Learning and sharing “out-of-the-box”

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© Gartner

Last month, the IOC’s IKL team has leveraged several opportunities to learn from and exchange knowledge with external experts, colleagues from other sports organisations and other sectors. Here is a snapshot:

Knowledge and Planning Consortium

At the beginning of November, a few IKL team members joined the Knowledge and Planning Consortium (KPC) meeting hosted by UEFA in Nyon. The KPC is a small but passionate learning community which brings together senior practitioners and directors from the IOC, UEFA, FIFA, the International Golf Federation (IGF), World Athletics and World Rugby. Each of the participants has responsibility for either knowledge management or planning, and all of them are keen to learn from each other to constantly improve what they do. This latest meeting focused on fan expectations, services and engagement, with participants sharing their experiences from some of the biggest events this year, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the World Athletics Championships and the Ryder Cup. One session was specifically devoted to the potential of growth, fan engagement and innovation in women’s sport, assessing the need of different approaches by the attending organisations. IKL Associate Director Chris Payne said after the meeting: “KPC has been running for a long while now. The topics covered are always interesting and relevant, flexing to the needs of the organisation hosting each workshop. The need for such an exchange is clear and valuable. We look forward to supporting these workshops in the future.”

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Gartner’s IT Symposium
Also in early November, some team members participated in Gartner’s IT Symposium, organised in Barcelona, Spain. The event provided the opportunity to dive into the technology, insights and trends shaping the future of IT and business, which included accelerating business transformation, cybersecurity, customer experience, data analytics and executive leadership, as well as extensive coverage on the impact of generative AI on every industry and job role. Jennifer Wyss-Vergnaud, currently supporting the initiative of an Olympic AI agenda , said about her key takeaways: “It was an enriching experience, deepening my understanding of AI's transformative role in technology and its far-reaching implications. The speakers were not only inspiring but provided practical insights into how AI will shape our future in profound ways.”

Fabio De Alcantara, who specialises in data and analytics, added: “This was a great opportunity to pause and learn more about the future trends in technology and what we can do at an individual and organisational level to seize new opportunities and improve our efficiency.”

Swiss Sports Documentalists meeting
Finally, the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) hosted the 20th annual meeting of Swiss sports documentalists on 7 November in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, which saw the participation of several IKL team members alongside representatives from diverse sectors such as public authorities, sports organisations, broadcasters and academia. Information and Knowledge Management Specialist Noémie Bommottet, together with Information Specialist Cédric Pella, introduced the objectives and activities of the IOC’s IKL team and provided insights into topics like the curation of content after a platform migration; the evolution of knowledge processes; and the value of the new Games Learning Platform (GLP).