The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Ghana will hold a high-profile virtual forum on Monday, March 15, to commemorate the International Day of Mathematics.

The forum will highlight, among others, the role Mathematics plays in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 agenda of the United Nations, a statement issued to the Ghana News Agency said, on Sunday.

Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, is the keynote speaker for the event, which will also be addressed by Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, UNESCO Representative to Ghana and Professor Mohammed Salifu, Director-General of Ghana Tertiary Education Commission.

March 14 every year has been set aside "to celebrate the beauty and importance of Mathematics and its essential role in human development", the statement said.

There will be a panel discussion on this year’s theme: "Mathematics for a Better World".

The panelists comprise students from the following programmes: AIMS Regular Master; Master for Mathematical Sciences for Teacher (MMST), Girls in Mathematical Sciences Program (GMSP), Africa Master for Machine Intelligence (AMMI) and an alumnus.

The project to have UNESCO proclaim March 14th as the International Day of Mathematics (IDM) was led by the International Mathematical Union (IMU).

The celebration expands Pi Day to include the whole spectrum of Mathematics.

"The IDM also seeks to highlight the role of Mathematics in organisations, of modern society including Economics, Finance, Health, Transport systems, Telecommunications etc... Lin quest for human well-being," the statement said.

“Every year a new theme is announced to spice the celebration, spark creativity and bring light to connections between Mathematics and all sorts of fields, concepts and ideas".

The statement said following the successful celebration of the maiden IDM in 2020, AIMS Ghana as a UNESCO Centre of Excellence Category II institute, would be leading Ghana in celebrating the second IDM.

In line with the restrictions regarding mass gathering as a result of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, the event would year’s celebration be held online and streamed on AIMS Ghana Social Media pages (YouTube: AIMS Ghana; Facebook –@aimsgh) from 1400 hours to 1600 hours.

Other activities to celebrate the Day include Poster sessions demonstrating the beauty of Mathematics in making the World a Better place by AIMS Research Centre, Picture quotes from students and alumni.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is the first non-profit pan-African Centres of Excellence for postgraduate training, research, teacher training and public engagement in Mathematics and the Allied Sciences.
Its mission is to enable Africa’s brightest students to flourish as independent thinkers, problem solvers and innovators capable of propelling Africa’s future scientific, industrial, educational and economic self-sufficiency.

Founded in 2003, AIMS currently has six centres across Africa; South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzania and Rwanda.

AIMS Ghana is the third node in the AIMS network. Established in 2012 as part of the AIMS Next Einstein Initiative, AIMS Ghana is a partnership between the Government of Ghana and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences - Next Einstein Initiative.

AIMS Ghana was also upgraded to a UNESCO Centre of Excellence Category II status in 2018.

The partnership focuses on creating an ecosystem of transformation - one that directly enables the transformation of Ghana and Africa by building human capacity and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

"AIMS Ghana is building on a solid foundation of excellence, working with government partners; the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and the private sector," the statement said.
GNA