WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
14 September 2017 
(17-4874) Page: 1/21 
    
 
OPTION PAPER ON ENHA NCING THE LANGUAGE M IX IN TA ACTIVITIES  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENT  
OPTION PAPER ON ENHA NCING THE LANGUAGE M IX IN TA ACTIVITIES  .........................  1 
1   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 2 
2   INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  3 
3   SITUATION ANALYSIS  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 3 
3.1   Defining the scope of language coverage imbalance  ................................ .........................  3 
3.2   Language coverage in Geneva -based regular global activities  ................................ ............  4 
3.3   Understanding the root causes of language imbalance ................................ ......................  5 
3.4   Assessing the demand for advanced courses in French and Spanish  ................................ ... 6 
3.5   Assessing human resources involved in WTO TA offer  ................................ ......................  7 
4   OPTION ANALYSIS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 8 
4.1   Offering courses in French and Spanish online  ................................ ................................ . 8 
4.2   Offering courses in French and Sp anish on a rotational basis ................................ .............  9 
4.3   Offering courses with interpretation  ................................ ................................ .............. 10 
5   CONCLUSIONS AND POSS IBLE SOLUTIONS  ................................ ...............................  12 
6   PROPOSED NEXT STEPS  ................................ ................................ ............................  14 
Annex 1 - List of 2017 Geneva -Based Activities  ................................ ................................ .....15 
Annex 2 – Relevance of the language issue for O LD Courses Not offered in ALL 3 
Languages  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 16 
Annex 3 – Analysis of Possible language coverage in the NEW Regular Courses  ......................... 17 
Annex 4 – Feasible Language diversification option for OLD Courses Not offered in ALL 3 
Languages  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 18 
Annex 5 – Considerations and Reported Challenges linked to Interpretation  .............................. 19 
Annex 6 – Estimated Additional YEARLY Expenditure for Language Diversification FOR all 
12 courses  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 20 
Annex 7 – Additional Costs per Week of course  ................................ ................................ ......21 
  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  1  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  
1.1.  This paper was produced by the Secretariat in response to the External E valuation of the 
WTO TA conducted in 2016 that recommended to "regularly review and report on the availability of 
course -offerings in French, Spanish and other languages relative to the size of the pools of 
potential trainees." (R ecommendation 23 in WT/COM TD/89).   
1.2.  The review of the language balance within WTO Technical Assistance (TA) offering s revealed 
that moderate language imbalance resides principally in Global face -to-face activities offered in 
Geneva and in particular a sub -set of these that qualify as regular TA offerings.   These are 
activities offered on regular basis (and in most cases every year)  in sessions of short duration .   
1.3.  The situation as of 2017 indicates that o ut of 21 courses that have been offered in Geneva in 
a recurring fashion over the past  four years or more, 12 pose an issue with at least one  of the two 
language s (French and/or Spanish) . Most of these 12 activities are delivered at advanced level, 
which suggests that a significant portion  (estimated to reach up to 25% based on 2017 figures)  of 
the WTO advanced TA is subject to language coverage disparity . However, although they represent 
57% of the regular Geneva -based offerings  in number, these courses account for less than  one 
third of the total number of training days spent in  regular Geneva -based course s. 
1.4.  In 2017, there were 5  new courses organized in Geneva and considered for offering on a 
regular basis. Most of these are envisaged for offering in English  only, which is likely to  exacerbate 
the language imbalance in the future . However, it is premature to anticipate the language 
challenge related to these courses at this stage , and any conclusion in this regard would be 
qualified . These courses will be monitored to re-assess their language coverage  once they are  
tested and their pertinence  and format validated . Two of these courses "Thematic Course on 
Agriculture for LDCs" and "Government Procurement Agreement Academy" will be offered with 
interpretation in English and French on 16 -19 October 2017 for the former and in all the three 
languages for the latter on 20 -24 November 2017. Beyond pilot -testing the performance of these 
particular courses with interpretation, this pilot will help assessing more accurately the technical 
feasibil ity of interpretation as a solution for language diversification in an advanced training set -
up.  
1.5.  This paper  explores the root causes of the current language imbalance in Geneva -based 
regular course offerings and  discusses possible options to overcome  it. It also explores the 
advantages and the challenges of each option and verifies their validity against the particular 
context of the 12 activities in question . The analysis concludes that two options can conservatively 
be put forward as possible soluti ons:  (i) to offer the same course in French and Spanish on a 
rotational basis; or (ii) to offer interpretation into French and Spanish during the courses held in 
English.  To keep as much interactivity in the activities concerned a possible; it is conside red 
preferable to offer interpretation into one single language at a time.  The second solution would 
therefore involve a succession of English -French and English -Spanish courses.  
1.6.  Despite the theoretical feasibility of the two options above,  deciding on t heir implementation 
and/or selecting among them in cases where both options are applicable  requires a careful 
consideration of several factors including:  
a. Level of demand for the courses  in the three languages;    
 
