A major responsibility of ICMI is to plan for the quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME). ICME is the largest international conference on mathematics education. The ICMEs were launched in 1969 in Lyon, France, at the initiative of ICMI President Hans Freudenthal (1905-1990) and have been held since then in leap years. ICMEs are the meeting point for mathematics educators, curriculum developers, mathematicians, researchers in mathematics education, teachers, teacher educators and resource producers.

It is the responsibility of the ICMI Executive Committee to choose from among host country bids, appoint an International Program Committee (IPC) to form the scientific program and select presenters, and oversee progress of the congress preparations. The Congress Convenor chairs the IPC and is responsible to the ICMI Executive Committee – in particular the President and Secretary-General – for the overall organization of the Congress. The President and Secretary-General are also ex officio members of the IPC to ensure consistency with ICMI principles and general guidelines for hosting an ICME.

ICMI’s three prestigious Awards are presented at the ICME Opening Ceremony. They are the Felix Klein Award and Hans Freudenthal Award for outstanding achievement in mathematics education research, and the Emma Castelnuovo Award for outstanding achievements in the practice of mathematics education.

On the day before the ICME Opening Ceremony, the ICMI hosts a one-day meeting of its General Assembly (GA).