How to get media coverage for your conference in Kigali

Kigali hosts a busy calendar of international meetings. The Rwanda Convention Bureau reported that Kigali was the second most popular city in Africa for hosting international association meetings in the 2024 ICCA rankings, and that Rwanda welcomed over 52,000 delegates for meetings and events that year.¹ That is good for the city, but it means editors receive invitations to conferences almost every week.

Getting media coverage for a conference in Kigali therefore depends less on the size of your event and more on whether it gives journalists something new. A plenary with ten speakers is not a story. A new dataset, a signed agreement, a first-time commitment or a strong human story usually is.

Sit down with the programme team about two months before the event and ask what will be new. Useful questions:

• Will anything be launched, signed or announced for the first time?
• Is there new data, and can it be shared under embargo?
• Which speakers can say something specific and quotable, not just welcome remarks?
• Is there a person or project in Rwanda that shows the issue in real life?
• Does the event link to a wider national, regional or global moment?

Write the angle as a headline. If the headline would work only in your own newsletter, keep looking. Different outlets need different angles: a business paper wants investment and jobs, a broadcaster wants pictures and voices, an international desk wants why it matters beyond Rwanda.

A good press list is short and specific. Group it into Rwandan outlets, including Kinyarwanda radio and television, regional East African media, international correspondents based in or covering the region, and specialist titles for your sector. For each name, note what they cover and a recent story.

Pitch by email and keep follow-ups to a minimum. In Cision's 2024 State of the Media survey, 87% of journalists said they prefer to receive pitches by email, and only 8% said it was acceptable to follow up more than once.²

• Eight weeks out: send a short save-the-date to key journalists with the news angle.
• Three to four weeks out: send the media advisory and offer interviews.
• One week out: confirm attendance, share accreditation steps and the programme.
• The day before: send embargoed materials to those who have agreed to the embargo.

Offer an exclusive interview or early access to one outlet if it suits your goal, but say so openly and do not offer the same thing twice.

Foreign journalists who plan to report from Rwanda can apply for media accreditation for foreign media, a service provided by the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC) and applied for online through IremboGov. Eligible applicants include Rwandan correspondents of foreign media, EAC journalists and other foreign journalists, and an IremboGov account is needed to apply.³

According to IremboGov, applicants attach a passport-size photo, a copy of a press or service card and an application letter from their media house, and give project details, previous work and an address and contact person in Rwanda. After approval, the e-accreditation badge is sent by email.⁴ IremboGov lists a processing time of three days and fees of $30 for Rwandan correspondents of foreign media and EAC journalists and $100 for other foreign journalists (checked October 2026).³ Fees can change, so always check the official page.

Accreditation is not a visa. Rwanda's embassy in the Netherlands advises that journalists applying for accreditation also need to apply for a regular visa.⁵

Your event accreditation, meaning a badge to enter the venue, is a separate thing. Run your own media registration and make clear that it does not replace RMC accreditation.

Journalists judge an event by how easy it is to work there. Plan a press area with power, reliable internet, a view of the stage or a clean audio feed, and water. Name one media contact who carries a phone and knows the speakers.

• Hold short interview slots with key speakers, and tell journalists in advance who is available and when.
• Provide interpretation or bilingual spokespeople where your audience needs Kinyarwanda, French or Kiswahili.
• Share high-resolution photos and short video clips on the day, with captions and credits.
• Publish speeches and the press release online, so quotes can be checked.

In our own practice, same-day photos and a short highlight clip are often what turns a mention into a published story, especially for outlets that could not send a photographer.

Treat consent with care. Mark areas where delegates may be filmed, give people a way to opt out, and take extra care around children or vulnerable participants who may be at the event.

Copy this list into your event plan.

• One-sentence news angle agreed with leadership.
• Two or three spokespeople briefed, with key messages.
• Press list grouped by outlet type and language.
• Save-the-date pitch sent eight weeks out.
• Media advisory and interview offers sent three to four weeks out.
• RMC accreditation link and steps shared with foreign journalists.
• Your own media registration and badge process set up.
• Embargo terms written down and agreed.
• Press area: power, internet, audio feed, seating, signage.
• Photographer and video team briefed to share content the same day.
• Consent signage and opt-out process in place.
• Press release, speeches and photos ready to publish.
• Media monitoring set up to track coverage for two weeks after.

Coverage often appears in the days after a conference, not on the day. Send a short wrap-up with key outcomes, photos and quotes to journalists who could not attend. Answer follow-up questions quickly.

Then measure what you set out to achieve. The Barcelona Principles 4.0, launched by the measurement body AMEC in 2025, ask for clear, measurable objectives, reporting of outputs, outcomes and impact, and no use of invalid measures such as advertising value equivalents.⁶ In practice, count stories, but also look at which outlets carried your main message, which spokespeople were quoted and whether the coverage reached the audience that matters to you. Note what worked, so the next event starts from a stronger press list.