b. Cost implications of each solution. These include: (i) training facilities and equipment on 
the WTO campus; (ii) cost of additional beneficiaries of TA activities; and (iii) cost of 
human resources ; and  
 
c. Technical feasibility for each course  considered  individually . 
1.7.  Finally, the paper present s a preliminary analysis of which courses would be more compatible 
with which option and  provides  an estimate of  the expected additional expenditure. It suggest a 
series of next steps that include: (i) Members consideration of the analysis and decision on 
imple mentation of language diversification; (ii) Secretariat's phased -in approach to 
implementation of the said decision; and (iii) Secretariat's monitoring of , and reporting on  
progress in implementation.  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  2  INTRODUCTION  
2.1.  The WTO operates in three languages: English, French and Spanish.  As Members and 
Observers have to identify their preferred working language, 70% of them operate predominantly 
in English, 18% in French and 12% in Spanish.  
2.2.  In principle, beneficiaries' officials should have access to WTO TA  in any of the three 
languages  they prefer.  Since 2012 the annual  TA reports analyse the language mix of the TA 
activities of the year  under consideration  (see documents WT/COMTD/W/197, 205, 209, 216 and 
225).  
2.3.  Even if individual participants in TA activities  are not bound by their authorities' overall 
language preference and can follow TA in a different language that they master, successive TA 
annual reports have shown significant imbalances in the TA demand by language. Discrepancies 
between languages have b een further exacerbated by the Progressive Learning Strategy  (PLS) , as 
it proved difficult to maintain the same language mix at each of the three training levels.  The 
External Evaluation of the WTO TA conducted in 2016 recommended to "regularly review and  
report on the availability of course -offerings in French, Spanish and other languages relative to the 
size of the pools of potential trainees." ( Recommendation  23 in WT/COMTD/89).  
2.4.  In response to this recommendation, the Secretariat carried out a thorough analysis of the 
current situation to define the scope of  the language imbalance within  the WTO course -offerings , 
to evaluate the extent of such imbalance mainly for the Geneva -based product mix , and 
understand its root causes , as well as  to describe the offer vs . demand conundrum (Section 3). 
Based on this analysis, possible options for language diversification  were explored along with their 
human and fi nancial resource implications  (Section 4).  A number of conclusions are drawn from 
the results of the a nalysis and suggestions  made on the possible way forward (Section s 5 and 6 ). 
Findings of the survey conducted for the purpose this analysis among relevant Secretariat's staff 
as well as information collected from TA databases and other sources on the cours es' history are  
presented in greater details in the relevant Annexes (Annexes 1 to 5).    
3  SITUATION ANALYSIS  
3.1  Defining  the scope of language coverage im balance  
3.1.  When reviewing language coverage of WTO TA offering, it is important to clearly define  the 
scope of  the review in order to put any findings with regard to the balance among the three WTO 
languages, or lack thereof in  the broader perspective of WTO TA  activities . This paper  analyses  the 
data collected in the successive WTO TA annual reports since 2012 concerning  language cover age 
in TA activities and c ompletes  this data with a qualitative scrutiny of  the WTO  TA product mix  with 
respect to  language  relevance and  availability.  The fol lowing facts are observed :  
a. Online  training  does not present any language issue.  Courses  are always offered in the 
three languages . Participants can chose their preferred training language at the time of 
registration for each individual course.  Therefore the share of the three languages in 
total participation is entirely dependent on the individual choice of participants .  
b. Successive Secretariat's annual WTO TA reports since 2012 reported that language  
coverage of WTO TA follows closely Members' language p reference . This observation is 
valid when considering all WTO TA activities at the macro level i.e . irrespective of the ir 
geographic coverage  be it national, regional or global. TA face -to-face activities delivered  
in English represented on average 63% of the total activities per year over the period 
2012-16, against 14 % for French and 16% for Spanish.  
c. For face -to-face activities, language coverage is not an issue for n ational and regional 
activities  as these are generally held in the language of preference of beneficiaries.  The 
issue arises essentially for global activities since they are targeting all beneficiaries by 
definition.    
3.2.  The analysis above clearly demonstrates that the language cover age issue is only relevant for 
global face -to-face a ctivities . These activities are usual ly held in Geneva and represent  on WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  average1 nearly one fifth of total face -to-face activities2. A review of this category of TA activities 
narrows down the scope of the language coverage issue even further  by considering the following 
aspects :  
a. The category of global face -to-face TA activities also includes long -terms internships that 
are irrelevant to the language coverage  issue and are hence excluded from the 
subsequent analysis . 
b. The category of global face -to-face TA activities also includes few one-off events  (e.g. 
seminars or workshops) . Their number is very limited and they are usually delivered 
using interpretation. As such they do not pertain to the issue of language coverage  and 
are therefore excluded from the subsequent analysis . 
3.3.  It can be concluded  from the above  that for accuracy and rigor purposes, any review of the 
language coverage  in WTO TA should be limited to a sub-set of global  face-to-face activities  held in 
Geneva , in sessions  of a short duration3 and that qualify as regular products in the WTO TA 
catalogue .  Data from 2017 records 26  such activities  (see attached list in A nnex 1).   Among 
these:   
a. Twenty one (21) activities have been  organized more than once4, are offered on a yearly 
basis in most cases;  and are intended to remain as such in the foreseeable future . These 
activities will be referred to herein as "Old" to differentiate  them from the second pool of 
activities described in the following bullet ;  and 
b. Five ( 5) activities organized or planned to be organized for the first time in 2017,  and 
which are candidates for offering regularly in the future. These activities will be referred 
to herein as "New". 
3.4.  This above category of  New Geneva -based activities will be excluded fr om the subsequent 
analysis and their mention  therein  would only serve illustrative purposes when appropriate and 
necessary . This is due to the  uncertainty  at this stage concerning their future availabilit y, their  
final programme and format , and their  language coverage and/or  compatibility with language 
diversification ; which would render a ny conclusion in that regard  premature and qualified. The 
specific context of each of these courses is detailed in Annex 3.  
3.2  Language coverage in Geneva -based  regular  global activities  
3.5.  This section analyses the coverage of the three WTO languages within the 2 1 Old Geneva -
based activities identified above and listed in Annex 1 . The number of activities by language 
coverage is  presented  in the table below:  
  
