“Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries; for Mathematics, the cultural world is one country.”
– David Hilbert
G D Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj had the proud privilege of hosting the inaugural ceremony of Bricsmath.com, an international online Mathematics competition for the students of the BRICS countries. The event was held on Wednesday, the 13th of November 2019 and marked the commencement of the one month long, online, Bricsmath.com competition. BRICS brings together five major emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS members are known for their significant influence on regional affairs. The various initiatives taken by the BRICS forum lay a special focus on nurturing the Mathematical skills of children, which further cater to building their reasoning, critical thinking, problem solving and even effective communication skills. To contribute to this agenda, FICCI ARISE partnered with BRICSMATH.COM to create an impact on the learning of Mathematical concepts among students by launching a large-scale interactive project – an online Mathematics competition – in the year 2017.
BRICSMATH.COM is an annual international online Mathematics competition for students of grades 1 to 12 in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This intellectual tournament has become a big celebration of mathematics for children of all the BRICS countries. Interactive tasks of the competition are presented in the gamified form and the purpose of the competition is to bring learners from different countries together and unite them through building a common interest in mathematics.

This year, G D Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, was given the honour of hosting the launch of the third BRICSMATH.COM online Mathematics competition – BRICSMATH.COM 2019. The grand inauguration was attended by prominent dignitaries including His Excellency Mr. Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India, Mr.Mikhail Ktitorov, First Secretary, Embassy of the Russian Federation, Mr.Alexei Illyuviev, Second Secretary, Embassy of the Russian Federation, HE Mr. André Corrêa do Lago, Ambassador of Brazil in India, Sec. Pedro Ivo Ferraz da Silva, the Head of Science, Technology and Innovation Section at the Embassy of Brazil, Ms. Zhu Xiaohong, Chancellor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Ms. Sun Meixing, Officer, Educational Department, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Fyodor Rozovskiy, Counsellor and
Head of the Cultural Department, Embassy of the Russian Federation in India & Director of Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC), Ms. Ludmila Filippova, Consultant, Information and Culture, Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC), Mr. Pushkar Vohra, Joint Secretary Academics, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Mr. Kunal Kishore, Business Consultant, Mr. Vaarun Sharma,
General Manager, India, ISIC, Ms. Divya Sharma, Manager – Strategic Partnership, India, ISIC and Ms. Samreen Ghauri, Project Manager, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Bricsmath.com team. The programme began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp which was accompanied by a melodious Ganesh Vandana to invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha, the ‘Vighnaharta’ who removes all obstacles and ensures the success of every endeavour. This was followed by a song written and composed especially for the occasion and sung by the mellifluous Western Music choir of G D Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj. Presenting the ancient and rich culture of India through the performing arts, the budding young artists of G D Goenka presented a classical Bharatnatyam dance performance. Weaving a pattern of rhythm and movement, the talented dancers depicted the tale of how Lord Ganesha, one of the most widely worshipped Hindu deities, acquired the head of an elephant. Ms.Meenakshi Bhakuni, the Principal of G D Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj, welcomed everyone and exhorted the students to participate in Bricsmath.com in large numbers. She expressed the belief that the entire cosmos functions on the basis of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Maths has helped us to solve many mysteries of life and will continue to do so. Ms.Bhakuni also conveyed that she hoped this competition would imbue a passion for learning in many more students.
His Excellency Mr. Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India, wished all the participants good luck and evinced his joy that bricsmath.com, the brainchild of a Russian company, was serving the beautiful purpose of uniting the students of so many different countries, cultures and backgrounds. His Excellency Mr. André Corrêa do Lago, Ambassador of Brazil in India, was quite excited about the venture. He encouraged the students to participate in large numbers and also said that this was a wonderful and unique way of bringing children of different cultures together. He also apprised the students of the various opportunities that Brazil provided to students of Mathematics and expressed the hope that many children from the BRICS countries would visit Brazil in the near future.
Ms. Zhu Xiaohong, Chancellor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, conveyed the best wishes of her Ambassador and said that the BRICS forum provided an excellent platform for economic, political and cultural cooperation. Mr. Pushkar Vohra, Joint Secretary Academics, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), conveyed the best wishes of the board for the competition and informed everyone that the CBSE had already issued an advisory to schools informing them about the BRICSMATH.COM competition. All the other guests and dignitaries also wished the participants good luck for the competition and hoped that more and more students would come forward and take
part in it. The programme ended on a euphoric note as the competition began simultaneously in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and the students completed their first round of interactive tasks with excitement and zeal.