the choice while encouraging exchange and contacts world. The International Program Committee, between participants. chaired by Mogens Niss10 (Denmark), proposes a In a context where the debate over the state of structure combining the best from the ICME tra- mathematics education at all levels, from primary dition with a number of innovative elements and school to graduate school, is becoming more intense features. The program, whose details can be found and vigorous than ever, ICME-10 provides unpar- alleled access to expert knowledge in the field. on the congress website,11 includes the following ICME-10 can surely play a significant role in facil- events: itating the exchange of ideas and experiments • 8 plenary activities, among which are Plenary within and between the mathematics and mathe- Lectures by Hyman Bass (USA), Erno Lehtinen (Fin- matics education communities and contribute to land), Andreas Dress (Germany), and Ferdinando the improvement of mathematics education all Arzarello (Italy); and reports from so-called sur- around the world. vey teams that will present the state of the art with respect to themes such as reasoning, pro- References fessional development of teachers, testing, or [1] DANIEL CORAY and BERNARD R. HODGSON, Introduction, One technology, with particular regard to identifying Hundred Years of L’Enseignement Mathématique: and characterizing important new knowledge, Moments of Mathematics Education in the Twentieth recent developments, new perspectives, and Century (Daniel Coray et al., eds.), Monographies de emergent issues; L’Enseignement Mathématique, No. 39, L’Enseigne- • 80 regular lectures, covering a wide spectrum of ment Mathématique, Geneva, 2003, pp. 9–15. topics, themes, and issues; [2] The Editors, Note de la Rédaction sur les réformes à accomplir dans l’enseignement des mathématiques, • 29 Topic Study Groups, some being organized Enseign. Math. 7 (1905), 382–383. according to educational levels, others accord- [3] A. GEOFFREY HOWSON, Seventy-five years of the Interna- ing to content-related issues, and the rest to tional Commission on Mathematical Instruction, overarching perspectives and meta-issues; Educational Stud. Math. 15 (1984), 75–93. • 24 Discussion Groups focussing on the exami- [4] JEAN-PIERRE KAHANE, A farewell message from the retiring nation and discussion of issues that can be dealt president of ICMI, Bull. Internat. Commiss. Math. with in different ways depending on experiences, Instruction 29 (1990), 3–8. values, norms, and judgments; [5] OLLI LEHTO, Mathematics without Borders: A History of the International Mathematical Union, Springer-Verlag, • a thematic afternoon with 5 parallel miniconfer- New York, 1998. ences: Teachers of mathematics, Mathematics [6] ANTHONY RALSTON, Research mathematicians and math- education in society and culture, Mathematics and ematics education: A critique, Notices Amer. Math. mathematics education, Technology in mathe- Soc. 51 (2004), 403–411. matics education, and Perspectives on research in mathematics education from other disciplines; • special sessions of the 5 ICMI Affiliated Study Groups and reports on the 3 most recent ICMI Studies; • various sets of activities, such as workshops, Sharing Experiences Groups, poster exhibitions, paper presentations, or round-table sessions; • national presentations from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swe- den), Korea, Mexico, Romania, and Russia.
[email protected]. 11http://www.ICME-10.dk/.
644 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 51, NUMBER 6 Appendix 5.1.1
Von: IMU Secretary An: [email protected]; CC: Betreff: IMU EC CL 11/07: IMU membership, associate membership, group upgrade Datum: Freitag, 23. Februar 2007 18:28:22 Anlagen: Request_NorthKorea.pdf
To the IMU 2007-2010 Executive Committee
Dear colleagues,
This circular letter concerns IMU membership issues.
1. Associate Membership ======
Two countries have asked for the application procedure for associate membership: Kyrgyzstan and Ecuador. This is a new form of IMU membership that was introduced formally at the General Assembly in Santiago. Since IMU has no formal procedure (for membership application of any kind or group upgrade) I formulated a letter based on previous applications and sent it to the applicants. Please find the letter below for your information. I will let you know whether the applications materialize or not.
2. Group upgrade ======
South Korea has asked for an upgrade from group 4 to 2. The EC has reviewed the case positively, and after the "dues mail rush" is over I will send out a ballot to the IMU members.
Iran has requested information about how to get an upgrade from group 4 to 3. I am in contact with the member of executive committee of the Iranian Mathematical Society in charge of this application.
3. North Korea ======
This is a delicate issue. North Korea has failed to pay its dues for a long period of time. Discussions about North Korea appear in many EC minutes. The Report on the 1998 GA in Dresden states under 4.3. Dues arrears:
"North Korea and Nigeria, have not paid any dues since 1990. Moreover, neither North Korea or Nigeria have answered the Union messages concerning their dues arrears. The General Assembly decided to cease/suspend their membership, if they do not answer to the EC renewed efforts after a year." (The Nigeria case is settled.)
The minutes of the 1999 EC: "The consensus was that it would be preferable to continue to encourage countries to pay than to dismiss them from the Union. Individual efforts will be made to follow up with North Korea and Turkey, where P. Griffiths has connections;...".
