* The meeting dedicated to standardizing the Master's in Conference Interpreting and creating a Master's in Translation at the University of Lomé concluded on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Lomé, Togo, with the validation and tripartite signing of the roadmap for these two training programs

ABUJA, Nigeria -- This document, executed in two original copies, was signed by the Vice-President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), H.E. Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja; the Minister Delegate for Higher Education and Scientific Research of Togo, Prof. Gado Tchangbedji, representing the Minister of National Education; and the representative of the President of the University of Lomé, Prof. Edinam Kola marking a decisive step toward the operationalization of these two Master's programs.

The immediate handover of the document by Professor Tchangbedji to Professor Kola for official transmission to the President of the University of Lomé represents a key milestone toward bringing both Master's programs to fruition.

This transmission, alongside the Togolese government's commitment and the announced ECOWAS support for the retreat dedicated to revising the curriculum frameworks, lays the foundation for joint monitoring in accordance with the agreed responsibilities and deadlines.

Interventions by representatives of the Togolese government, the University of Lomé, and ECOWAS confirmed the relevance and regional scope of both programs, as well as the need to ensure their academic coherence, professional quality, and African alignment.

In his remarks, Prof. Edinam Kola expressed the institution's gratitude to ECOWAS and the Togolese government for their unwavering support. He affirmed that the University of Lomé is fully committed to implementing both Master's programs by mobilizing its academic resources and strengthening its regional and international partnerships.

For his part, Prof. Gado Tchangbedji emphasized that these Master's degree programs align with the national priority given to human capital development and a productive youth, recalling Togo's central role in West African integration.

Meanwhile, Patibouyou Kirong, Chief of Staff to the Ministry of National Education, highlighted ECOWAS's actions in promoting youth employability, training, and inclusive governance.

Taking her turn to speak, Ms. Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja recalled that regional integration relies on accessible, high-quality communication, which underlines the strategic importance of interpreting and translation. According to her, interpreting and translation are not mere technical tools, but indispensable strategic levers for intercultural dialogue, institutional cooperation, and the consolidation of African unity. She reaffirmed ECOWAS's commitment to supporting conference interpreters and translators in Africa.

She also noted that the University of Lomé is poised to become a reference center for the training of interpreters and translators.

The summary of the report, presented by the Coordinator of Language Services at the ECOWAS Commission, Alphousseyni Diamanka, highlighted the proposed creation of the Professional Master's in Translation, the harmonization of both program frameworks, the clarification of language combinations, the integration of translation technologies and neural machine translation, as well as the improvement of admission and evaluation procedures.

For the Director of Conference Services and Protocol at the ECOWAS Commission and Chairperson of the PAMCIT II Task Force, Ms. Olukemi Robinson Atabuh, this meeting was a "historic moment."

She stressed that standardizing the Master's in Interpreting and establishing the Master's in Translation will offer new opportunities to the University of Lomé. "Without language, there is no dialogue, and without dialogue, there is no integration," she stated.

She expressed her gratitude to the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Togolese authorities, the Resident Representative and the ECOWAS National Office in Togo, the Coordinator of the Master's in Translation and Conference Interpreting at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal (and PAMCIT member), university officials, experts, academic researchers, as well as the entire staff of the ECOWAS Commission for their contributions to the success of the meeting.