LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES – The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Centers will convene at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headquarters for the 2nd SEAMEO Knowledge Management (KM) Learning and Sharing Forum on 22–23 August 2023.
The KM Forum will have over 30 participants composed of Center directors, deputy directors, and knowledge workers in communication, partnership, program, public relations, and information technology, as well as administrative officers from 17 SEAMEO Centers.
Co-hosted by the SEAMEO Secretariat (SEAMES) and SEARCA, this learning event is taking off from SEAMES' initiative on July 2022 to organize the 1st KM Learning and Sharing Forum participated in by the KM staff and related officers/specialists from SEAMEO centers/units. The first forum rekindled creating a common understanding of KM with SEAMEO, exchanging best practices, and identifying initiatives for the SEAMEO centers/units to develop and implement together toward their improved capacity, visibility, and stronger work relationship and cooperation within the SEAMEO family.
Supporting the new SEAMEO Strategic Plan 2021–30 and the challenges of the post-COVID-19 pandemic, the Knowledge Management Unit or related functions of the SEAMEO centers/units such as public relations, partnership, information technology, and information management systems at the SEAMEO centers/units have played an important role in transforming the conventional communication strategies and information management practices to be more digitalized.
The second KM Forum will follow through with the recommendations of the first forum. In particular, the onsite forum will facilitate the development of clear action plans for the SEAMEO-wide KM strategies and activities in three priority areas: information systems, communication with external stakeholders, and partnership development. The KM initiatives will be co-implemented by the SEAMEO Centers and coordinated by the SEAMEO Secretariat.
Furthermore, the forum will enable the participants to identify areas for an online capacity-building program for SEAMEO center staff and identify volunteer members from the SEAMEO centers to comprise a team that will orchestrate the implementation of the SEAMEO-wide KM strategies.
Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, is set to welcome all the participants while SEAMES Deputy Director for Administration and Communication Ms. Pintip Iamnirath will open and set the tone for the forum through a session on finetuning KM within the SEAMEO context.
Meanwhile, Dr. Maria Celeste Cadiz, former head of SEARCA's Knowledge Management Department, will serve as the overall technical coordinator and facilitator of the event.
Selected SEAMEO Centers are expected to present their KM-related best practices while the SEARCA management and staff will also share ongoing KM and communication initiatives, such as its information systems, publications, public relations, knowledge platforms, and the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation (SHARING).
SEARCA's Training for Development Unit under the Education and Collective Learning Department has co-designed the program and is coordinating with SEAMES for the 2nd KM Forum.
In 2012, SEARCA's KM department led a training-workshop to enable SEAMEO Centers to arrive at an understanding of a shared purpose in knowledge management, draw up an appropriate knowledge management framework and strategy, and plan the next steps towards making such strategy operational.