The minutes of the 2000 EC: "Palis recommended suspension of North Korea’s membership, observing that they could apply to return to IMU when they become better organized to do research in mathematics."
The minutes of the 2001 EC: "...the EC decided to propose to the General Assembly that North Korea be moved to the status of observer. The reason is that many attempts were made to get information on the mathematical activities in that country and also concerning the long-range lack of dues payments. The EC tried to engage colleagues from neighboring countries, but unfortunately they could not help."
This was repeated at the two EC meetings in 2002.
Linda Geraci wrote a month ago about the 2002 GA: > Von: Linda Geraci [mailto:[email protected]] > Gesendet: Dienstag, 16. Januar 2007 16:11 > An: Sylwia Markwardt > Cc: John Ball (E-mail); Phillip Griffiths; Linda Lee; > Lovasz Laszlo (E-mail) > Betreff: RE: North Korea > > Dear Sylwia, > > As per the Statutes, North Korea ceased to be a member of > the union due to nonpayment of dues and lack of > communication, effective January 1, 2003. This was > decided at the 2002 General Assembly. At the time, they > owed 14,000 Swiss Francs. We had sent them several > communications with no response. > > It may be that North Korea needs to reapply by submitting > all of the necessary documentation that first must be > reviewed by the EC and then put to a vote via postal > ballot to all Adhering Organizations. > > Linda
I could not find any documentation of this fact in the 2002 GA Report. But let us assume that this information is correct.
I was approached at the ICM in Madrid by two representatives of North Korea who requested that their country be accepted as an Associate IMU Member. The IMU statutes, however say: "10. A country that has previously been a member of the Union is not eligible to apply for Associate Membership." That is why I rejected this proposal.
Now the North Koreans want to become again an IMU member, see attachment (I scanned the letter they wrote to me). I did not promise that the North Korean debts would be cancelled (as they seem to say in the letter). I told the two colleagues that this is an issue the IMU EC has to deal with.
I am not sure whether we should postpone the discussion of this matter to the Oslo meeting, and that is why I would like to solicit opinions.
Best regards
Martin
------Letter to applicants for Associate Membership version for Kyrgyzstan ------
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: Martin Groetschel [mailto:[email protected]] Im Auftrag von Martin Groetschel Gesendet: Mittwoch, 21. Februar 2007 18:20 An: [email protected] Cc: [email protected]; Laci Lovasz Betreff: AW: IMU Associate Membership
Dear Prof. Dzhuraev,
This is a follow-up letter to the e-mail I sent to you on January 23. Meanwhile I have been asked by another country about the application procedure for associate IMU membership.
Let me say that the IMU wants to be as non-bureaucratic as possible, and that the IMU Executive Committee will will handle every associate membership application in a very flexible way.
Since IMU does not even have forms or precise rules for (ordinary) membership application, there will also be no such forms for associate membership application. I would like to let you know the current informal procedure for ordinary IMU membership application.
Whenever a country applies for membership (or wants to change its group of adherence), the country is requested to report about the state of mathematics in its country. What the IMU Executive Committee asks for is an overview over the state of mathematics which includes some statistics and comments about the research activities throughout the country applying. What countries have typically submitted in previous cases is, in addition to a general outline (of two pages or so) in descriptive form, statistical material such as:
- the number of universities in the country where mathematics is taught, - the list of universities with significant research activities in mathematics, - the (estimated) number of professors in mathematics in the country - the (estimated) number of research mathematicians in the country - the list of mathematical societies in the country and the number of their members - a list of mathematicians whom the country considers well-known in the world-wide mathematical community - an estimation of the number of mathematical publications that have been produced by mathematicians living in the country and that have appeared in respected mathematical journals in the recent years - a list of the names of the mathematical journals published in the country - a brief overview of educational activities - whatever a country considers important for the apllication.
This is a long list, and not every country applying can easily produce such documents, in particular in the case of application for associate membership. But let me assure you that the IMU EC is determined to help every applicant to become an IMU member, even if only for a small fraction of items of the list above, reasonable indicators can be reported.
Please review the outline of indicators of mathematical activity that I have listed above, check which of the figures and lists you can produce without undue effort. I will be happy to discus with you a preliminary form of application, where you outline what you can deliver and what appears too difficult to obtain.
Please do not hesitate to contact me so that an application can be worked out that satisfies the standards the IMU Executive Committee has in mind and that increases the chance of a positive vote by the IMU members. (Please note that the IMU Executive Committee does not decide on your application. The IMU EC will review your proposal, then your application together with the recommendation of the EC will then be sent to all IMU members for a vote.)
Please do not forget articles 7. and 8. of the IMU statutes:
"III. Associate Membership 7. To encourage a country to become a Member of IMU, a country may adhere to the Union as an Associate Member through an Adhering Organization as described in article 3. 8. The Adhering Organization of an Associate Member shall form a Committee for Mathematics as described in article 5."
