Dear Colleagues and Friends,
It is my privilege to encourage you to participate in the second European Congress of Mathematics to be held next July, and to enjoy the deep sense of culture and warm hospitality of Hungary, the host country. This big event has been placed under the auspices of the European Mathematical Society since the Council of the society decided to continue the series inaugurated in Paris four years ago.
Allow me to express some of my feelings towards this endeavour. A scientific congress is in the first instance a great occasion for meeting people and for listening to distinguished colleagues. It also offers a special opportunity for assessing where one stands. In the context of such a European demonstration, I feel it is of the utmost importance to cultivate and confront our diversity. The Round Tables, one of the distinctive features of the European congresses, allow us to make our differences visible and to strengthen our efforts to prevent them from becoming obstacles. This will certainly make us more receptive to the theme under which the Scientific Committee has decided to place the Congress, the Unity of Mathematics.
The success of the Congress will above all be the result of the hard work of our Hungarian colleagues. It will to a lesser extent reflect our personal involvement in its preparation and its organization. It is up to us to make the European Mathematical Society an efficient tool for developing projects of this kind, with the general public of mathematicians in mind, or an even wider one. Indeed, we cannot think of ourselves as alone in a corner of the planet. It is our task to make Mathematics accessible to the public at large, and to try and understand its power and limitations. A congress like this one provides an exceptional opportunity.
Europe can only prosper in developing compatibility between its inhabitants, no matter what their speciality. This is a condition for the passage of its existence from a virtual world of symbols to the real one. It falls to us to work at this, and we hope to succeed.
Looking forward to meeting you in Budapest in July, I remain
Events will be at three convenient locations:
(i) the modern Convention Center providing 1700 seats for the plenary lectures, as well as closed circuit television for remote viewing,
(ii) the lecture rooms of the Technical University, where all other mathematical events will take place,
(iii) the Hungarian National Gallery in the central building of the Royal Palace on the Castle Hill of Buda, where the Banquet is to be held.
2.2 Plenary Lectures, 50 minutes long, are scheduled in the Convention Center on
N. Alon, G. Ben Arous, D. McDuff, B. Dubrovin, J. Kollár, J. Laskar, A. Merkurjev, V. Milman, S. Müller, J.-P. Serre .
2.3 Parallel sessions of 45 minute talks are scheduled at the Technical University on
2.4 Round tables covering 7 different topics are scheduled at the Technical University on
2.6 Poster sessions. All registered members may present their work in scheduled poster sessions provided they submit an abstract together with the AMS classification code(s) to the János Bolyai Mathematical Society (Fö u. 68, H-1027 Budapest, Hungary) by March 15, 1996. Abstracts sent by e-mail will not be considered.
Authors are responsible for the contents of their poster and are requested to prepare and bring their sheets ready for presentation. Posters must be of size A2 or smaller.
Poster sessions are scheduled at the Technical University,
2.7 Informal discussion. Lecture rooms and additional premises at the Technical University will be available from 9:00 am - 9:00 pm for free dicussions.
2.8 Movies of mathematical interest, films and videos on mathematicians will be shown. Participants may suggest specific films for presentation. Such requests must be filed to the Organizing Committee by March 15 and a copy of film be sent not later than May 15.
2.9 Exhibitions (including books).
2.10 Closing Ceremony will take place in the Convention Center on July 26 at 7:00 pm, followed by the Amadinda concert.
2.11 A listing of satellite conferences is enclosed on a separate leaflet.
The Proceedings of the Congress can be ordered at a special discount price during the meeting.
The Proceedings will contain refereed papers of lectures and summarized discussions of Round Table meetings.
4.2. Poster proposals and early registrations are to be received by March 15, 1996.
4.3. Hotel reservations are guaranteed upon requests received by June 1, 1996.
2. A concert of unique musical experience will be presented by the Amadinda Percussion Group on July 26 (Friday) at the Convention Center following the Closing Ceremony. The concert is free of charge for all registered participants.
3. Additional cultural programmes. Various concerts and folklore programmes will be offered every evening. The Third Anouncement will contain a complete list of these optional events. The list and prices will also be available at the Congress Reception Desk.
All participants, including the invited speakers, are to submit their completed Registration Form to the Registration Office.
All applications should be accompanied by the full payment of the registration fee.
Registration Office:
MALÉV AIR TOURS,
Roosevelt tér 2,
H-1051, Budapest
Hungary
Tel: +361-266 7836,
Fax: +361-266 6006,
e-mail: ecm2mat@math-inst.hu.
