“Mathematics gives hope to understand reality clearly”

Under the motto “Mathematics and hope”, students, fans and experts will celebrate this Saturday the 14th the International Day of Mathematics (IMD) 2026, also known as Pi Day, with more than 700 events around the world. In Mexico, more than 40 activities will be held in different states, including conferences, workshops and recreational events for all ages.

“Mathematics gives us hope to understand reality and truth clearly, share common definitions, learn to cooperate, use data responsibly, find win-win strategies, and much more,” DIM organizers said.

The day of celebration promoted by the International Mathematical Union (UMI) includes virtual and in-person activities, in schools, museums, libraries and other public spaces, in more than 90 countries. The Mathematics and Hope webinar, organized by UNESCO, held yesterday, stands out, where it was highlighted that connecting hope with mathematics creates opportunities for deeper understanding and knowledge.

In Mexico, the DIM celebration will include activities in Mexico City and 11 other entities: Veracruz, Yucatán, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Puebla, Sinaloa, Coahuila, Sonora, Guanajuato, Michoacán and Jalisco.

In Mexico City, Universum, Science Museum of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), invites children and young people to solve mathematical challenges and games, make a bracelet of beads with the characteristics of the number pi, through workshops that will take place from March 13 to 15.

The museum has also scheduled two screenings: Mathematical Adventures 2: What does a mathematician do today?where you will learn testimonies from scholars of numbers, and Math Adventures 4: Knot; In the latter the incredible forms of these abstract representations will be addressed.

Aubin Arroyo, DIM ambassador for Mexico, said that “these activities help us bring mathematics to more and more people. When people become familiar with mathematics, they play with logic, reflection, and stop thinking in totalitarian or absolute terms.”

In Oaxaca, the UNAM Mathematics Institute Unit and the Mathematical House called for the Digits of Pi contest, which consists of participants saying in an orderly, clear manner and without external help the greatest number of digits of pi possible. There will be two categories: children from 8 to 13 years old, and young people from 14 to 22.

In Veracruz, the Mathematical Imaginary workshops will be held: a journey to the heart of abstraction, at the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology; of mathematics dissemination for the general public, at the Anáhuac University, and a calculus contest at the Normal Veracruzana Enrique C. Rébsamen.

In Yucatán, the conference “Infinity and beyond… the mathematical concept” will be offered, given by Edmundo Alberto Velazquez Castro. In this talk the concept of infinity will be addressed not only as a literary idea of ​​“that which has no end”, but as an object of mathematical, rigorous and functional study.

UNESCO proclaimed March 14 as International Mathematics Day in the 40th session of its general conference, on November 26, 2019. This day was chosen because Pi Day was already celebrated in many countries, based on the fact that some nations write it as 3/14 and the mathematical constant pi is approximately 3.14.

Aubin Arroyo said that the DIM is the opportunity to explain and celebrate the essential role that mathematics plays in the advancement of science and technology, improving the quality of life, empowering women and girls.

“When you exercise the game of logic and reflection, this not only applies to school problems, but also to the way we see the world and can influence making better decisions for the good of all,” he concluded.