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Maths Olympiad launched - Newsroom - 25-06-2014 Cape Town will be abuzz next month as the country welcomes students from over 100 countries, who will participate in the 55th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Tuesday launched the Olympiad – the first to be held in Africa. The IMO is a problem solving contest for high school students held in different countries each year in July. This year, 582 students from 109 countries in five continents will participate in the IMO. Each participating country enters a team of up to six high school students, who will sit for 4.5 hours solving three challenging problems per day, for two consecutive days. Each problem has a maximum of seven points and covers areas of maths that are not covered in schools. The participants will be accompanied by a team leader, who is the country’s representative on the jury and a deputy leader, who is responsible for the well-being of the team. Teams may also be accompanied by observers. Their solutions are assessed by the team leaders and their marks are approved in consultation with a team of coordinators, appointed by the host country. The top half of the contestants are awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals. All contestants, who do not win a medal, but have solved at least one problem correctly, earn an honourable mention. Speaking at the IMO launch, Minister Motshekga said it was an honour to host the prestigious contest. She acknowledged her colleagues from the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), whose passion and dedication to the subject of mathematics has grown local talent in the Olympiad by record numbers across South African schools. “We do believe that it is important for learners to enjoy mathematics and this Olympiad gives participants a unique opportunity to broaden their mathematics horizon and compete against the very best in the world. These competitions are usually the privilege of developed countries and awaken mathematical talent in many learners,” said Minister Motshekga. Sparking a love for maths The IMO is perceived by some as the World Cup of Mathematics. South Africa hopes that hosting this event will create enthusiasm around mathematics and inspire the country’s future engineers, accountants, doctors, teachers and inventors. “The department has prioritised mathematics, as we recognize the importance of excellence in this particular subject. It has a major impact on the developmental objectives of the country and the economy. “We are working to improve not only the enrolment of learners in mathematics in South Africa, but also learner outcomes in this crucial subject. Events like this help to create enthusiasm around mathematics,” said Minister Motshekga. Executive Director at SAMF, Professor Johann Engelbrecht, said that hosting this year’s IMO is an opportunity to show the world that the country is able to host world class events and it has top class mathematicians. Director of the IMO2014 and a lecturer at the University of Cape Town – which will host the IMO-- said: “Holding a high profile event such as the IMO in South Africa will bring mathematics into the public eye and highlight the importance of mathematics education in South Africa’s economic and technological development.” The main sponsors for the IMO2014 are the Basic Education Department, Google, SABC Education, South African National Roads Agency Ltd and Sasol. The Pre-Olympiad camp will start on 30 June. Team leaders will arrive on 2 and 3 July to set the papers and teams are expected to start arriving around 6 July. A big opening ceremony will be held on 7 July, and participants will start writing papers on 8 and 9 July. After that, the marking of papers will start. The closing ceremony will be on 12 July and participants will leave on 13 July 2013. – SAnews.gov.za