About us
DITSONG: MUSEUMS OF SOUTH AFRICA is an amalgamation of eight museums, seven in Tshwane and one in Johannesburg. These museums have diverse collections covering the fields of fauna and flora, palaeontology, military history, cultural history, geology, anthropology and archaeology. The target audience for these museums are children, youth, adults, students, tourists (foreign and local), researchers and the public in general.
MANDATE
Collection, conservation and safe management of national heritage collections on behalf of the South African nation.
Carry out research and publish such information for the cultural, social and economic use locally and internationally.
Render heritage-based service to other museums as well as to individuals and tertiary institutions.
Vision
To be sustainable museums that are globally recognised, accessible and relevant to all.
Mission
To acquire, preserve, research, exhibit heritage assets, and engage the public on our cultural, military and natural heritage in a sustainable, innovative and transformational manner.
Values
Excellence and Accountabilityl
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• We strive for excellence in all we do, including service delivery and maintaining the sustainability of DMSA as an organisation through positive organisational and corporate identity by putting people first, especially our clients and employees. • We instil a spirit of excellence among employees, motivating them to continuously improve their work performance and achieve the highest quality results at individual, team, and organisational levels. • We foster a culture of trust and accountability where all employees, both managerial and non-managerial, take ownership of their actions, individually and collectively. • We accept responsibility and accountability for our work performance and the services that museums provide to the broader South African society, in alignment with principles of good management and governance. • We acknowledge our mistakes, address issues promptiy, and make necessary adjustments to improve performance and outcomes. |
Professionalism and Teamwork
• We execute our duties with the utmost professionalism to continuously improve the reputation of DMSA. We continually strive towards acquiring knowledge and expertise. By growing and developing our competencies and capabilities, we endeavour to be thought leaders in the knowledge and heritage sectors.
• We advance the rights of vulnerable groups and promote access to our programmes and facilities.
• We are committed to working as a team and creating synergies for shared learning and improved efficiencies across all our museums.
• As a team, we support each other and work tirelessly at building the reputation of DMSA as the place where cultures meet.
uBuntu / Value our People
• We recognise that each person matters. Everyone is valued and respected; their opinion and contributions are important and recognised. To count and be counted, reflects the heartbeat of DMSA.
Ethical Behaviour
• We strongly uphold DMSA’s high standards of ethics in the execution of all
our work in preserving, creating awareness and building knowledge about
our cultural heritage.
• We are committed to acting ethically and transparently in the execution of our duties and responsibilities, prioritising doing the right thing over personal gain.
• We are committed to always acting with honesty and integrity to build trust among employees and between the Council and staff, fostering a positive work environment grounded in strong human relationships.
• The Council’s resolve and determination to fight against fraud and corruption guide decision-making on the part of both management and
Council.
• All organisational values pertaining to honesty, integrity, accountability and the fight against fraud and corruption are communicated to all employees, individually and collectively, on a consistent and regular basis.
Creativity and Innovation
• We are committed to working smarter and harder by fostering a culture of creativity and innovation, encouraging new ways of thinking, learning, and working. Our approach aims to improve organisational effectiveness and efficiency, particularly during challenging economic times, while combating stagnation and enhancing productivity.
• We are committed to developing and maintaining an organisational culture that stimulates and promotes creativity and innovation on a continuous basis. We see this as an imperative for DMSA, which currently seeks better ways of ensuring financial sustainability.
We Are Ditsong
PROFESSIONALISM
We execute our duties with utmost professionalism to improve the reputation of the Institution;
We continually strive towards acquiring more knowledge and expertise and by growing and developing our competencies and capabilities we strive to be thought leaders in the knowledge and heritage sectors;
We advance the rights of vulnerable groups and promote access to our programmes and facilities.
ACCOUNTABILITY
We are responsible and answerable that the products and services provided by our museums are of the best possible quality, given our resources and capabilities, and are delivered in accordance with the principles of good governance;
When mistakes are made, we take corrective action and resolve the situation quickly, ensuring that lessons learnt inform new, improved approaches to how we work.
ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR
We view our responsibility for preserving, creating awareness and building knowledge about in a serious light;
Our decisions and actions are therefore considered and based on what is the correct action to take;
Our ethical behaviour means that we have zero-tolerance towards unfairness and discrimination of any form.
EXCELLENCE
We strive for excellence in all that we do. We know that our impact and sustainability is dependent on putting people first, especially our customers and employees;
We therefore benchmark ourselves with international best practices, as we move towards being a digitally transformed, accessible and relevant group of museums.
TEAMWORK
We are committed to working as a team and creating synergies for shared learning and improved efficiencies across all our museums;
As a team, we support each other and work tirelessly at building the reputation of our brand as the place“where cultures meet”.
VALUING OUR PEOPLE
To count and be counted, our people are the heartbeat of DITSONG;
Each person matters, they are valued, they are developed, their opinion is important and their contributions are recognised.