The Knowledge Management South Africa (KMSA) e-Imbizo took place in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, under the theme “Championing a Knowledge-Sharing Culture.” The event featured key contributions from Aurum, with Jeanette Seko, Knowledge Manager, facilitating a session on the first day and Lauren De Kock, Regional Director of Continuous Quality Improvement and Training, presenting on the second day.
Day One: Embracing Knowledge Through Design Thinking
Jeanette Seko’s session focused on design thinking, user experience, and indigenous knowledge in health. Seko concluded the session with a thought-provoking quote from Margaret Fuller:“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.” She further elaborated,
“Sharing knowledge makes the world a brighter place, one flame at a time. In our modern world, making your knowledge accessible can empower individuals to think independently, and enable teams or entire organisations to work smarter and burn brighter.”
This message underscored the event’s core theme: the importance of creating a culture of knowledge sharing to drive collective growth and innovation.
Day Two: Integrating Quality Improvement into Knowledge Management
On the second day, Lauren De Kock presented on the importance of incorporating Quality Improvement (QI) elements into the successful implementation of Knowledge Management (KM). She highlighted the role of systems thinking and data-driven approaches in enhancing performance and decision-making. For many in the KM community, this was an introduction to QI principles and their potential to optimise day-to-day activities and improve KM practices across organisations.
De Kock left the audience with a powerful call to action:
“QI is something you need to be part of; it is not something that must be done by others. QI is our job and requires not only a change in perspective but also a change in the way we do our work. We must do our job well because many people depend on us to do it well. To achieve that, we must apply principles of improvement. We must use data for our decision-making so that the time and resources allocated to us truly count, and we make the changes in our organisation that have been entrusted to us.”
The KMSA e-Imbizo highlighted the importance of a knowledge-sharing culture within organisations and showcased the valuable role that QI principles can play in enhancing KM practices. Aurum’s contributions, led by Jeanette Seko and Lauren De Kock, reinforced the need for data-driven decision-making, collaborative growth, and the continuous improvement of processes to achieve meaningful and sustainable impact.