The statutes are on the Web at http://www.mathunion.org/Organization/Statutes2006.pdf
Best regards
Martin Groetschel
+------+ | Martin Groetschel | | Secretary of the | | International Mathematical Union (IMU) | | URL: http://www.mathunion.org | | e-mail: [email protected] | +------+ |Postal Address: |Telecommunication: | |Zuse Institute Berlin|Tel: +49 30 84185 210| |Takustr. 7 |Tel: +49 30 314 23266| |D-14195 Berlin |FAX: +49 30 84185 269| |Germany |Sec: +49 30 84185 208| +------+ | personal URL: www.zib.de/groetschel | +------+
Appendix 5.2.1
2006-09-12
The Korean Mathematical Society The Korea Science and Technology Center 202 635-4 Yeoksam-dong Gangnam-gu Seoul 135-703, Korea Tel : 82-2-565-0363 Fax : 82-2-565-0364 E-mail : [email protected]
Professor John Ball, President of IMU Professor Phillip Griffiths, Secretary General of IMU
Dear Professors Ball and Griffiths,
The Korean IMU Adhering Organization, the Korean Mathematical Society (KMS), proposes to move the IMU membership of the Republic of Korea from Group II to Group III or Group IV. The Adhering Organization shall keep its commitment to pay the corresponding membership dues annually.
This proposal was motivated by the remarkable growth, both in quality and quantity, of the mathematical research in Korea. In the year 2005 alone, there were about 700 research papers published in SCIE journals authored/co-authored by the mathematicians located in Korea. This number includes publications in premier journals as evidenced by the full list of journals separately attached to this letter. If we count the publications by the Korean mathematicians with foreign affiliations, then this number goes up significantly.
The growth in the level of mathematics in Korea is observed over a broad spectrum of mathematics including research publications at the high end and the popularization of mathematics among the general public at the low end. The Korean Mathematical Society publishes two research journals with international editorial boards, and the regional branch societies of KMS publish five research journals. In 2005, Korea hosted 29 international conferences and workshops in mathematics. Korea was the hosting country of the International Math Olympiad (IMO) in 2000, and has done consistently well in IMO, ranking the 3rd in IMO 2006.
Out of the 192 four-year universities/colleges in Korea, 124 schools have bachelor’s degree programs in mathematics and/or mathematics education. There are 61 universities with graduate programs awarding master’s degree, and 42 universities with Ph.D. granting graduate programs. As an evidence of the high level of mathematical research in Korea, we wish to draw your attention to the selection, as invited speakers at ICM 2006, of the three Korean mathematicians fully or partially affiliated with Korean institutions.
In the following pages, we provide some of the data supporting our proposal. We request the Executive Committee of IMU to examine our proposal carefully and consider its merit.
Yours Sincerely,
Kyung Chan Min President of the Korean Mathematical Society
Mathematics in Korea at a Glance
Adhering Organization: Korean Mathematical Society (KMS) z Was founded in 1946 z Joined IMU in 1981 z Was moved to IMU Group II on Jan. 1, 1993 z Has 2,574 Individual Members z Has 97 Institutional Members (96 Universities and 1 Research Institute)
Number of Publications in SCIE Journals z In 1992: 78 z In 2005: 698
Number of International Conferences and Workshops z In 1992: 5 z In 2005: 26
Research Centers in Mathematics Funded by the Governments 1. Eight BK (Brain Korea) Centers in Mathematics scattered around Korea with annual budget of roughly 5 million USD 2. Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS), founded in 1996, with annual budget of roughly 12 million USD for mathematics and physics 3. National Institute for Mathematical Sciences (NIMS), founded in 2005, with annual budget of roughly 2 million USD for mathematics
Invited Speakers at ICM 2006 Algebraic and Complex Geometry Section Jun-Muk Hwang, Korea Institute for Advanced Study Combinatorics Section Jeong Han Kim, Yonsei University and Microsoft Research Geometry Section Yong-Geun Oh, Korea Institute for Advanced Study and University of Wisconsin
Number of Publications (NP) in Journals, with at least one author based at a Korean Institution within the period 1992-2005
Year NP 800 1992 78 700 1993 84 600 1994 129 500 1995 177 400 1996 200 300 1997 263 200 1998 337 100 0 1999 329 4 98 00 02 2000 421 9 0 0 00 1992 1994 1996 1 2 2 2 2001 456 Journal Publications Per Year 2002 483
2003 622 *Note: 2004 594 1. Korea proposed to move to IMU Group II in 1992. 2005 698 2. The journal publications by Korean nationals affiliated Total 4871 with foreign institutions are not included in this table.
