On the 1st January 1995, a new Executive Committee of ICMI, elected at the IMU General Assembly in Switzerland (in August 1994), took office. This resulted in the following changes: Professor Anna Sierpinska (Poland/Canada) was appointed new Vice-President in succession to Professor Lee Peng Yee (Singapore); Professors Colette Laborde (France), Gilah Leder (Australia), Carlos Vasco (Colombia), and Zhang Dianzhou (China), were elected new members in succession to Professors Yuri Ershov (Russia), Eduardo Luna (the Dominican Republic/USA), and Anna Sierpinska (Poland/Canada). Finally, Professor David Mumford (USA) replaced Professor J-L. Lions (France) as Ex Officio member (President of the IMU), whereas Professors Jean-Pierre Kahane and Jacobus H. van Lint left the EC as Ex Officio members (Past President and Representative of IMU on ICSU/CTS, respectively). In the ICMI Bulletin, No. 38, June 1995, the President, Miguel de Guzman, thanked the outgoing officers and members of the EC very warmly for their enthusiastic, energetic, and excellent service to ICMI and to the mathematics education community at large.
Since the last General Assembly, held at ICME-7 in Quebec City, Canada, in August 1992, the old Executive Committee met in August 1992 (Quebec City, Canada), October 1993 (Hoeoer, Sweden), and August 1994 (Zuerich, Switzerland). The new EC met for the first time in February 1994 (Madrid, Spain), and at an informal sub-EC meeting in September 1996 (Catania, Italy). Beside in meetings, the work in the EC is conducted by correspondence and electronic communication under the direction of the President and the Secretary.
Since 1992, the following states have become new members of ICMI as a result of their acquisition of membership of International Mathematical Union (IMU) - which happened in consequence of the changes in Eastern Europe: Croatia, The Czech Republic, Georgia, Russia, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia. As, at the same time, USSR and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist, these states have disappeared as member states of ICMI.
In 1995, applications from a number of countries to be co-opted as non-IMU member states of ICMI were received by the EC. Decisions concerning these applications will be made by the EC in 1996.
In a number of member states, it was decided to establish National Sub-Commissions of ICMI. This is the case with Chile (1992), Denmark (1994). More countries are expected to establish National Sub-Commissions in the years to come.
As of 1st April 1994, WFNMC (The World Federation of National Mathematical Competitions) obtained the status of a study group affiliated to ICMI.
Accounts for 1995 appear in a separate section of this Bulletin. The accounts are approved by the IMU EC.
The latest of the quadriennial International Congress on Mathematical Education, ICME-7, was held at Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada 17-23 August 1992. The Programme and Local Organising Committees for the next congress, ICME-8, to be held in Sevilla (Spain), 14-21 July 1996, have invested immense efforts in planning the congress which is expected to be welcoming more than 3500 delegates from all parts of the world. For the first time in the history of the ICMEs, the organisers of ICME-8 have included a 'solidarity tax' of 10% in all registration fees. The amount thus generated serves to assist participants from non-affluent countries to attend the congress.
In October 1995, the EC decided unanimously, and with great pleasure and gratitude, to accept the bid submitted by Japan to host ICME-9 in the year 2000. The Congress will be held in Chiba, near Tokyo. Informal contacts between the Japanese Invitation Committee and ICMI to initiate the organisation and planning of ICME-9 were established at the end of 1996.
The mounting and conducting of so-called ICMI studies on crucial themes and issues in mathematics education was continued during the years 1992-1996. The ICMI studies are now published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, under the general editorship of the President and the Secretary of ICMI.
The study conference for the study on Gender and Mathematics Education was held at Stiftsgaarden in Hoeoer (Sweden), 7-12 October 1993. It was attended by 75 participants from 23 different countries. The proceedings of this conference, edited by Barbro Grevholm and Gila Hanna, were published in 1995 by Lund University Press. The final outcome of the ICMI Study, the book Towards Gender Equity in Mathematics Education - An ICMI Study, edited by Gila Hanna, appeared in the ICMI Study Series, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, in 1996.
The study conference for the study on What is Research in Mathematics Education, and What Are Its Results? was held at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, USA, 8-11 May 1994. It was attended by 81 participants from 23 different countries. The resulting ICMI study volume, edited by Jeremy Kilpatrick and Anna Sierpinska, to be published in the ICMI study series, is expected to appear in the course of 1996.
