Towards the Legal Constitution of ItaCa (the Italian Category Theory Association)
ItaCa was born out of the desire to create a shared space for those working in category theory and its applications to mathematics, logic, theoretical computer science, and other areas of contemporary research, both in Italy and abroad. Over recent years, ItaCa has promoted meetings, seminars, workshops, and opportunities for academic exchange, helping to make a rich community—often scattered across different disciplines, locations, and generations—more visible and cohesive.
Today, we want to take a step further: to legally constitute ItaCa as a scientific association. This will allow us to provide continuity to the activities already underway, support new initiatives, and build a stable, transparent structure open to the participation of the community.
Why Establish an Association?
The legal constitution of ItaCa is not a mere formality. It is a necessary step to provide the community with a stable tool capable of supporting scientific and educational activities over time. Becoming an official association will make it possible to:
- Provide continuity for seminars, workshops, schools, and academic meetings;
- Collect and manage financial resources in a transparent manner;
- Receive donations, grants, and membership fees;
- Support, where possible, the participation of early-career researchers;
- Collaborate more easily with universities, research institutions, foundations, and other scientific societies;
- Provide higher visibility and representation for the Italian category theory community.
In doing so, ItaCa can become not just an informal network of contacts, but a truly shared scientific infrastructure.
The Mission of ItaCa
ItaCa’s mission is to promote the development, dissemination, and recognition of category theory and its applications.
The association aims to foster dialogue between different fields: algebra, topology, geometry, logic, theoretical computer science, foundations of mathematics, mathematical physics, programming languages, artificial intelligence, and all disciplines where Category Theory can play a structural role.
Furthermore, ItaCa wishes to support the training of future generations by promoting seminars, schools, workshops, educational materials, and academic mentoring initiatives, with a particular focus on inclusion, the circulation of ideas, and building an open, cooperative community.
Support the Creation of the Association
To launch the legal constitution process of the association, ItaCa needs to cover some initial expenses: drafting the articles of association and bylaws, registration, potential tax and administrative requirements, digital tools, and initial organisational activities.
For this reason, we invite anyone who recognises the scientific and community value of ItaCa to contribute with a voluntary donation. Even a small contribution can help build the material conditions needed to launch the association and make it operational.
All donations received during this phase will be used exclusively for the constitution and launch of the association’s activities. Once the constitution is complete, a transparent report on the use of the collected funds will be provided.
How to Donate
To ensure that the fundraising for ItaCa’s constitutional expenses is transparent and traceable, we have decided to use a dedicated crowdfunding platform.
To donate, simply follow the link and choose your amount.