Nominations for the 2024 ICMI Emma Castelnuovo Award
Deadline for applications: 30 November, 2022
The Emma Castelnuovo Award recognizes outstanding achievements in the practice of mathematics education consistent with ICMI’s principles:
The award was named after Emma Castelnuovo (1913-2014), an Italian mathematics educator, in celebration of her 100th birthday and to honour her pioneering work.
The first Emma Castelnuovo medal was awarded to Hugh Burkhardt and Malcolm Swan in 2016 at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13) in Hamburg, Germany.
Eligibility for the Emma Castelnuovo Award
The award is open to an individual/small team of individuals from across the mathematics education community, with the exception of:
The Emma Castelnuovo Award honours an individual, or a small team of individuals, for work in the development and implementation of exceptionally excellent and influential work in the practice of mathematics education related to one or more of the following:
with a demonstrated influence on schools, districts, regions, or countries.
The Emma Castelnuovo Award seeks to recognize and encourage efforts, ideas, and the successful implementation of mathematics teaching and learning, as well as to showcase models and exemplars of inspirational practices.
Criteria for evaluating nominations
Nominations for the Emma Castelnuovo Award will be evaluated in light of the following criteria:
Nomination Process and Supporting Documents required
Nominations for the Emma Castelnuovo Award should be made by the nominator on the nomination form and must include the following attachments:
All nominations MUST be sent by e-mail to the Chair of the Emma Castelnuovo Award Committee, Professor Emerita Helen Forgasz (chair@castelnuovo24.mathunion.org), no later than 30 November, 2022.
Announcement of the Awardee of the 2024 Emma Castelnuovo Award
The recipient of the award will be announced late in 2023, and the award will be presented at ICME-15 in July 2024 in Sydney, Australia. The awardee (or representative) will be invited to present a special lecture at ICME-15.
The 2024 Emma Castelnuovo Award Committee
Professor Emerita Helen Forgasz was nominated by the President of ICMI as Chair of the 2024 Emma Castelnuovo Award Committee. There are five other members of the Committee. They remain anonymous until their time on the Committee comes to an end. The six Committee members come from six different countries, and represent different world regions.
The work of the Emma Castelnuovo Award Committee is confidential.
The Committee now welcomes nominations for the award.
Information about all ICMI awards can be found at:
https://www.mathunion.org/icmi/awards/icmi-awards
For the names of previous award recipients see:
https://www.mathunion.org/icmi/awards/recipients-icmi-awards
Emma Castelnuovo (12 December 1913 – 13 April 2014) was an Italian mathematician, daughter and niece of two famous Italian mathematicians, Guido Castelnuovo and Federigo Enriques, respectively. She graduated from the University of Rome in 1936 with a thesis on algebraic geometry. In 1938, when Italy passed new laws preventing Jews from holding state positions, she was fired from Rome University. After the Second World War ended, she decided to become a secondary school teacher until her retirement in 1979. In parallel, she committed herself to research and development of learning materials in mathematics education, which inspired many students, teachers and fellow educators. She was deeply influenced by her father and uncle and also by educators and psychologists such as Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget. Her pedagogical vision was based on encouraging young children and students to use observation, visualization, fantasy and imagination before any formalization. She encouraged students to use concrete objects, to experiment, to puzzle over unexpected outcomes and eventually to arrive at previously unknown results, without being told. She also stimulated looking at daily life phenomena through mathematical eyes. She published in the first volume of Educational Studies in Mathematics and presented at the first ICME in Lyon (1969) and at the third ICME in Karlsruhe (1976). Her international collaborations included the French network IREM, UNESCO, teaching school children in Niger, her involvement with many ICMI activities and she deeply influenced mathematics education in Italy and Spain.
In honor of her contributions and impact, ICMI decided to name the Award for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education in her name on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2013.