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Colleagues:<br>
First of all I wish you all a wonderful 2010 year and indeed a great new
decade. The ideas and energy around mathematics education over the
past couple of years, world-wide but particularly here in Canada and
particularly with so much enthusiasm from young scholars and teachers,
has given me considerable optimism for our work over the next few
years.<br>
<br>
This is a longish email and parts of it are technical and will not be of
wide interest, but the beginning is of interest to us all--the reminder
that the new ICMI Executive took office on Jan 1 of this year.
Notable for us in Canada is that this signals the end of Bernard
Hodgson’s prodigious 11-year service as General Secretary of ICMI.
Bernard’s wisdom and common sense and enormous understanding of ICMI
guided the organization through a period of considerable growth and
change and reflected well on Canada as a significant player in
international mathematics education. Bernard is far from “retiring”
in any other sense; remarkably enough already last year he agreed to
serve a term on the CMS Education Committee and his knowledge of “the
workings of the world” will be available to us all as we move
forward.<br>
Peter<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>New ICMI Executive<br>
</b>The purpose of this email is to remind you that as of January 1st, a
new Executive Committee of ICMI will take charge, for the period
2010-2012. The elected members of this EC, following the election
which took place during the 2008 ICMI General Assembly held in Monterrey,
are:<br><br>
<b><i>PRESIDENT:<br>
</b>William (Bill) Barton (New Zealand)<br><br>
<b>SECRETARY-GENERAL:<br>
</b>Jaime Carvalho e Silva (Portugal)<br><br>
<b>VICE-PRESIDENTS:<br>
</b>Mina Teicher (Israel)<br>
Angel Ruiz (Costa Rica)<br><br>
<b>MEMBERS AT LARGE:<br>
</b>Mariolina Bartolini Bussi (Italy)<br>
Sung Je Cho (Korea)<br>
Roger Howe (USA)<br>
Renuka Vithal (South Africa)<br>
Zhang Yingbo (China)<br><br>
</i>According to the ICMI Terms of Reference, the past President of ICMI
as well as the President and the Secretary of IMU are also members of
this EC.<br><br>
For any matter pertaining to ICMI, I thus invite you from now on to
contact the new President or Secretary-General of ICMI, who can be
reached at the following email addresses:<br><br>
b.barton@auckland.ac.nz (Bill BARTON)<br>
jaimecs@mat.uc.pt (Jaime CARVALHO E SILVA)<br><br>
As this is the last email that I am sending you in my capacity as ICMI
Secretary-General, I wish to stress that it was for me a pleasure and an
honor serving as the ICMI SG over the last 11 years and being regularly
in contact with you. Thanks for all your collaboration and
dedication in order to support ICMI mission, in particular by
disseminating information about the work of ICMI in your country, and by
keeping ICMI informed of developments in your country or region.<br><br>
<br>
<b>New Terms of Reference of ICMI.<br>
</b>The Executive Committees of ICMI and of its mother organisation, the
International Mathematical Union, have felt the need to revise the Terms
of Reference of ICMI. While some of you may not be enthusiastic
readers of this kind of "literature", I am sure that you will
all agree on the importance of revisiting from times to times this
document, whose aim is to define the legal framework for the existence of
ICMI and guide the way in which the Commission is acting (under the
umbrella of IMU), in order to ensure that the Terms reflect adequately
the evolution in the governance of ICMI and that all those having
interest in ICMI and its activities clearly understand the distribution
of duties and rights among the many actors involved in the life of
ICMI.<br><br>
It is my pleasure to inform you that, following a series of discussions
between the Executive Committees of ICMI and IMU, revised Terms of
Reference for ICMI were formally adopted, December 31, 2009, by the EC of
IMU, while the ICMI EC had adopted also the Guidelines pertaining to
these Terms.<br><br>
The new Terms of Reference of ICMI and the Guidelines are appended at the
end of this message.<br><br>
These Terms are the result of a thorough revision of the previous
version. There are changes of various levels. For instance,
the ICMI Terms have been split into two parts. From now on, the first
part is (as usual) under the jurisdiction of the IMU EC, while the second
