CYFEMAT.org

CYFEMAT empowers volunteers in over 25 countries on how to organize math circles and festivals. This provides access to high quality mathematics content and delivery in their communities. Math festivals are events that celebrate mathematics. The goal is to have students leave the festival saying, “This was fun! I can do this! When is the next one?”. Math circles are creative learning spaces where students explore mathematics regularly and in depth. Students work alongside professionals in a collegial atmosphere, with the goal of exposing students to rich and beautiful mathematics. In the process, students learn to play with mathematics the way mathematicians do. The main difference between math circles and festivals is the regularity with which the former meet, and hence, the depth that students may attain in math circles. For students who show interest, a math circle is an excellent way to further the experience at a math festival.

Assuming that access to a good education in the mathematical sciences is a gateway to academic and economic access and advancement, it is paramount to close the opportunity gap in Latin American and Caribbean countries. These disparities impact vulnerable people based on socioeconomic status, age, geography, race and ethnicity, digital access, and gender was accentuated by the pandemic. Nevertheless, we have used remote learning and outreach to turn a difficult situation into a haven of hope.

Relying on a delivery method that uses Zoom, as well as practical ideas discussed in Hector Rosario's book Mathematical Outreach: Explorations in Social Justice Around the Globe (2019, World Scientific), we attract, identify, train, and retain volunteer educators from around the world, including every country in Latin America and most countries in the Caribbean. We share our approach to:

1. Cultivate a taste and enthusiasm for logical, mathematical, artistic, scientific, and computational thinking.

2. Prioritize discovery learning as well as critical and collaborative thinking.

3. Show that mathematics is a universal sociocultural practice, without distinction of gender, race, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, or politics.

4. Present mathematics from a rational, aesthetic, and human perspective.

5. Encourage independent work, mathematical fluency, and justification of reasoning.

Our target population is educators anywhere in the world. Through our approach based on problem solving, creativity, and joy, educators explore new ways to share meaningful and rich mathematical content with their students and colleagues.

In the first two months that we have been operating autonomously, we have reached over 2,000 teachers and students in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Bolivia. We expect to impact close to 5,000 in 10 to 15 countries by the end of 2021. To access our database, click here.

We have volunteers on the ground in the vast majority of the countries targeted by this call, and will probably have volunteers in every single one of them by the time the winners are announced. We address socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and gender disparities head-on with our sensible approach to mathematical outreach. Moreover, we empower local communities to redefine their academic purpose, identity, and practice in connection to the mathematical sciences.

CYFEMAT is the collective story of dozens of individuals coming together for the greater good. In that sense, it embodies Michael Novak's definition of social justice as "the capacity to organize with others to accomplish ends that benefit the whole community."

In late June 2021, the group met to select a name and define its mission. The name CYFEMAT was suggested as an amalgamation of the Spanish words Círculos, Y, Festivales, and Matemáticos, given that the group wanted to advance the math circle and math festival models of teaching in the Spanish-speaking world. Nevertheless, demand for CYFEMAT's services quickly revealed the need to incorporate English and Portuguese.

CYFEMAT grew out of outreach efforts in Latin America during Hector Rosario's tenure as Director of Outreach and Festivals for the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (2018-2021).

To continue reading, go here.

Our approach to empowering communities to redefine their academic purpose, identity, and practice through math festivals and circles is unique. We intend to study the impact that we have on communities experiencing an opportunity gap. We also expect that our approach will have an impact on educational policy beyond mathematics and science, as policy makers begin to realize the gains obtained by incorporating play and problem solving into school curricula.

We rely on Zoom to train volunteers remotely and on WhatsApp for daily communication and organization. We also use apps created with Unity by the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival to replicate the effect that manipulatives have at in-person events. An example is shown here.

We use technology that's widely available and use: Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google products. Volunteers learn how to use these tools to create and deliver superb mathematical content.

Other than normal privacy issues when using Zoom or WhatsApp, no risks are involved. We exercise due diligence to minimize normal risks, however.

We have served over 2,000 teachers and students in the first two months operating independently. We expect to reach about 5,000 by the end of 2021.

Our immediate goal is to solidify our presence in at least 10 countries. By that we mean to legally register CYFEMAT in those countries so that our local volunteers can identify and secure local funds to expand our work.

We measure success by the number of committed volunteers, number of events, and the number of people that join our events.

Full-time: 1 CEO

Part-time: 1 CFO and 1 COO

Highly-committed Volunteers: 20

Other Volunteers: 80

The Executive Director and Founder was the editor for the anthology Mathematical Outreach: Explorations in Social Justice Around the Globe. Take a look at the Table of Contents. One chapter was written by several incarcerated men. You may peruse his CV here.

We adhere to the Shared Values Statement prepared by the We the People: Math Literacy for All Alliance. 

The main reason for applying to the 2021 TPrize Challenge is branding and recognition. Winning will advance our credibility in the eyes of potential partners and donors.

I would like CYFEMAT to rely on the support of two or three main donors, just like the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival does, paired with one or two major grants from NSF or private foundations.

Save the Children and UNESCO would be ideal partners.