Samoa’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from 21 to 26 October will be a unique opportunity to profile Samoa and highlight Samoa and Pacific voices, experiences, and perspectives on the global stage.

It is also the first time a Pacific Island country has hosted a CHOGM, making Samoa’s aspiration to deliver a successful CHOGM even more significant.

Central to this success is the role of media.

In collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, arrangements are currently underway to ensure the media and communication elements required for a meeting of this scale are well-planned and well-coordinated as articulated in the Com. Sec Blue Book.

Full details of the media moments aligned to the official programme will be made available ahead of CHOGM, and as is usual CHOGM process, journalists wishing to cover official media opportunities, including Commonwealth Forums and Commonwealth Side Events, will need to apply for accreditation.

We expect many of the Head of State and Head of Government delegations visiting Samoa will travel with their own media packs. The process for vetting international media (that is, not Samoa media) is managed by the Commonwealth Secretariat, with security checks actioned by the Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Service.

Accreditation and vetting for local media (that is, media registered for Samoa) is managed by the CHOGM Media and Communications Sub-Committee.

Registrations for media accreditation close on 21 September; individuals who have applied should expect advice as to the outcome of their application shortly after that.

As is also usual for CHOGMs — and due to the various security and logistical considerations of an event of this nature — media access at some venues will be limited, and due to space constraints, will be managed via escorted media pools.

The system of media pooling will allow journalists to obtain photographs and video footage, including at the top of closed sessions — alongside the Host Broadcaster and Host Photographer — to feed back to the Media Centre for all accredited media to access. The expectation on pool journalists to share a reasonable selection of material is not a new idea and is a regular feature of the media environment around the world.

To ensure media pools represent the breadth and width of the Commonwealth, while also reflecting the importance of the Pacific lens at this CHOGM, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the CHOGM Media and Communications Sub-Committee are committed to balancing the pools so that as many journalists as possible get the opportunity to participate, should they wish to.

More information on the process for journalists interested in being part of a media pool will be made available in due course.

As well as the pooled material, all accredited media will have access to the Host Broadcaster live feed and recorded footage, and all photography collected by the Host Photographer, at the CHOGM 2024 Media Centre.

Situated at the Radio 2AP Centre in Mulinu’u, the CHOGM 2024 Media Centre will be the headquarters for all CHOGM media information and support, and offer a range of facilities for accredited media, including workspaces to compile and file reports, editing booths, interview rooms, press conference facilities, and areas to shoot pieces to camera.