part (Guidelines for the ICMI<br>
Terms of Reference) is under the jurisdiction of the ICMI EC. <br><br>
But other changes are much more substantial. I do not wish here to
point to or to comment on all these changes, but let me stress a few
important ones:<br><br>
-- The last paragraph of Clause 2 is congruent with the importance
of the ICMI General Assembly, now responsible for the election of the
ICMI EC.<br><br>
-- Clause 3, about the ICMI General Assembly, specifies in
particular that the only members of the ICMI GA having voting rights are
the representatives of Full member countries of IMU.<br><br>
-- Clause 4c stresses that co-option on the ICMI EC should be
exceptional.<br><br>
-- Clause 9 introduces an important new notion, that of
"Affiliate Organization", of which the current notion of
"Affiliated Study Group" is becoming one "cas de
figure". Affiliation is now possible not only for groups
devoted to a specific field of interest in mathematics education, like
the current five ICMI Affiliated Study Groups, but also to multi-national
organizations with interest in mathematics education. We trust that
this new element will be helpful in facilitating and supporting ICMI
efforts about international collaboration and exchanges in mathematics
education.<br><br>
It is the hope of the IMU and ICMI ECs that these new Terms of Reference
for ICMI will be a useful tool for ICMI and the community it
serves.<br><br>
<b>Terms of Reference of the International Commission on Mathematical
Instruction (ICMI),<br>
a commission of the International Mathematical Union (IMU)<br>
<i>(Adopted by the IMU Executive Committee by an electronic vote on
December 31, 2009)<br><br>
</i></b>1. ICMI shall be charged with the conduct of the activities
of IMU bearing on mathematical or scientific education, and shall take
the initiative in inaugurating appropriate programmes designed to further
the sound development of mathematical education at all levels, and to
secure public appreciation of its importance. In the pursuit of this
objective, ICMI shall cooperate, to the extent it considers desirable,
with groups, international, regional, topical or otherwise, formed within
or outside its own structure.<br><br>
2. The Members of ICMI consist of<br>
a. those countries which are Members of IMU, and<br>
b. other countries which are co-opted, as specified in (8)
below.<br>
The term "country" is to be understood as described in the
Statutes of IMU.<br>
Non-attendance by a country at two consecutive meetings of the ICMI
General Assembly, as described under (3) below, shall lead to an
investigation by the ICMI Executive Committee into the appropriateness of
continued membership, such action to be undertaken in conjunction with
IMU.<br><br>
3. The General Assembly of ICMI consists of<br>
a. the members of the Executive Committee, as specified in (4)
below, and<br>
b. the representative of each member country of ICMI, as described
in (6) below, or a substitute duly certified to the Secretary-General of
ICMI.<br>
The General Assembly of ICMI shall normally meet once in every four
years, on the occasion of the International Congress on Mathematical
Education (ICME). Only the representatives of countries that are
Full Members of IMU have voting rights. No person shall represent
more than one country at the General Assembly. <br>
ICMI Affiliate Organizations, as described in (9) below, have the right
to participate in the ICMI General Assembly, but shall have no voting
rights.<br><br>
4. The Executive Committee (EC) of ICMI consists of the following
members. <br>
a. <i>Elected by the ICMI General Assembly:</i> Nine members,
including the four officers, namely, the President, the two
Vice-Presidents, and the Secretary-General. The President shall
serve for one, non-renewable, term.<br>
b. <i>Ex-officio members:</i> The immediate Past President of ICMI,
the President and the Secretary of IMU. The IMU President and Secretary
may delegate to the ICMI EC meetings up to two other IMU EC members, the
ICMI liaison persons.<br>
c. <i>Co-opted member:</i> In order to compensate for missing
coverage or representation, the ICMI Executive Committee may
exceptionally co-opt one additional member, in consultation with the IMU
Executive Committee.<br>
Decisions of the ICMI Executive Committee are generally taken by
consensus. In instances where a vote is required, all members of
the Committee, including ex-officio members and the co-opted member, if
any, shall have the right to vote.<br>
The election of the ICMI Executive Committee, including the formation of
the ICMI Nominating Committee, is carried out according to the most
recent version of the procedures for election, as adopted by the IMU
General Assembly.<br><br>
5. In all other respects, ICMI shall make its own decisions as to
its internal organization and rules of procedure.<br><br>
6. Each member country of ICMI shall appoint a representative to
ICMI. This appointment is the responsibility of the IMU Adhering
Organization, for those countries which are Full or Associate Members of
IMU, and of the ICMI Adhering Organization, for the other countries
co-opted under item (8) below. A representative should normally not
serve for more than two consecutive four-year terms.<br><br>
7. Any Adhering Organization wishing to support or encourage the
work of ICMI may create or recognize, in agreement with its Committee for
Mathematics in the case of a Full or Associate Member of IMU, a
Sub-Commission for ICMI to maintain liaison with ICMI in all matters
pertinent to its affairs. The representative to ICMI should be a member
of the said Sub-Commission, if created.<br><br>
8. ICMI may, with the approval of the Executive Committee of IMU,
co-opt as Members of ICMI countries that are not Members of IMU, on an
individual basis. Each such co-opted Member shall identify an Adhering
Organization to ICMI. As soon as a country has been elected Associate
Member of IMU, it automatically becomes a co-opted Member of
ICMI.<br><br>
9. ICMI may approve, through its Executive Committee, the
affiliation to ICMI of multi-national organizations that operate in ways
consistent with its aims and values. ICMI and the Affiliate
Organizations are independent, financially and otherwise. Affiliate
Organizations shall produce quadrennial reports to be presented at the
General Assembly of ICMI, and a brief annual report on their activities
for the ICMI Bulletin. Affiliation may be terminated by decision of
the ICMI Executive Committee, or by request of the Affiliate
Organization.<br><br>
10. The budgetary requests of ICMI shall be submitted to the
General Assembly of IMU at such times as may be determined by agreement
between the Executive Committees of IMU and ICMI.<br><br>
11. ICMI shall file an annual financial report with the Executive
Committee of IMU, and shall file a quadrennial report at each regular
meeting of the General Assembly of IMU.<br><br>
12. ICMI shall file an annual report of its activities with the
Executive Committee of IMU, and shall file a quadrennial report at each
regular meeting of the General Assembly of IMU.<br><br>
13. At each regular meeting of the General Assembly of ICMI, the
ICMI Executive Committee shall file a quadrennial report of ICMI's
financial situation and of its activities.<br><br>
<b>Guidelines for the ICMI Terms of Reference<br>
<i>(Adopted by the ICMI Executive Committee by an electronic vote on
December 31, 2009)<br>
</i></b>Ad 4: According to the clause of the ICMI procedures for
election concerning changes in these procedures, the structure and
formation of the ICMI Nominating Committee form part of the Terms of
Reference of ICMI and are thus under the jurisdiction of the IMU General
Assembly, while the election procedures themselves are part of the
operating rules of ICMI, and, as such, are under the jurisdiction of the
ICMI General Assembly.<br><br>
Ad 6: The limit of two consecutive terms for representatives to
ICMI follows from the resolution adopted at the IMU General Assembly held
in 1990 in Kobe, Japan.<br><br>
Ad 9: Affiliation of organizations to ICMI is approved for the
purpose of facilitating jointly sponsored activities and jointly pursuing
the objectives of ICMI. These organizations may be: study groups
focussing on a specific field of interest and study in mathematics
education; multi-national mathematical education societies; or
multi-national societies, mathematical or otherwise, which have a formal
mathematical education subgroup. Affiliate Organizations have the
right to submit proposals for joint activities to the General Assembly or
to the Executive Committee of ICMI.<br>
ICMI shall look for ways to keep close relations with the Affiliate
Organizations and ways to support and enhance mathematical education
activities in their regions and fields of interest. ICMI shall
