EMS Handbook: Standing Committees

2.3.10 Raising Public Awareness

The main purpose of the Committee for Raising Public Awareness of Mathematics (RPA) is to encourage and inspire actions directed towards raising public awareness of the importance of mathematics for contemporary society in a cultural and historical perspective and to assist in the progress of concerted actions with other European or international organizations and societies in matters of raising public awareness of science and technology and other aspects of society with a strong component of mathematics.

The RPA committee maintains and updates the web site Mathematics in Europe. The web site reports and promotes some outreach initiatives and contains articles, videos and podcasts for a general audience published by mathematicians and communicators in Mathematics. The site is also aimed to create a network among the main web sites popularizing mathematics in Europe.

The web site is supported also by the ongoing project of a Calendar-map of “mathematics outreach events”, POPMATH. This calendar-map contains talks, exhibitions, workshops, conferences, festivals. Its aim is to be the main reference in this field (thus having a “unique attractor” to our web site). The committee will also join various outreach initiatives, as the celebrations for the International Day of Mathematics, the European Science Open Forum, and the ECM, with events addressed respectively to professional mathematicians and to a general audience.