ICMI was founded in 1908 at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Rome and aims to improve teaching standards around the world, through programs, workshops and initiatives and publications.

[2] Till date, there have been fifteen ICMEs in fourteen different countries spread over all populated continents except Africa.

Each ICMI Study addresses an issue or topic of particular significance in contemporary mathematics education and is conducted by an international team of leading scholars and practitioners in that domain.

In 2013 the ICMI Emma Castelnuovo Award for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education was created.

In 2013 the ICMI Emma Castelnuovo Award for Excellence in the Practice of Mathematics Education was created.

The award is named after Emma Castelnuovo, an Italian mathematics educator born in 1913 to celebrate her 100th birthday and honour her pioneering work.

The award honours persons, groups, projects, institutions or organizations engaged in the development and implementation of exceptional and influential work in the practice of mathematics education, including: classroom teaching, curriculum development, instructional design (of materials or pedagogical models), teacher preparation programs and/or field projects with a shown influence on schools, districts, regions or countries.

The project will have two main outputs: a book published in several languages and a blog which includes many materials for mathematics teachers to be used in the classroom.