The study conference for the ICMI Study Perspectives on the teaching of geometry for the 21st century was held at Universita di Catania, Sicily (Italy) 28 September - 2 October 1995. About 75 participants from more than 30 countries attended the conference. ICMI is grateful to the UNESCO/ROSTE office in Venezia (Italy) which sponsored the conference with a grant of US$ 3.000. The resulting ICMI Study volume, which is being edited by Vinicio Villani, is expected to appear in 1997.
Reports on the three above-mentioned studies will be given in special ICMI study sessions at ICME-8, in Sevilla, July 1996.
TheEC has decided to devote the next study in the series to The position and role of the history of mathematics in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The study conference will be held in France in 1997. An International Programme Committee for the study will be appointed by the EC in the first half of 1996.
In 1995, the EC decided to adopt the following (minimum) requirements for granting the status of ICMI Regional Meeting to a conference under planning:
Since 1992, the following regional meetings were sponsored (financially, morally or both) by ICMI: SEACME-6 (The 6th South East Asian Conference on Mathematical Education) was held in Surabaya (Indonesia) in June 1993. The ICMI-China Regional Conference was held in Shanghai (China), in August 1994. The proceedings of this conference was published by Shanghai Educational Publishing House in 1995. In April 1995, Regional Collaboration in Mathematics Education; An ICMI Regional Conference was held in Melbourne (Australia). The Ninth Inter-American Conference on Mathematics Education, IX IACME was held in Santiago (Chile), July-August 1995. In June 1996, SEACME-7 (The 7th South East Asian Conference on Mathematical Education) was held in Hanoi (Vietnam).
ICMI now has four affiliated study groups, HPM (The International Study Group for the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics), IOWME (The International Organisation of Women and Mathematics Education), and PME (The International Group for the Psychology of Learning Mathematics), and WFNMC (The World Federation of National Mathematical Competitions).
Further to a proposal made by Nicolas Balacheff (Grenoble, France) at the ICMI Study Conference in College Park, Maryland (USA), May 1994, the EC has decided to appoint an international Ad Hoc Committee on the Identity of the Professional Community of Mathematics Education Researchers chaired by Nicolas Balacheff.
In 1992 ICMI established a Solidarity Programme to help the development of mathematics education in countries in which there is a need for it that justifies international assistance. The first stage in this programme was the mounting of a Solidarity Fund based on private contributions by individuals, associations, etc. The Fund is to be activated to support concrete initiatives and activities that may foster solidarity in mathematics education between well-defined quarters in developed and less developed countries. Since 1992 the Solidarity Fund has received generous donations from various organisations and individuals in mathematics education for which it is most grateful. Ultimo 1995, the Solidarity Fund contained almost USD 33.000.
The main idea with respect to the Solidarity Fund is to support projects which might help the improvement - in a broad sense - of mathematics education in a region, country, or province. Particular emphasis is placed on projects which enable the activation of a selfsustainable infra-structure (such as preparation of teachers or researchers in mathematics education, curriculum development, production of teaching/learning materials, creation of networks, initiation of research activities) within mathematics education in the area at issue. Only in very special cases will the Fund be used to support individuals in leaving their country for conferences, courses, etc.
In 1993 the first project under the auspices of the Solidarity Programme was carried out. With partial support from the Solidarity Fund, Professors Miguel de Guzman and Mariano Martinez gave courses in Managua (Nicaragua) in two weeks in January-February 1993. In 1994 the Fund was activated to support (a) a project (begun in February 1994) in El Salvador to help establishing master's programmes in statistics and mathematics education; (b) the attendance of an IPC member and plenary speaker at the ICMI-China Regional Conference, held in Shanghai in August.
Since August 1992 ICMI Bulletin Nos. 33-40 were published under the editorship of the Secretary of ICMI. In 1995, an ISSN-number (1024-3127: Bulletin - ICMI) was attached to the Bulletin. As from the end of 1995, the ICMI Bulletin is available in the following electronic forms: In ASCII-format on direct request to the editor. On the World Wide Web, where it can be found under the following coordinates on the IMU-server, through URL:
http://elib.zib.de/IMU/ICMI/bulletin/[no.] Since the end of 1995, information concerning ICMI can be found on the ICMI-pages of the IMU-server on the World Wide Web. The pages are located through URL:
http://elib.zib.de/IMU/ICMI
Mogens Niss, Secretary, 14 May 1996
Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark