This
issue, number 8, of the latest news concerning 'World Mathematical Year 2000' is
the last one before the year 2000 itself, and so maybe it is time for a first
assessment of WMY2000. Remember that the Newsletter for WMY 2000 was launched by
J.-L. Lions when he was the IMU President. It first appeared in 1993, with H.
Gispert and M. Theis publishing the first two issues. Then in 1994, during the
International Congress of Mathematicians in Zurich, J.-L. Lions decided to
constitute an international editorial board for the Newsletter and to arrange a
much wider dissemination of information concerning the World Mathematical Year,
in particular concerning meetings organized specially in the year 2000. WMY2000
received formal sponsorship from UNESCO at that body's meeting in Rio de Janeiro
in 1992.
The Agenda gives an idea of the timing of events for WMY2000 in different countries. The details of programmes are not given, but we can say that the three aims of the Rio's Declaration will be fulfilled. There exist many possibilities within the framework of these aims, which were:
The big challenges in Mathematics for the next century;
Mathematics and Development;
Images
of Mathematics.
Reading
the Agenda we can see that the borders between the three aims are not watertight.
For instance the Los Angeles Meeting organised by the American Mathematical
Society will be devoted to the first aim, but it will include talks on the
second aim; and the 9th International Congress on Mathematical Education will be
focused on the second aim, but will deal with the first and third aims also. It
appears that the "images of mathematics" aim of WMY2000 is the most
difficult one to tackle, but various approaches to it have been adopted; for
instance, the European Mathematical Society has launched a very interesting
initiative to organize a poster campaign in subways of different cities about
Mathematics - on the model of a previous world-wide campaign concerning Poetry.
In particular, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Brussels, Montreal, etc. have worked
on the organization of this campaign; we hope that many other cities and towns
will join this project. More precise information of this campaign will be given
in future issues of the Newsletter in 2000.
What
are our future projects? We hope to publish in 2000 four issues of the
Newsletter 'WMY 2000', with the support of the mathematical department of
UNESCO; we thank Professor S. Raither for his help and advice in this. We want
to support all mathematical societies, national or local committees working on
preparations for the World Mathematical Year. We think that all mathematicians
will be aware of the fundamental place of mathematics in the cultural, economic
and social life of each country, and they will promote their own speciality in
some appropriate way. We also hope that the events in the year 2000 itself will
not be the end of an era but the beginning of a new age for mathematics!
We
thank all organizations who are supporting the Newsletter 'WMY 2000'. We hope
that the 7000 copies of this issue will be distributed right throughout the
World, and that the Newsletter 'WMY 2000' will carry on after the year 2000 to
continue to promote mathematics!
Back to summary