RP to host international math olympiad in November

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will play host to an international math olympiad for elementary and high school students with the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild-Philippines planning to hold it in Iloilo City this coming November 28 to December 3.

Dr. Simon Chua, president and co-founder of the MTG-Philippines which  spearheads various efforts of Filipino math educators to train Filipino students who excel in math for international tournaments, said that financial constraints has forced them to the option of holding it in Iloilo instead of Makati City which would have been more convenient for the participants that would come from different countries all over the globe.

Chua said that local government officials led by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas has also expressed eagerness in providing logistical and financial assistance in staging the world math tournament.

Chua, the lone Filipino recipient of the prestigious Paul Erdos Award for Mathematics Excellence, said that the Philippines’ Elementary Mathematics International Contest (PEMIC) and the Asia Inter-Cities Teenagers Mathematics Invitational Competition (AITMO) was expected to draw math whiz kids from China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Bulgaria, Thailand, South Africa, Korea, and many other countries.

“It would be a major international math event and we will need all the help that we can get. We want to give the participants a good stay here in the Philippines, and it would be a good opportunity for us to repay the other countries who have hosted us in previous international tournaments,” Chua said.

It was learned that other countries treat the hosting of such international math tournaments seriously, with their respective governments providing full financial and logistical support to the spearheading math organization. — Rainier Allan Ronda