Mediterranean Youth Mathematical Championship 2017

For two days in July, young mathematicians from Mediterranean countries will gather in Rome to challenge their thinking skills at the 2017 Mediterranean Youth Mathematical Championship (MYMC). Co-organized and co-sponsored by ICTP along with the Italian Ministry of Research and Instituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica (INdAM), the annual event brings teams from 16 different countries to a city in Italy every year for networking, sightseeing, and the main draw: friendly competition in mathematics. 

Modeled after the International Mathematics Olympiad, the competition begins in each country, where nation-wide contests are held to select teams of high school mathematics students. The final teams are composed of four students—two girls and two boys— talented in many areas of high school mathematics, including geometry, number theory, and basic algebra.

"Only high school-level mathematics is required for the competition, and the math curricula do not vary very much across countries," said ICTP mathematician Claudio Arezzo, one of the competition's organizers. "The problems used during the competition need incredible ingenuity to solve, but not special mathematics tools." 

Those problems challenge the teams throughout a long first day of the competition, which typically lasts for 9 to 10 hours. The teams face off in a series of rounds throughout the day before the final few teams compete for the top prize late in the evening. An awards ceremony is held the following day in recognition of this intense effort, before the entire group heads out for an afternoon of sightseeing in the host city, followed by a dinner banquet. 

"One year two of the teams were late to the awards ceremony," Arezzo remembers, "and we were afraid they had been up too late. It turned out they had been up all night, but not because they were partying. They weren't satisfied with the results of the competition and had stayed up challenging each other to even more problems!"

One of the highlights of the competition, Arezzo says, is seeing students who are equally enthusiastic about math get to know each other. By meeting some of their peers from surrounding countries, the students gain a sense of the larger mathematics world. "It's also important for the chaperones who accompany each team," Arezzo explains. "They can network with other teachers and help spread the word about this and other opportunities to their students at home." The competition also serves as an advertisement for ICTP and its activities throughout the developing world. 

Many people have contributed to making the competition a success, including Koutou Mabilo, the ICTP Mathematics Section's Coordinator who plays a key role in helping organizing MMYC, as she did when ICTP hosted it in 2015. ICTP is the institution that organizes and obtains visas and tickets for all of the students, which can be very tricky due to the age of the visitors. ICTP's Visa Office and Operations Department have also been instrumental to making sure every student can attend.

"It's always been clear that the students coming to this competition are quite talented, and it is nice to see them share their interest for mathematics. Hopefully, the competition experience inspires them as well," says Arezzo.

The MYMC is organized by: Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica (INDAM), the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma (UNINT), Sapienza Università di Roma, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, il Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (MAECI) and il Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Università e della Ricerca (MIUR). The venue of the MYMC alternates between Rome and Trieste, Italy.

---- Kelsey Calhoun