“To make the Pan-African Master’s in Conference Interpreting and Translation (PAMCIT) a regional center of excellence dedicated to building language capacity, improving the quality of institutional communication, and advancing West African integration.”

This was the vision shared by Ms. Olukemi Robinson Atabuh, Director of Conference Services and Protocol at the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Chairperson of the PAMCIT II Task Force.

She spoke on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at the opening of a meeting in Lomé, Togo, focused on standardizing the Master’s in Conference Interpreting and establishing a Master’s in Translation at the University of Lomé.

She emphasized that aligning this Master’s program with required academic and professional standards—under the Bachelor-Master-Doctorate (BMD) framework—will meet demands for professionalization, quality assurance, practical internships, and alignment with the actual needs of various target groups at the national, regional, and international levels.

Ms. Olukemi Robinson Atabuh stressed the importance of competence, rigor, and ethics in training conference interpreters to boost the ability of ECOWAS institutions to dialogue, negotiate, decide, and act in a multilingual environment.

She noted that these requirements will also ensure that high-level exchanges, technical meetings, political consultations, and decision-making processes take place with accuracy, neutrality, and trust. According to her, establishing a Master’s in Translation addresses an equally fundamental need.

“Within ECOWAS, languages play a pivotal role. They are at the heart of our community initiatives. They bring people closer together, facilitate mutual understanding, support regional diplomacy, and make community policies accessible to citizens. Without languages, there is no real dialogue; without dialogue, there is no sustainable integration,” stated Ms. Robinson Atabuh.

She reiterated the ECOWAS Commission’s commitment to supporting the University of Lomé in this effort to promote academic excellence, pool expertise, and build a regional pool of professionals to meet the growing language needs of the region.

Dr. Agboh Ebony, Deputy Director of the International Language Center at the University of Lomé, praised Togo’s integration into PAMCIT, highlighting how it strengthens the training and professionalization of interpreting in West Africa.

He expressed his firm belief that languages serve as bridges between peoples, vehicles for mutual understanding, and key drivers of regional integration.

In a region as rich in linguistic and cultural diversity as West Africa, having strong translation and interpreting skills is a true necessity to support mobility, diplomacy, cooperation, and regional development, Dr. Agboh Ebony stated.

He added that this meeting provides a clearer understanding of the requirements, mechanisms, and opportunities associated with PAMCIT, particularly in creating job opportunities for young people.

For his part, Dr. Aly Sambou, Coordinator of the Master’s in Translation and Conference Interpreting at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal, and representative of PAMCIT universities, shared the background of PAMCIT.

He noted that the program was established in 2009 with support from the European Union and the United Nations to address the shortage of professional translators and interpreters in Africa.

The first phase of PAMCIT (2009–2021) helped harmonize curricula and lay the foundation for high-level language training.

The second phase, launched by the ECOWAS Commission in November 2025 in Lomé, marks a new milestone with the inclusion of innovative subjects such as translation technologies and terminology management. This meeting aims to consolidate achievements, expand PAMCIT’s reach, and strengthen its regional and continental footprint.

Participants at the meeting included Alphousseyni Diamanka, Coordinator of Language Services at the ECOWAS Commission.

Additionally, during a visit to the participants in the evening, the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ms. Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja, reaffirmed the vital role of African institutions in youth training, describing it as the only guarantee for a bright, self-reliant, and prosperous future for Africa in general and ECOWAS in particular.