Statsrådens tale på Abelpris-banketten 2025

Dear Laureate, Professor Masaki Kashiwara, Your excellency, Senior Deputy Minister, ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of the Ministry of Education and Research it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the Norwegian government’s banquet in honour of the 2025 Abel Prize Laureate, Professor Masaki Kashiwara.

Now, let me start by congratulating professor Masaki Kashiwara on receiving the Abel Prize!

Let me also give a special welcome to guests who have travelled all the way from Japan and other countries. You are heartily welcome.

For Norway, Japan is a key partner for cooperation within Science, Technology and Higher Education. This year’s Abel Prize demonstrates the strong academic traditions in Japan.

This weeks’ celebrations are first and foremost in honour of this year’s laureate. But the Abel Prize is also a grand celebration of mathematics and science in general. It is a celebration of mathematicians and scientists world-wide. Their curiosity, persistence, and willingness to solve the seemingly unsolvable is well worth a tribute!

Tonight, we pay special tribute to Masaki Kashiwara. As we heard today at the Award Ceremony, Professor Kashiwara receives the Abel Prize for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory.

Timandra Harkness, the British science writer and presenter, desribed Kashiwara as a pioneer, visionary, and builder of beautiful mathematical bridges. I quote: “Kashiwara connected the mathematical continents of algebra and analysis, and then the third mathematical continent of geometry, with his original thinking. His ideas are not just beautiful and brilliant in themselves, they open up routes for many other mathematicians to explore new territories and solve new problems.”

By building these bridges, Kashiwara has demonstrated that mathematical problems that seemed unsolvable indeed can be solved. His ideas continue to shape modern mathematics and inspire new generations.

Mathematics is vital to understand the world around us and crucial to technological and human progress, for example to predict the effects of climate change, to understand the minuteness in quantum physics or the vastness of space. However, it rarely gets the attention it deserves. The Abel Prize does an important job reminding all of us about the role of mathematics. This award also recognizes the importance of perseverance to understand even the most complex problems and contexts. Curiosity may lead to excellence and to groundbreaking discoveries.

We live in challenging geopolitical times. It is crucial that we continue to adhere to academic values, to promote basic research and to exchange knowledge across nations, cultures and languages. Just like you have done, Professor Kashiwara, with your extensive international collaboration. In a polarized world where we sometimes have a hard time understanding each other, mathematics is a universal language.

It is of vital importance that children and young people continue to understand, be fascinated by and study mathematics. Their teachers are the key. Not only to educate, but to assist, inspire and encourage – to unlock the potential of pupils and students. Niels Henrik Abel’s story is an excellent example of the importance of a good teacher.

In school, the young Abel was considered an average student, until his teacher Bernt Michael Holmboe discovered his exceptional talent.

To recognize the importance of Holmboe, and the work of all great math-teachers’, the Holmboe Prize was awarded on Monday for outstanding efforts in the teaching of mathematics.

I am pleased to tell you that we have this year’s Holmboe prize recipient, Sigrid Melander Vie, here with us tonight - please stand up. She is a mathematics teacher at Rud Upper Secondary School in Bærum. The jury emphasizes how Vie through real-life examples, explains mathematical concepts in a way that is easy to understand and that she involves students in the teaching. Thank you for your great work, and congratulations!

I would also like to ask this year’s winners of the annual Abel mathematics competition for pupils in high schools to please stand up.

• Ivar Lee Fevang from Thora Storm upper secondary school in Trondheim won. Congratulations!

Three others shared the second place:

• Justin Jia
• Skomantas Urbonas
• Aksel Løvholt

You will be part of the team representing Norway in the International Mathematical Olympiad later this summer. Your achievements are impressive, and I wish you the best of luck!

Finally, I would like the winning team of the middle school competition UngeAbel (Young Abel) from Birralee International School in Trondheim to please stand up together with your teacher. Congratulations and keep up your good work!

Now I hope you will join me in a toast to this year’s Abel Prize Laureate –

Professor Masaki Kashiwara. SKÅL!