01/08/2018

Music, dance and awards at the opening of ICM 2018

With performances of Brazilian music and dances and the awarding of the prestigious Fields Medal, the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2018) opened this Wednesday morning, August 1st, and will run until August 9th at Riocentro. With approximately 3,000 participants, it is the first such event held in the Southern Hemisphere.

“At the closing of ICM 2014, I promised to put the best of Brazilian talent and creativity at the service of this meeting,” stated the president of ICM 2018 and director-general of the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Marcelo Viana. “We have been working to popularize mathematics; we are building a legacy for the future. We have very special guests in the audience, young medalists from the Brazilian Mathematical Olympiads. Today they will be with the Fields Medal winners, and many will receive their own medals tomorrow. I think they will not forget this experience,” said Viana.

The ceremony began with a presentation by indigenous people from the Kuikuro and Karajá ethnic groups, accompanied by the singer Mariene de Castro. After the performances, the four winners of the Fields Medal, the most important prize in mathematics worldwide, were announced.

The winners, Iranian-born British citizen Caucher Birkar, Italian Alessio Fegalli, German Peter Scholze, and Indian Akshay Venkatesh, received a standing ovation after a short film about each of the researchers was shown.

In a speech, the Minister of Education, Rossieli Soares da Silva, announced that the Brazilian government will award the Order of Educational Merit to Artur Avila, the only Brazilian to receive the Fields Medal, in 2014.

“You could one day be here, like Artur Avila,” said the minister, addressing the young mathematicians. The minister promised government support to IMPA to expand the Mathematics Olympiads, including to the early years of elementary school, and investments in teacher training.

Moving to Switzerland, where he will work at the University of Zurich without leaving his job at IMPA, Avila commented on the consequences of winning the most important prize in Mathematics. “You gain recognition, which is very pleasant. The medal gives greater visibility to the general public; it's almost like being an ambassador for Mathematics. But the research activity and the day-to-day difficulties don't change,” he stated.

Among the hundreds of adults in the audience, one stood out: 6-year-old Iranian girl Armita Akbari, who came to Rio to accompany her parents, mathematicians Sanaz Zare, a professor at Amirkabir University of Technology, and Saieed Akbari, from Sharif University. This was the family's first visit to Brazil.

“We think it’s important to be present at a congress of this size. We always travel with our daughter, we don’t want to be away from her,” said Sanaz. On Sunday (5), when there will be no programming at the congress, they plan a tour of some tourist spots in Rio.

This is also the suggestion of the president of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), Shigefumi Mori. “Take the opportunity to explore the history and culture of Brazil. Let's meet old friends and make new ones. It's a unique opportunity for that,” he stated. The opening ceremony concluded with performances by Maracatu do Mestre Salustiano, from Pernambuco, and the Rio de Janeiro-based Passinho dance group.