Number of International Conferences and Workshops, Organized by Korean Institutions within the period 1992-2005
Year No. of Meetings 1992 5 30 1993 6 1994 5 25
1995 9 20 1996 7 15 1997 7 10 1998 16
1999 14 5
2000 16 0
2001 11 4 92 04 000 002 2002 10 19 199 1996 1998 2 2 20 2003 13 International Meetings Per Year 2004 26
2005 26 *Note: Korea proposed to move to IMU Group II in 1992. Total 171
Appendix 5.2.2
Postal Ballot 01/07 (March 30, 2007) Change of Group of Adherence of Republic of Korea from II to IV
Country gave Ballot received Votes counted in Votes counted not in Country Group No.of Votes its vote (=1) by May 11, 07 favor of that country favor of that country
Argentina II 2 Armenia I 1 1 24.04.07 1 Australia III 3 1 23.04.07 3 Austria II 2 1 27.04.07 2 Belgium III 3 1 08.05.07 3 Bosnia & Herzegovina I 1 Brazil IV 4 1 03.05.07 4 Bulgaria I 1 1 11.05.07 1 Cameroon I 1 Canada V 5 1 18.05.07 5 Chile II 2 Chinese Math Society V 3/5 3 1 26.04.07 3 Math Society, Taipei V 2/5 2 1 03.05.07 2 Croatia I 1 1 07.05.07 1 Cuba I 1 1 15.05.07 1 Czech Republic III 3 1 27.04.07 3 Denmark II 2 Egypt II 2 1 01.05.07 2 Estonia I 1 1 20.04.07 1 Finland II 2 1 07.05.07 2 France V 5 Georgia I 1 Germany V 5 1 11.05.07 5 Greece I 1 1 16.04.07 1 Hong Kong I 1 Hungary III 3 1 27.04.07 3 Iceland I 1 India IV 4 Indonesia I 1 Iran II 2 1 27.04.07 2 Ireland II 2 Israel V 5 1 07.05.07 5 Italy V 5 Ivory Coast I 1 1 24.04.07 1 Japan V 5 1 02.05.07 5 Kazakhstan I 1 1 30.04.07 1 Korea, Repub of (South) II 2 1 03.05.07 2 Latvia I 1 Lithuania I 1 1 23.04.07 1 Mexico II 2 Netherlands IV 4 New Zealand I 1 1 19.04.07 1 Nigeria I 1 1 30.04.07 1 Norway II 2 1 12.04.07 2 Pakistan I 1 1 18.05.07 1 Peru I 1 Philippines I 1 Poland IV 4 1 08.05.07 4 Portugal II 2 1 09.05.07 2 Romania I 1 Russia V 5 1 14.05.07 5 Saudi Arabia I 1 Serbia I 1 1 07.05.07 1 Singapore I 1 1 02.05.07 1 Slovakia II 2 1 14.05.07 2 Slovenia I 1 1 19.04.07 1 South Africa II 2 Spain IV 4 1 03.05.07 4 Sweden IV 4 Switzerland IV 4 1 25.04.07 4 Tunisia I 1 1 23.04.07 1 Turkey I 1 1 09.05.07 1 Ukraine II 2 United Kingdom V 5 Uruguay I 1 U.S.A. V 5 1 14.05.07 5 Venezuela I 1 Vietnam I 1 Maximum Votes possible 151 No. of (68) countries that gave their votes 41 TOTAL No. of VOTES 90 6
0107KoreaUpgradeTwoToFour 18.05.2007 Appendix 5.3.1 Appendix 5.4.1
Von: Juan Carlos de los Reyes An: [email protected]; CC: Betreff: Ecuadorian Mathematical Society -- IMU Associate Membership Datum: Dienstag, 24. April 2007 19:24:11 Anlagen: SEdeM-IMU.pdf
Dear Prof. Grötschel, Please find attached to this email the application of the Ecuadorian Mathematical Society (SEdeM) for the associate membership of the International Mathematical Union. Mathematical activities in Ecuador have increased significantly in the last years and to become part of the IMU will be of high importance to support that process. We will be grateful if our application is considered by the IMU. With best regards,
Dr. Juan Carlos de los Reyes
-- Juan Carlos de los Reyes Secretary of the Ecuadorian Math. Society Departamento de Matemática EPN Quito Ladrón de Guevara E11-253 Quito - Ecuador
Tel: +593 2 2227693 Cel: +593 9 8122984 Email: [email protected]
Appendix 5.4.1
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION TO THE
INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICAL UNION
ECUADORIAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY (SEDEM)
History The beginning of the academic mathematics history in Ecuador goes back to the year 1869, when the first technical university (“Escuela Polit´ecnicaNacional”, EPN) was founded as a part of the former Cen- tral University “Santo Tom´as”at Quito. The first ecuadorian Faculty of Mathematics was a constituve part of this new high education institu- tion. Its initial academic activities were coordinated by the german and italian scholars Revd. Johannes Baptist Menten, Revd. Teodor Wolf, and Revd. Luis Sodiro. For more than a century, courses on mathematics were offered at universities only as support for engineering and similar careers. This changed in 1975 when the Department of Mathematics was created at the – meanwhile independent – National Polytechnic School (“Escuela Polit´ecnicaNacional”, EPN) in Quito, with the enthusiastic help of Bernard Chevreau (France) and William Voxman (USA), who spent three and one years in Ecuador, respectively. A first generation of ecuadorian mathematicians were educated there and were afterwards supported for graduate studies abroad. After obtaining their Ph.D. degrees at universities in Europe and the United States, some of these mathematicians returned to Ecuador during the 80’s. Most of them joined the Department of Mathemat- ics at EPN as professors, while others supported the creation of new careers in mathematics at other ecuadorian universities. At present, programms of study in mathematics are offered at other high edu- cation institutions, the “Escuela Polit´ecnicadel Litoral (ESPOL)” at Guayaquil, the “Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ)” and the “Universidad Central (UCE)” at Quito. The Ecuadorian Mathematical Society (“Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Matem´atica”SEdeM) was formed in 1967 at the initiative of some enthusiastic professors interested in the fostering of mathematics in Ecuador. Originally, its main goal was the improvement of the quality of education in mathematics at all levels countrywide. Later on, this goal was extended and since then the SEdeM is expected to provide a place where Ecuadorian mathematicians can exchange ideas and devise concrete actions aiming at the enhancement of the general background conditions for both research and education in mathematics in Ecuador. Currently the Ecuadorian Mathematical Society has 41 members. One example of such concrete actions have been the Ecuadorian Con- ferences on Mathematics, organized since 1986 by the Department of Mathematics at EPN on a biennial basis. These conferences follow three main objectives: on one side, they intend to support improving the level of education in mathematics through specialized courses addressed to school teachers; additionally, they constitute a forum where Ecuadori- an professors and researchers have the opportunity to exchange ideas and propose possible new topics of research, in most cases with the presence of prominent foreign invited speakers; finally, mathematicians working outside academia (a fast growing group in Ecuador in recent years) expose their experiences in the form of talks directed to a broad- er audience of professionals. Adverse economic conditions and wrong policies lead to a general crisis and massive emigration in Ecuador during the nineties. As a con- sequence, public education suffered from a sustained drop in quality, and mathematics was not the exception. To take a single eloquent ex- ample, no new position could be opened for more than ten years at the Departament of Mathematics at EPN, due to the lack of properly qualified candidates. Similar figures were registered at the other uni- versities. Professors were overloaded with teaching duties and research almost stagnated. This situation has started to revert in recent years. A new generation of mathematicians that had obtained their doctoral degrees in Europe and the Americas decided to return to Ecuador and were offered po- sitions in some universities. At the same time, the German Academic Exchange Service agreed to finance a cooperation project between the Department of Mathematics at EPN and the Technical University of Berlin (“Technische Universit¨atBerlin”, TU Berlin) aiming at the ed- ucation of the first PhD students in Ecuador. Accordingly, there has been a boost in research activities during the last years. The two more recent Ecuadorian Conferences on Mathemat- ics (2004 and 2006) revealed high participation rates of foreign speak- ers, figures that have been decreasing since more than ten years ago. The SEdeM also profited from this revitalization. In October 2006, a new statute was approved in a General Assembly and a new directory was elected, where both experienced professors and young researchers are represented.1 Moreover, this new directory was given the explic- it mandate to proceed with all efforts to integrate Ecuador into the international community and, within this framework, to apply for an associated membership of the Society into the International Mathemat- ical Union.
1More details can be found at the Societies’ webpage: http://www.math.epn. edu.ec/sedem Universities and Education Although there are 72 universities in Ecuador at the present day, only 10 offer careers related to mathematics. Six of them educate high school mathematics teachers, while the remaining 4 (EPN, ESPOL, UC and USFQ) form mathematicians for working both in academia and industry. In recent years, these universities have started several postgraduate programs in areas of applied mathematics. Currently there are 6 master programs: three in applied statistics, two in operations research and one in mathematical education. The education is highly applied and has an important impact on many sectors of the society: financial institutions, oil industry, education, etc. The EPN is additionally offering a Ph.D. program in Applied Mathematics since 2003. The Ecuadorian Mathematical Society and the universities in the country are also deeply involved in the improvement of mathematical education at all levels. Additionally to the master program on math- ematical education directed to school teachers and organized by the Universidad Central del Ecuador, mathematicians from different uni- versities are involved in studies about the didactics of mathematics in ecuadorian schools. In that spirit, conferences across the country are periodically orga- nized in order to give an up to date about the teaching of mathematics. The work is in many cases coordinated with the Ministry of Education of Ecuador. The support to the organization of mathematical contests has al- so been an important activity of the society. Currently the SEdeM sponsors the organization of local contests all over the country. A rep- resentative national contest is one of the mid term objectives of the society.
