OBMEP awards 650 students and Lula with gold medals.

Foto: Ricardo Stuckert

OBMEP (Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad) awarded 650 students from all over Brazil with the gold medal of the 18th edition, held in 2023, this Tuesday (11). The event in Rio de Janeiro was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the First Lady, Janja Lula da Silva, Ministers Camilo Santana (Education) and Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation), the Mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, and the Director-General of IMPA, Marcelo Viana.

Lula, who created OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) as president in 2005, was moved to tears upon receiving a special tribute from IMPA (National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics): the Olympiad's honorary medal, along with the First Lady, Janja. " I am the Brazilian with the most honorary doctorate degrees, even without a university degree. And, of all the titles I have received, this honorary medal from the Mathematics Olympiad, which I received together with Janja, means a great deal to me."

In his speech, the president highlighted the growth and success of the Olympiad, which annually brings together more than 18 million participants. “ I want everyone to have the same chances to compete for opportunities to see who's who in the history of this country. The success of OBMEP has been so extraordinary that in the first edition we had 10 million participants, in the second 14 million, and we reached 18 million students: 99.9% of municipalities joined the Mathematics Olympiad. OBMEP is present in more than 56,000 schools. It's an extraordinary success,” said the president.

According to Minister Camilo Santana, the Olympiad " has helped improve the quality of basic education in this country and the integration between schools ." " Nearly 19 million young people participate in OBMEP. It's not a competitive event, but one of integration with science and technology."

Partnering with IMPA in the creation of IMPA Tech, a graduate program inaugurated in April at Porto Maravalley, the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, recounted the story of the municipal Secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha, and his involvement with OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). “The power of testimony is stronger than anything. Ferreirinha reached the secretariat for a very simple reason: the medals he has on his chest. He comes from São Gonçalo, on the outskirts of Rio, studied in public school, and through the mathematics olympiad, created by Lula, he earned a place at Harvard University (USA) and became the Secretary of Education for the largest public school system in Latin America. You can do anything you want.”

The Director-General of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, highlighted the reunion of the OBMEP awards ceremony with Rio de Janeiro and the Presidency of the Republic. “It is the first time since 2015 that the President of the Republic has participated in this very special moment, in which Brazil celebrates its most talented young people. It is a great honor that President Lula grants us, and for which I express the gratitude of IMPA and OBMEP. The event also marks, after a six-year interval, the return of the ceremony to the Marvelous City, thanks to a partnership with the city hall.”

Lula signed the decree establishing the "More Science in School" program. " The program will strengthen scientific culture within schools, disseminate digital literacy, and implement maker labs and scholarships for teachers and students," said Luciana Santos.

Awards

Excited, the gold medalists took to the stage representing their states to receive their coveted medals. The ceremony awarded the 650 top performers in the 18th edition of the Olympiad, representing 55,300 schools from 99.8% of Brazilian municipalities. The awardees can participate in the Junior Scientific Initiation Program (PIC), which offers advanced mathematics classes and a monthly scholarship of R$ 300 from CNPq for students from public schools. The first graduating class of IMPA Tech was present at the event, with nine gold medalists from the 18th edition of OBMEP.

Olympic Girls and Multiple Medalists

Another highlight was the presentation of the “Olympic Girls Trophy” to Luisa Batista Mesquita (DF), Maria Clara Fontes Silva (SE), Sara Miyuka Abe (SP), and Isabela Ruthner Dorn (CE). Since 2017, IMPA has awarded this distinction to the students with the best performance at each level of the OBMEP. Also called to the stage were 14 multi-medalists from the OBMEP – those who have won the gold medal in the competition four, five, or six times.

About OBMEP

Created in 2005 by the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) and held with the support of the Brazilian Mathematical Society (SBM), the competition is promoted with resources from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the Ministry of Education (MEC).

Aimed at students from the 6th grade of elementary school to the 3rd year of high school, OBMEP contributes to stimulating the study of Mathematics and identifying young talents in the discipline. Other objectives of the initiative are to promote social inclusion through the dissemination of knowledge and to contribute to improving the quality of basic education, enabling a greater number of Brazilian students to access quality teaching materials.