                                                 
1 Average calculated for the period 2012 -2016. 
2 Further details regarding the features of these activities in 2016 can be found in Section 4 of 
WT/COMTD/W/225 .  
3 One or two weeks in most cases. The longest courses are "Advanced Trade Po licy Courses" that last 
8 weeks . 
4 At the date of this report . WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  Old activities  
 Number  
  Percentage of the 
total  
Activities that do pose a language issue   
 12  57%  
  Number  percentage     
 Activities that pose an issue 
with one language only  2 17%    
9%  
 Activities that pose an issue 
with both French and Spanish  10 83%    
48%   
    
Activities that do not pose a language issue  
 9  43%  
 
TOTAL  21  100%  
 
3.6.  Data shows that 57% of Old global Geneva -based activities pose a language challenge. 
Among which, nearly 17% pose a problem with only one of the two  WTO official languages ( French 
or Spanish ), while the remaining (over 83%) are offered in English  only and pose therefore a 
problem with both languages  (see the list in Annex 2).  In other terms, nearly 48% of Old global 
Geneva -based activities are available in English  only.  
3.7.  Most of these activities are delivered at an advanced level . Considering the fact that global 
activities account for a sizeable proportion of the advanced activities (51% of the total number of 
advanced activities in 2017), this means  that a significant portion of the WTO advanced TA poses a 
language challenge.  A tentative  estimate based on the above -mentioned figures would suggest 
that the language challenge concerns roughly a quarter  of the advanced activities.  
3.8.   However,  this language imbalance among regular Geneva -based courses appears to be less 
severe  when considered by the number of days of training,  hence TA expenditure. Indeed, courses 
that do not pose a language issue represent 70% of the total training days spent on global 
activities in Geneva.    
3.3  Understanding the root causes of language imbalance   
3.9.  In-depth analysis of Geneva -based regular course s was carried out to identify potential 
reasons for the non -availability of courses in all three languages. This was achieved  through 
interviews  with Secretariat staff  directly or indirectly  involved in  TA delivery,  examination of TA 
data, as well as  review of course materials . A summary of the most frequently stated factors is 
outlined  below:  
a. Perceived lower level of demand and/or qualified candidates for the same 
training in French or Spanish . There is some anecdotal evidence of  a lower level of 
demand for the courses  in question  from French or Spanish  speaking  candidates. More 
importantly , it was reported that,  when they apply for several of these courses, French 
or Spanish speaking candidates , more often than not, fail to meet th e minimum technical 
requirements established for the course . Conversely, some respondents argued that 
when French  or Spanish speaking candidate s are technically good enough to be 
accepted,   they usually  are equally  proficient in English , given that most of the 
advanced technical literature is available in English only. They added that, if given the 
choice, some of these candidates would even prefer attending the course in English . This 
led these respondents to conclude that language issu e is thus irrelevant at this advanced 
level of trainin g. A more thorough discussion  of the perceived vs. documented lack of 
demand in presented in section 3.4 below .    
b. Lack of Secretariat staff to expand the TA offer . As Secretariat 's staff resources are 
progressively reallocated to dispute settlement and other negotiating priorities, the 
scheduling of TA has to compete with the manifold other functions of the available  staff. 
The consequences of this pressure have recently started to show in some areas of WTO 
