EARCOME is the name given to the ICMI-East Asia Regional Conferences on Mathematics Education.

The EARCOME series grew out of earlier conferences in the region.  The South East Asia Conferences on Mathematics Education (SEACME) series began in 1978 in Manila, and thereafter conferences were held at three-year intervals at Kuala Lumpur (1981), Haad Yai (1984), Singapore (1987), Brunei (1990), Surabaya (1993), Hanoi (1996), and Manila again in 1999.  In addition there have been two ICMI-China Regional Conferences on Mathematics Education, in Beijing (1991) and Shanghai (1994).

EARCOME-1, held in 1998 in Korea, was independent of these series, but EARCOME-2 came together with SEACME-9 in Singapore in 2002.  The EARCOME series replaced the SEACME series thereafter.

EARCOME is held every three years except on the years when the International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME) is held. On such a year, EARCOME is held the year before. Countries/Regions in East Asia take turns hosting the conferences.

Theme of the Conference

“Flexibility in Mathematics Education” has been chosen as the theme of the conference. Flexibility is highly related to creativity, multiplicity, and adaptation. In the current era, rapid changes in economy, environment and society have been facilitated by the rapid development of technology and engineering. Flexibility in mathematical thinking, problem solving, teaching methods, evaluation, teacher education and mathematics education research is a key to empowering learners, teachers, educators and researchers to tackle the complexity and uncertainty, and to giving them the capacity and motive to change in the innovative era.