Research Research in pure and applied mathematics in Ecuador has increased significantly during the recent years. From 15 international refereed articles written by ecuadorian mathematicians up to the year 2000, the number has increased to 41 up to the present. The publications appeared in leading journals like SIAM Journal on Control and Op- timization, Journal of Algebra or Nonlinear Analysis. Nowadays, the different math departments have active researchers in areas like analy- sis, algebra, optimization, among others. In December 2002 the first Ph.D. program on mathematics in Ecuador started. The program was a joint project between the Escuela Polit´ecni- ca Nacional (EPN Quito), the Technical University of Berlin and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The Ph.D students, who are about to finish their theses, were formed as highly qualified researchers capable of formulating mathematical models for practical problems arising from industry and engineering, and designing efficient algorithms for their solution. The first results obtained in their research were presented in several national and international events and submit- ted for publication to international refereed journals. The Ph.D. program was also the beginning of more intense research activities at the EPN Quito and induced the creation of the Research Group on Optimization 2 at that university. The group has currently 10 members who actively participate in several national and international workshops. There are also several research projects and international cooperations currently going on. As an indicator of this, the group received in the last 5 years the visit of 21 mathematicians from different countries (Austria, Germany, Holland, Switzerland). Applied research has also been carried out through the different Mas- ter programs mentioned before. As a consequence of the increasing applied research, a journal on mathematics and physics (FISMAT) is edited and printed since 1990. The articles appearing there contain the most relevant results obtained in diploma and master theses. Spe- cial issues deal with contributions to the Ecuadorian Conferences on Mathematics. Committee for Mathematics The following ecuadorian mathematicians constitute the Committee for Mathematics: Dr. Germ´anRojas Dr. Rolando S´aenz Dr. Luis M. Torres Dr. Polo Vaca Mat. Marco Calahorrano
2Details can be found at http://www.math.epn.edu.ec/resgroup Appendix 5.4.2 In Kyrgyzstan there are more than 50 universities and institutes, where the mathematics is taught. The research on mathematics is spent at the following universities and institutes: 1. Kyrgyz National University; 2. Institute of Mathematics of a National Academy of Sciences; 3. Kyrgyz Russian Slavic University; 4. Kyrgyz State University; 5. Kyrgyz State Technical University; 6. Osh State University; 7. Institute of Fundamental and Applied Sciences; 8. International University of Kyrgyzstan; 9. Osh Technological University; 10. Kyrgyz-Uzbek University; 11. Kyrgyz-Turkish University "Manas"; 12. Jalal-Abad State University; 13. Talas State University; 14. Naryn State University; 15. Issik-Kul State University;
There are more than 200 professors of mathematics work in Kyrgyzstan. There is more than 1000 researchers work on mathematics studies in Kyrgyzstan. There is Mathematical Society of Kyrgyzstan which includes 250 members.
Some of Kyrgyz mathematicians are well-know world-wide.
Here it is a list of Kyrgyz mathematicians who are considered to be well-known world-wide mathematical community. They are: Imanaliev M., Borubaev A., Zhainakov A. Sharshenaliev J., Pankov P., Sadabaev A., Alekseenko S., Asanov A., Kakishov R., Karimov S., Alymkulov K., Jusupbaev A., Jayanbaev J., Dzhuraev A. and others.
The Kyrgyz mathematicians publish more than 100 publications in well-known mathematical journals during the recent years. In Kyrgyzstan there are following mathematical magazines: 1. Research on the Integra-differential Equations; 2. News of a National Academy of Sciences. 3. Kyrgyzro Bulletin of National University. Physical and Mathematical sciences. 4. Bulletin of the Osh State University. Physical and Mathematical sciences. 5. Science and New Technologies.
The educational curriculum on Mathematics in Kyrgyzstan includes the following parts: Preschool education - 1-2 years; Initial secondary education - 4 years; Incomplete secondary education - 5 years; Complete secondary education - 2 years (certificate about secondary education); Initial maximum education - 2 years; Base maximum education - 2 years (degree of the bachelor); Complete maximum education - 1-2 years (degree master or diploma of the specialist); Post graduate course 3-4 years (PhD)
The Kyrgyz Republic is a country in Central. It is landlocked and mountainous. The Kyrgyz Republic borders Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and the People’s Republic of China to the southeast. Kyrgyzstan means the "Land of Forty Tribes". • Full name: Kyrgyz Republic
• Population: 5.1 million (via UN, 2006)
• Capital: Bishkek
• Area: 199,900 sq km (77,182 sq miles)
• Major languages: Kyrgyz, Russian
• Major religions: Islam, Christianity
• Life expectancy: 63 years (men), 71 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 som = 100 tyiyns
• Main exports: Fruit, vegetables, gold, tobacco
• GNI per capita: US $440 (World Bank, 2006)
• Internet domain: .kg
• International dialling code: +996
Appendix 5.4.2
Von: Abubakir Dzhuraev An: Martin Groetschel; CC: Betreff: Re: AW: IMU Associate Membership Datum: Mittwoch, 2. Mai 2007 09:34:49 Anlagen: Kyrgyzstan.doc
Dear Prof. Martin Groetschel, I send to you the information for IMU Associate Membership Best regards Dzhuraev
* Martin Groetschel
-- Abubakir Dzhuraev. Appendix 5.5.1
Von: IMU Secretary An: [email protected]; CC: Betreff: IMU EC CL 15/07: some decisions Datum: Sonntag, 1. April 2007 12:25:15 Anlagen:
To the IMU 2007-2010 Executive Committee
Dear colleagues,
I would like to report today on the outcomes of some of our recent e-mail discussions and announce an activity to take place in Germany in 2008.
