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Capacity & Networking Project (CANP)

The Mathematical Sciences and Education in the Developing World

CANP is a major development focus of the international bodies of mathematicians and mathematics educators (International Mathematical Union, IMU & International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, ICMI) in conjunction with UNESCO and International Congress of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, ICIAM. The project is a response to Current Challenges in Basic Mathematics Education (UNESCO, 2011).

CANP aims to enhance mathematics education at all levels in developing countries so that their people are capable of meeting the challenges these countries face. It will develop the educational capacity of those responsible for mathematics teachers, and create sustained and effective regional networks of teachers, mathematics educators and mathematicians, also linking them to international support.

CANP consists of an ongoing series of Programs in a different developing region.
The first program CANP 1 Edi Math was held in Mali with participants from across Sub-Saharan Africa in September 2011 and was supported by UNESCO, CIMPA and ICIAM. CANP 2 Central America and the Caribbean was held in Costa Rica in August 2012. It was supported by the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), UNESCO, ICIAM and CDC. The third CANP 3 South East Asia was held in Cambodia in 2013 and was supported by CDC, RECSAM, SEAMS and CANP 4 East Africa was held in Tanzania in September, 2014. CANP 5 Andean Region and Paraguay was held in Lima, Peru in February, 2016.  

During the first EC ICMI meeting in June 2017, it was decided that in order to ensure sustainability of CANP, a two- day CANP Workshop would be held with members of the ICMI EC and key stakeholders from each CANP. The CANP future workshop was held in May 2018 in Taipei. 

Structure of CANP

The program, and in particular the workshop, builds on existing activities in the region and does not seek to reproduce or compete with existing development programs. It includes a follow-up after one year to ensure continuity and evaluation. A post-workshop and a 1-year report are  produced for each program. ICMI will ensure that the experience of earlier programs will be used for the design of later ones.

The Capacity & Networking Project is a major international initiative in the mathematical sciences in the developing world to help exchange information, share the state of the art research, and identify strategies for addressing barriers to enhance mathematics education and to conduct to building a sustainable network for policy makers, scholars and practitioners across those targeted regions.