Rwandan reporters have been urged to portray the country positively as there are very many positive things to report.

Presenting research findings on the international perceptions of Rwanda after Genocide to The New Times staff this week, Willy Mugenzi, a visiting lecturer at the National University of Rwanda, said that despite commendable developments in the country after the 1994 Tutsi Genocide, Rwanda’s image is still portrayed ‘negatively’ in some countries.

"Rwanda is considered to be one of the fastest developing countries in Africa beating many other countries across the continent. But many people know Rwanda for her past and Genocide related images other than her commendable development,” Mugenzi said.

In his research, now secured by University of Peace in Costa Rica, he indicated that most people in the west - about 95.5 percent of his respondents - still associate Rwanda with the Genocide.

Over 70% of his respondents, he said, indicated that they had no knowledge at all about Rwanda before the Genocide. And whether it was Tutsi Genocide is still a contentious issue, he noted. 

According to his research, about 15.5 percent of his respondents have known Rwanda because of Gacaca traditional courts, while others have known her because of the mountain gorillas.

He attributed negative publicity of Rwanda, and Africa in general, to international media and reminded the journalists present of the power they wield and their role in portraying a positive image of their country.

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