1. EC meeting 2008 ======Let me first thank Laci for his invitation to host the 2008 EC meeting in Budapest. Everybody has agreed to the dates proposed (with one answer still pending), so that I would like to state that the meeting location (Budapest, Hungary) and time frame are determined as follows:
April 18-19 (Friday-Saturday): miniconference (talks by EC members), probably in one of the buildings of the Academy; April 20-21 (Sunday-Monday): EC meeting.
2. Committee on "Quantitative assesment of research", see EC CL 12/07 ======It was agreed that a joint ICIAM/IMS/IMU committee is formed with the tentative title "Quantitative assesment of research". This committee will have three members, one from each institution. The nominated members are as follows - IMU: John Ewing (Providence, USA), - ISM: Robert Adler (Haifa, Israel) - ICIAM: Peter Taylor (Melbourne, Australia) The three committee members are free to invite assistence of other experts.
The (final) name of the committee and the precise charge (terms of reference) will be worked out by the three committee members together with Ian Sloan (ICIAM President), Jim Pitman (IMS President) and Martin Groetschel (IMU Secretary). I have, in the meantime, sent a first draft of the committee charge to all persons involved, and the discussion has started. The terms of reference are subject to approval by the ECs of ICIAM, IMS, and IMU. After the terms have been endorsed by all ECs, the committee shall start its work. The (general) charge of the committee is the production of a document defining the joint position of ICIAM/IMS/IMU on impact factors and other measures meant to assess research. The document is subject to approval of all Executive Committees. If ICIAM, IMS, and IMU find it appropriate, they may invite other mathematical organizations to join and approve the document as well.
3. Membership issues, see EC CL 11/07 ======- The South Korea ballot will be sent out next week. - The North Korea issue will be an item on the Oslo EC agenda. - In case the applications for associate membership (Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan) and the group upgrade from Iran arrive in time we will also discuss them in Oslo.
Some EC members have suggested to handle membership and upgrade applications more formally as up to now by providing, among other things, a list of items that an applicant has to respond to. I propose that this issue be also looked at in Oslo.
4. Mathematical Year 2008 in Germany ======The Federal Minister of Education and Research of Germany, Dr. Annette Schavan, has formally declared the year 2008 as the year of mathematics. There was a meeting with her on Wednesday (at the occasion of the annual DMV conference) where she agreed to sponsor this activity. We had asked the minister to be considered for the year 2009. And we got 2008. A lot of things are still somewhat unclear, but a significant number of German colleagues has immediately started preparations. We expect a budget in the order of 5-7 million Euros and hope that not only some flashy events can be staged (politicians like that) but that we can start various sustainable activities. Guenter Ziegler, who is currently the DMV President, will be in charge of the organization of the mathematical year 2008 in Germany.
Best regards
Martin
Appendix 6.1
Von: IMU Secretary An: [email protected]; CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; carleson@math. kth.se; "Linda Geraci"; [email protected]; "Departamento de Atividades Cientificas"; Olli. [email protected]; Betreff: IMU EC CL 08/07: IMU"s legal status Datum: Samstag, 10. Februar 2007 18:10:02 Anlagen:
To the IMU 2007-2010 Executive Committee
Dear colleagues,
This circular letter has been triggered by my encounters with the German tax authorities and our bank (when I began to open up bank accounts for IMU) and by the following question:
> The Science Council of Japan is reviewing > the international organizations which > SCJ adheres. > > They ask us in which place IMU registered. > Do you if such a place exists? raised by former IMU Vice President Masaki Kashiwara. I sent a somewhat vague answer to Masaki, see below, hoping that this is enough, but I think that we have to take action in the near future.
It seems to me that IMU has never been registered, at least I could not find any hint towards that. I asked all former IMU Presidents and Secretaries alive and had, in particular, a long phone conversation with Olli Lehto. Olli pointed out that, during his term as secretary, registration was not necessary in Finland. He just had to tell the Finnish tax offices that IMU was a non-profit organization and he did not have to pay any taxes (or the like). No formal procedure was necessary in those days.
I inquired with ICSU about their legal status and the possibility to legally "adhere" in some way to ICSU - as Jacob Palis suggested to procede. The ICSU officer who is knowledgeable about that ( Tish Bahmani-Fard, whom I know personally) told me that ICSU had been registered in Brussels for some time and when ICSU moved to France it was again registered in Paris so that ICSU is a legal organization registered in France.