cooperate, to the extent possible, with the work of the Affiliate
Organizations, for example by regularly publishing, when requested,
information on their activities in the ICMI communications channels such
as the ICMI Bulletin, ICMI News and on their web page within the ICMI
website. Affiliate Organizations shall be consulted by ICMI on all
relevant ICMI activities.<br>
In addition to producing annual and quadrennial reports, Affiliate
Organizations shall inform ICMI of specific activities where
appropriate.<br><br>
<br>
<b>A new ICMI Affiliate Organization<br>
</b>It is my pleasure to inform you that as of today, the Comit
nter-Americano de Educaci atem ca (Inter-American Committee on
Mathematical Education) is becoming a new organisation affiliated to
ICMI. This affiliation was approved by the Executive Committees of
both ICMI and CIAEM.<br><br>
CIAEM thus joins the five other organisations that were already
affiliated to ICMI (under the umbrella of "Study Groups"):<br>
HPM <i>The International Study Group on the Relations between the History
and Pedagogy of Mathematics</i> (1976)<br>
PME <i>The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics
Education</i> (1976)<br>
IOWME <i>The International Organization of Women and Mathematics
Education</i> (1987)<br>
WFNMC <i>The World Federation of National Mathematics
Competitions</i> (1994)<br>
ICTMA <i>The International Community of Teachers of Mathematical
Modelling and Applications</i> (2003)<br><br>
It is probably most appropriate that CIAEM becomes the first
multi-national mathematical education society affiliated to ICMI under
the new scheme introduced through the revision of the ICMI Terms of
Reference adopted today by the IMU Executive Committee. CIAEM was indeed
founded in 1961 by Marshall Stone, who at that time was the President of
ICMI, thus becoming the first "regional entity" of ICMI .
Hence ICMI was in no way indifferent to the birth of CIAEM, to say the
least. It may be of interest to note that a "Memorandum on
affiliation of CIAEM to ICMI" was formally adopted by the ICMI EC
when it met during the 1974 International Congress of Mathematicians in
Vancouver (as reported in the ICMI Bulletin no. 5, 1975, p. 5).
However this memorandum does not seem to have been reflected in the ICMI
Terms, and it is not easy to see its actual impact in the life of ICMI
and CIAEM. While the intensity of the contacts between ICMI and
CIAEM may have varied over the years, depending possibly on the
personality of those in charge of these bodies, it is clearly the common
vision of both the current ICMI and CIAEM ECs that, following some
efforts for a closer and more regular collaboration in recent years
between the two organisations, these links are now in excellent health.
To use the words of CIAEM President, Angel Ruiz, right now is a special
moment to tighten still further the connections between ICMI and CIAEM
and work together, so to foster the development of mathematics and
mathematics education in the Americas, and especially Latin
America. It is the hope of the ICMI and CIAEM ECs that the status
of ICMI Affiliated Organization, with the moral obligations for regular
contact that it brings, will be useful in helping these links to remain
vivid and productive over the years. <br><br>
It should be noted that the 50th anniversary of CIAEM will be celebrated
in 2011 on the occasion of the XIII Conferencia Interamericana de Educaci
atem ca (XIII Inter-American Conference on Mathematics Education) held in
Recife, Brasil (see<u> http://xiii.ciaem-iacme.org</u>).<br><br>
More information about CIAEM can be accessed on the website
<a href="http://www.ciaem-iacme.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.ciaem-iacme.org/</a>.<br><br>
The ICMI EC is currently having discussions with two other multi-national
organizations as regards a possible affiliation to ICMI and I trust that
positive developments should be announced in a near future by the next
ICMI EC.<br><br>
Best wishes,<br>
Bernard R. Hodgson<br>
Secretary-General of ICMI<br><br>
<br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Peter Taylor<br>
Professor<br>
Dept Math&Stats<br>
Queen's University<br>
Kingston ON K7L 3N6<br>
613 533-2434<br>
<a href="http://www.mast.queensu.ca/~peter/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.mast.queensu.ca/~peter/</a></body>
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