Who We Are and What We Do.

We are a mathematical thinking education research organization, our history stems from the Hope Cup, which was founded in 1990. We believe that mathematics is the most difficult but most important subject to learn well in primary and secondary schools. The reason why mathematics is difficult to learn is that mathematics is abstract. It is concepts created by human intelligence abstracted from nature. What mathematics cultivates is by no means computing skills, but to train scientific thinking methods and problem-solving abilities through the study and application of complex mathematical concepts. In the future, students may forget the mathematics knowledge they have learned, but the way of thinking that has been formed and the ability to solve problems acquired from mathematics training will accompany them throughout their lives and become the most important help in their lives. We are willing to work hard to cultivate children's ability, and we are also willing to work with mathematics teachers and educators from all over the world to develop together for this goal.

The Hope Cup was founded in China in 1990. It is aimed at most students in primary and secondary schools, focusing on the basic knowledge of mathematics, and is committed to guiding students to learn the most important content of school mathematics courses. Hope Cup’s proposition has always been to believe that a good competition problem should be artful but not abstruse. Over the past 30 years, more than 20 million students have participated in this competition. It is one of the most influential mathematics competitions with the largest number of participants in China. The Hope Cup began to promote international development as early as 1997. In 1997, the Japanese organization participated in the Hope Cup. In 2010, Hope Cup and WMTC of the United States jointly established the World Mathematics Team Championship. As of 2022, 13 sessions have been organized, attracting primary and secondary school students from more than fifteen countries to participate. In 2019, the Hope Cup entered the field of vision of Brazilian students. The Olimpiada Internacional de Matematica e do Conhecimento was jointly organized with Brazil's Instituto Alpha Lumen. More than 7,000 students from all 26 states of Brazil participated in the first session, and students from some Portuguese-speaking African countries, such as Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea also participated. Hope Cup has brought new hope for students in these countries to learn mathematics well.

In order to better help elementary and middle school students around the world learn mathematics well and let them understand that mathematics is fun and mathematics is alive, the non-profit organization International Hope Cup Mathematics Invitational was established in Canada in 2022. Our mission is to present more interesting mathematics to elementary and secondary school students around the world, so that more children are not afraid of mathematics but like mathematics, fall in love with mathematics, and make friends with mathematics, so that scientific thinking methods and problem-solving abilities become the most useful tools in their life. Here we sincerely invite you to lead your students to participate in the International Hope Cup Mathematics Invitational! At the same time, we are looking for collaborators from all over the world. If you share the same philosophy and dream with us, and your organization has enough influence in the local area, you are welcome to contact us.

In the 1980s, the first wave of Mathematical Olympiad fever appeared in China. Mr. Zhou Guozhen, a math teacher, believed traditional math competitions did not help the majority of students learn mathematics – rather, they actively discouraged the students’ interest in learning mathematics. These math competitions were dull and tedious, when what would actually pique students’ desire to further explore learning mathematics would be competitions that were modeled more closely to day-to-day learning to test their abilities. With this reflection on the Mathematical Olympiad, Mr. Zhou Guozhen, together with colleagues from various mathematics and educational circles, initiated the Hope Cup National Mathematics Invitational Competition in 1990. At that time, there were five sponsors: the Popularization Department of the China Association for Science and Technology; China Optimal Method, Coordination Method, and Economic Mathematics Research Association; Higher Education Press; School Work Department of China Youth Daily; and Hua Luogeng Laboratory.

At that time, the Hope Cup was only for students in Grade 7, 8, 10, and 11. In just the first year, it became beloved by educators and students alike, with over 70,000 participating students from more than 30 cities all across China.

The Hope Cup has always been recognized and included in the list of national competitions approved by the former State Education Commission. Throughout the years, an increasing number of mathematicians and mathematics educators enthusiastically supported the Hope Cup. By its tenth edition, there were over 500 participating cites and over 1 million participants each year, totaling 5.98 million participating students overall. The “Hope Cup” Mathematics Invitational Competition became one of the largest and most influential extracurricular event amongst middle school students in China.

After a special trip to China in 1996, the Japanese Mathematical Olympic Committee were completely inspired by the Hope Cup. Upon returning to Japan, they organized Japanese middle school students to participate in the Hope Cup and have participated since. Since 2000, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan joined in succession, organizing local middle school students to participate in the Hope Cup Invitational Competition.

In 2003, the first Primary School Hope Cup was successfully held and expanded to grades 4-6 of primary schools. In 2010, the Hope Cup’s international expansion developed rapidly, holding engaging and fun activities and competitions in more than a dozen Language such as the United States, Canada, Singapore, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Egypt, Australia, Indonesia, and Brazil.

In 2020, the Hope Cup extended grade-oriented applications to first grade primary school students, adding more age-appropriate training content to its curriculum.

Since its inception, the Hope Cup has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of primary and secondary school students in both China and all over the world, injecting new vitality into the mathematic educators’ lesson plans and research. Hope Cup firmly believes that every progress should be recognized and encouraged as children grow up. Hope Cup is willing to help every child who loves mathematics.