With a joint talk, Aleksandra Ravas from MS “Archimedes” and Guido Ramellini from the MMACA presented the SMEM project to an international audience during the MATRIX x IMAGINARY conference. It took place at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris, France, between the 31st of August and the 2nd of September 2022.
The program included four inspirational keynotes by some of the leading math promoters. In addition to fifteen talks, two panel discussions, a collaborative creative session, and a Math bazaar with engaging math activities were available to the conference attendees.
The 94 participants from 20 countries, including France, the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Switzerland, Mexico, Korea, and so on, were exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, and expanding their circle of friends. They are all on the mission of improving public perception of mathematics and enhancing engagement with mathematics around the globe.
After the presentation, the speakers received questions from the audience indicating a genuine interest in the project. They wanted to know more about: the main idea of the project and the details of its distribution, illustrations of animals used, the way of reproducing the materials, and if the teachers will know how to use the materials without losing the connection with the underlying mathematical concepts. Posed questions demonstrate the value of the SMEM project and provide us with food for thought into our next steps.