During 2011 and 2012 the Society's Council explored the possibility of the Australian Academy of Science submitting a bid to host the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2018. Peter Taylor, Arun Ram and Jon Borwein spent a considerable amount of time investigating possibilities, but in the end there was no-one who offered to lead a bid.

Council remains keen to explore ways in which Australia can host a future bid. At its September meeting last year it therefore agreed that it should collaborate with AMSI in supporting the attendance of some early to mid career mathematicians at the 2014 ICM, with the express understanding that this could lead to leadership roles in a future bid to host the Congress. The opportunity to bid for 2018 having passed, the next possibilities are for the 2022 or 2026 congresses, which explains the decision to seek involvement beyond that of senior members of the Society.

The Society and AMSI have committed up to $6,000 each to support the attendance of up to three Society members at the 2014 International Congress and General Assembly of the IMU in Korea. If you are interested in receiving such support (with the implied commitment to a possible leadership role in a future bid for the Congress) please submit an expression of interest to the Society's President, Peter Forrester at pjforr@unimelb.edu.au by Friday 26th July 2013.

Those receiving support will be expected to submit a short report to the Society after attending the congress.