Dear Colleague:

Although preparations for ICM-2002 have just begun, time has come to think of the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2006.

Following the recommendation of the 1990 General Assembly in Kobe, Japan, the Executive Committee has approved the following guidelines for the operation of the Site Committee for ICM-2006.

1. Site Committee

The Site Committee will consist of the members of the IMU Executive Committee and the President of the Organizing Committee of the ICM-2002, see the IMU-server (URL: http://www.mathunion.org/) for names and details.

2. Invitation of Bids, Deadlines

All Adhering Organizations (your National Adhering Organization is also listed in the IMU-server) are now formally invited to place bids to hold ICM-2006. To be considered by the Site Committee, these bids must be received by the Secretary of IMU by November 30, 2000; the address can be found below. The Site Committee will then make its recommendation by May 31, 2001. The recommendation of the Site Committee will immediately afterwards be communicated to all Adhering Organizations.

3. Final Decision

The final decision will be taken by the General Assembly to be held at the middle of August, 2002, just prior to the ICM-2002 in Beijing. The General Assembly is free to consider bids placed after November 30, 2000 but the E.C. considers most advisable that the Adhering Organizations comply with the above procedure.

4. Selection Criteria

While it is impossible to spell out precisely all factors that will influence the final recommendation of the Site Committee, it will take into account the mathematical ambiance, the infrastructure and the economic conditions offered by each bidder, as well as the accessibility of the proposed site and the broad geographical distribution of congresses. All countries interested in making a bid are strongly encouraged to do so.

Notes on what information the Site Committee would like to have for each bid are:

Among other relevant information that each potential host country may want to supply, the Site Committee wishes to know about the following items:

I. FINANCES

Clearly, costs may vary considerably from country to country. However, according to the reports of the latest ICMS, a potential host country may consider a budget of about 1.5 million US dollars, of which about 0.5 or 0.6 million US dollars might be raised through registration fees (such fees should be at most about 200 US dollars). Again, these numbers may go up or down according to local costs and facilities. In considering the budget, printing costs of the Proceedings and other material (posters, announcements, summary of invited lectures,...) as well as mailing, deserve special attention. The host country should be prepared to lodge freely about 120 young research mathematicians from developing countries, selected by IMU; they get their trips paid by IMU through its Special Development Fund. Also, in special cases, invited speakers are expected to receive some financial support for attending the meeting when other funds to cover their expenses are not available. Registration fees are waived for invited speakers and the above young research mathematicians from developing countries. On the other hand, it is to be noted that there is an IMU subvention to the ICM as well as some provision in its budget to defray costs of the General Assembly Meeting that takes place just before the Congress; for 1998, these sums amount to 106,000 Swiss Frs. and 16,000 Swiss Frs., respectively.

II. INFRASTRUCTURE

It is important that good facilities to hold the Congress are available. All lectures should take place in sizable, well equipped, pleasant and audible rooms. Special attention should be given to the plenary talks.

III. ACCESSIBILITY

The city and site of the Congress should be easily accessible. That is, flight connections from all over the world should be easily available, as well as transportation to the site of the Congress. Lodging facilities constitute an important item.

Finally, it is expected that the local mathematical community gets involved in the preparations of the Congress, so as to create a nice ambiance during the meeting.

Sincerely

Phillip A.
Griffiths Secretary of the International Mathematical Union

Secretariat Institute for Advanced Study Einstein Drive Princeton,
New Jersey 08540 USA
Telephone: 609-734-8200
Fax: 609-951-4423
E-Mail: Imu@ias.edu
IMU web page: http://www.mathunion.org