Registration fee in Swiss Francs if received:
prior to March 15 March 16-May 15 after May 16 and on site Members of EMS 130 165 240 Non-members 165 200 240 Accompanying persons 110 130 160For way of payment see below.
On-site registration and reception desks
On-site registration as well as the participants' registration packages and additional information will be available at the reception desks in the Assembly Hall of the Technical University, building ``K", main entrance. Reception service will be provided from July 21, Sunday to July 27, Saturday at the following hours:
The registration fee includes
Certified cheques should be sent to:
MALÉV AIR TOURS, Congress Department,
Roosevelt tér 2,
H - 1051 Budapest, Hungary
Please make sure that your name and program number 4006-06-21076 are clearly written on your cheque.
Cancellation of participation and refunds
Cancellation has to be made in writing to MALÉV AIR TOURS, Congress Department. The amount of the refund depends on the date of cancellation as follows.
Prices of rooms in some recommended hotels:
price in Swiss Franks of
category name of hotel single room double room
***** Hilton 245 275
Hyatt 170 205
Marriott 295 320
**** Novotel 150 170
Flamenco 136 162
Korona 162 180
Gellert 160 270
*** Taverna 126 165
** Ventura 77 85
Platanus 77 85
Griff 47 60
Student hostel 20 24
Please complete the enclosed hotel reservation form and return it with your deposit by June 1, 1996 (see PAYMENT above). Receipt of the returned form will be confirmed and you will be notified of the hotel where the preliminary reservation has been made. Prices are quoted per night per room and include breakfast, service and all taxes. (Tax is subject to increase by government regulation.) Since the Congress takes place in the high tourist season, an early booking of hotel rooms is highly recommended.
Please note: the deadline for guaranteed room reservation is June 1, 1996.
Cancellation
Cancellation of hotel reservation can only be made by written notice sent to the MALÉV AIR TOURS Congress Department.
Refunds:
A very limited number of grants for such colleagues will be available. These grants should cover the registration fee and part of the student style lodging expenses.
Copies of the Second Announcement going to Eastern European countries have a special grant application form inserted. If you want to apply for such a grant you should carefully fill in this form and send it together with your registration form in time to reach ECM2 no later than January 31, 1996. If you apply for a grant, you need not pay the registration fee and the hotel deposit when you send in the application forms. Applicants for grants will be notified of the decision by April 25, 1996. From those applicants who do not get the support the prior-March-15 registration fee will be accepted if sent in till May 15.
Several requests for financial support have already reached the congress office during preregistration. These requests have not been processed. Therefore, even if you already have placed such a request, you should nonetheles follow the procedure outlined above. In effect, grants will be awarded on the basis of the documents to be enclosed with the grant request form.
All tours are based on a minimum number of 10 participants. If this number is not reached, alternate arrangements can be chosen, or the deposit will be fully refunded upon request at the MALÉV Air Tours Information Desk during the event. All tours are led by English speaking guides and depart from the main entrance of the Technical University.
Cancellation of optional tours
Visitors from most European countries (and several others, including the USA) can enter Hungary without a visa. In case of doubt please consult a Hungarian embassy or consulate. The congress office can issue an official invitation if needed.
CUSTOMS
According to the present regulations visitors may not carry more than 1000 Hungarian Forints when entering or leaving the country. There is no limitation on foreign currencies. 1 liter of hard liquor, 2 liters of wine and 2000 cigarettes can be brought into Hungary duty free.
CLIMATE
The climate in Hungary is generally pleasant and sunny in July with an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (77 F).
CURRENCY EXCHANGE
Exchange offices are available at the airport, at railway stations, in hotels, banks and during the conference at the registration desk. (Visitors are advised not to change money in the street.)
INSURANCE
Health and luggage insurance in Hungary may not be included in your current policy. Insurance covering the period of your visit to Hungary can be purchased from MALÉV AIR TOURS when you arrange your travel.
TRAVEL
See the list of MALÉV representations on page ...
MEALS
There is a large variety of restaurants in any district of Budapest. Prices are low relative to Western European standards. Inexpensive lunch will be available at the restaurant of the Technical University.
The Round Table Committee consists of B. Prum (F) chair, C. Duhamel (F), A. Figà-Talamanca (I), D. Gabay (F), A. Recski (H) co - chair H. Sendov (BG).
The Satellite Meeting Committee is co-chaired by G.O.H. Katona and Á. Szendrei.
Please note that this announcement (as well as the later ones) is (will be) available by anonymous ftp from circle.math-inst.hu:/pub/ecm2 and from this server.
Important notice: If you have any questions about
Budapest, December 6, 1995.
A. Balog
Secretary
Cecília Kulcsár
Treasurer
L. Márki
Representative of the EMS