Next Thursday, March 14th, is International Day of Mathematics. Therefore, from the Catalan Society of Mathematics we invite the entire Catalan mathematical community to the International Day of Mathematics celebration event, which will be held for the first time jointly with the’Barcelona City Council.
This day aims to foster scientific vocations and highlight the importance of mathematics in education and society. Considering that the Day is also known as Pi Day, because the mathematical constant π can be rounded to 3.14 and coincides with March 14 (the 3rd month), Pi Square will be the symbolic setting for the day.
This is an outreach action aimed at the general public, involving five high schools in Ciutat Vella, which will hold math workshops in various squares of the neighborhood; a symbolic action at Pi Square, and an institutional event at Saló de Cent, attended by representatives of the main institutions and entities related to mathematics in Catalonia. The event will highlight young Catalan female talent, with a prominent international figure such as the mathematician from Barcelona Ariadna Farrés, who will explain her career and the application of mathematics in fields like space and NASA.
According to the president of the Catalan Society of Mathematics, Montserrat Alsina, the celebration “emphasizes the role of mathematics in making a better world for everyone.” She stated that “mathematics is the foundation of technological advances for better health, planetary sustainability, or space” and recalled that many recent studies affirm that “literacy and mathematics are essential for children and young people to pursue future professions.”.
The day's activities
Throughout the morning, an educational session is planned with students from five secondary schools in the Ciutat Vella district, involving 210 first-year ESO students. Throughout the morning, students from Institut Escola Elisabets, Institut Escola Sant Felip Neri, Institut Miquel Tarradell, La Salle-Comtal, and Escola Vedruna-Àngels will participate in groups in three workshops held in different spaces such as Pi Square, the small Pi Square, and Sant Josep Oriol Square.
At noon, at Pi Square itself, there will be a symbolic event, open to all citizens, unveiling a plaque with the number pi. It will feature the participation of the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and interventions by the mathematician Núria Fagella and the mathematician Enrique Gracián.
In the afternoon, there will be an institutional event at the Saló de Cent of Barcelona City Hall, presided over by the mayor. The event will include interventions by Montserrat Alsina and a lecture by the mathematician from Barcelona Ariadna Farrés, one of the nine Catalan scientists participating in the Hypatia I project, the first all-women mission simulating a trip to Mars, who will explain her career and the application of mathematics in fields like space and NASA. The event can be viewed via streaming in this link.
News on the Barcelona City Council Science and Universities website