I asked Tish whether we can make "IMU legal" via ICSU by claiming that IMU is a suborganization (in some way) of ICSU and thus registered through ICSU. But this does not seem to be a feasible option since other unions have already tried to do that. The ICSU auditors in Paris have made clear that any suborganization or subsidiary organization that claims to be part of ICSU or "legally joined" has to run all its financial business via ICSU and that ICSU must take legal control over the finances of the subsidiary. I do not think that we want to do that.
Tish Bahmani-Fard also told me that several other international unions have run into the registration problem like we are doing right now since quite a number of funding agencies require that a funded organization reveals its legal status so that agencies know what kind of organization they deal with. In all these cases such demands have led to an official registration of the union in some country.
I have therefore inquired further and found out that all the national societies I have contact to and where I could phone people assured that they are legally registered as (usually non-profit) organizations in their own country. International organizations like the European Mathematical Society also have a legal status. The EMS is, for instance, registered in Helsinki, while ICIAM (the International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) is registered in the United States (SIAM has done it for ICIAM). I have the feeling that (at least in medium time horizon) we will have to register somewhere so that we have a legal status as required by funding and other organizations.
Please also recall Resolution 11 of the Santiago GA: "The General Assembly recommends that the incoming Executive Committee of the IMU studies the establishment of stable administrative structure and funding mechanisms, including possible fund-raising, for the support of the expanding IMU activities, and report to the 2010 General Assembly with concrete proposals." In case IMU can find a "stable office", IMU will have to register in the host country which has various consequences. For instance, the EMS is registered in Finland, and this implies that the EMS has to provide a Finish tax report each year which in turn implies that the EMS treasurer must be a person from Finland since. (Finland seems to have changed as well.)
I suggest that this is a topic to be discussed at the next IMU EC meeting in Oslo and I do hope that all EC members make their own knowledge on such matters (what is the situation of their national societies, ...) available so that we can have a discussion with based on some legal background.
Best regards
Martin
+------+ | Martin Groetschel | | Secretary of the | | International Mathematical Union (IMU) | | URL: http://www.mathunion.org | | e-mail: [email protected] | +------+ |Postal Address: |Telecommunication: | |Zuse Institute Berlin|Tel: +49 30 84185 210| |Takustr. 7 |Tel: +49 30 314 23266| |D-14195 Berlin |FAX: +49 30 84185 269| |Germany |Sec: +49 30 84185 208| +------+ | personal URL: www.zib.de/groetschel | +------+
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: IMU Secretary Gesendet: Samstag, 10. Februar 2007 17:31 An: Masaki KASHIWARA Cc: [email protected]; John Ball; Jacob Palis; [email protected] Betreff: AW: Question
Dear Masaki,
The new EC will meet for its first time in May in Oslo, some members are already active, and I am looking forward to working with them.
Your question is not so easy to answer. Here is (roughly) what Jacob Palis, the person with the deepest IMU involvement (8 years secretary, 8 years EC member, 4 years president, 4 years past president) says concerning IMU registration:
"IMU has always considers itself as part of ICSU, to which IMU officially adheres. ICSU is located and registered in Paris, France. There is a second aspect, the IMU Secretariat moves with the Secretary every eight years, and each time, the new secretary has to arrange the IMU operations with the national authorities."
The current case is as follows: I have, as of January 1, 2007, assumed the financial control of IMU. For that purpose, I had to open various bank accounts in Germany. This has become complicated for everybody, in particular, if you are not a natural person. There two reasons: tax authorities suspect that every organization makes some business and wants to tax financial transactions, the "war against terror" has created additional bureaucrcacy. At present, I have arranged everything with the bank and the tax authorities and operate the IMU finacial business according to German law and under the supervision of an auditor and the German internal revenew service.
Is that answer sufficient for your purposes?
Best regards
Martin
+------+ | Martin Groetschel | | Secretary of the | | International Mathematical Union (IMU) | | URL: http://www.mathunion.org | | e-mail: [email protected] | +------+ |Postal Address: |Telecommunication: | |Zuse Institute Berlin|Tel: +49 30 84185 210| |Takustr. 7 |Tel: +49 30 314 23266| |D-14195 Berlin |FAX: +49 30 84185 269| |Germany |Sec: +49 30 84185 208| +------+ | personal URL: www.zib.de/groetschel | +------+
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- > Von: Masaki KASHIWARA [mailto:[email protected]] > Gesendet: Freitag, 2. Februar 2007 08:03 > An: Martin Groetschel > Betreff: Question > > Dear Martin, > How is the new executive committee? > I hope it is going well. > > The Science Council of Japan is reviewing > the international organizations which > SCJ adheres. > > They ask us in which place IMU registered. > Do you if such a place exists? > > Best > Masaki > > ------> Masaki Kashiwara > > Research Institute > for Mathematical Sciences, Tel: +81-075-753-7264 (office) > Kyoto University, +81-075-753-7217 > (secretary) > Kyoto, 606--8502, Japan Fax: +81-075-753-7276 (secretary)