work such as TBT where the inability to cope with the  ever increasing  TA demand has WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  repeatedly been pointed out . Enhancing the language balance necessarily require s the 
allocation of additional staff time, regardless of the way it  is achieved . This will be 
further discussed  in section 3.5  below.  
c. Limited training facilities on the WTO campus .  The WTO campus is operating at 
full-capacity, if not  at over -capacity. Only one proper training room is currently available 
on the WTO campus  and is already  fully booked throughout the year.  Trainings  that 
cannot be accommodated in this training room are usually dispatched in meeting rooms, 
which is  considered  sub-optimal  from a pedagogic viewpoint;  and in some extreme 
cases, trainings are even delivered in rooms that are completely unfit for purpose . 
Expand ing language coverage in face -to-face training w ould inevitably require n ew 
training facilities with adequate equipment.  
d. Shortage  of staff members and experts with the required langu age capabilities .  
There is a shortage of WTO staff able to train in French or Spanish at an advanced level  
which limits the possibilit y of offering the courses in the se languages. The courses in 
question  address aspects that require cutting -edge expertise. The likelihood of finding 
external trainers  with the right expertise  who speak  French or Spanish  is also quite low . 
For some highly specialized courses, such as courses on Intellectual Property Rights o r 
the course on Trade Policy Analysis, respondents considered it even impossible to offer 
the courses at the same advanced level with the same quality of experts in French and 
Spanish.  
e.  Unavailability of  software,  textbooks and other course materials.  For a few 
courses, language diversification is difficult or even impossible as they  rely heavily on  
databases and/or other resources that exist in English  only e.g. " Thematic Course on 
Practical Guide for Trade Policy Analysis" and "Course on Trade in Valu e-added and 
Global Value Chains with Focus on Africa" . 
f. Limitations due to partnership arrangements for certain activities . Out of the 21 
Old courses that pose a language issue, three  activities  related to Intellectual Property 
Rights are jointly organized with WIPO , WHO or both . These  organizations have 7 official 
languages. Therefore, any decision to offer the courses  in all three  WTO languages  would 
have to be  taken in consultation with these partners  and would have to be  expanded to 
the remaining 4 official UN  languages.   
3.10.   The factors presented above are mainly those that are common to most of the courses  
under review  and/or that  cut across various course  situations . Several other factors  that emerged 
from the research  are specific to certain courses or scenarios; they will therefore be used in the  
chapters below  to illustrate the relevant  points as appropriate .      
3.4    Assessing the  demand for advanced courses in French and Spanish   
3.11.   Some evidence was gathered that substantiates th e perceived lower level of demand for 
some advanced courses in Spanish and French. For instance, the data obtained from courses 
offered in the three languages such as the "Advanced Trade Policy Course " indicate th at between 
35 and 60% more applications  are received for courses in English than for the same course when 
offered in French or Spanish.  
3.12.   In addition, for the  12 courses offered currently in English  only, respondents reported some 
anecdotal evidence that supports , size of demand set aside, the perceived  shortage of  qualified -
enough  French and Spanish -speaking candidates. For instance, the few applications from French -
speaking countries received for courses such as the "Advanced Course on GATS " in English are  
predominantly unsuccessful as they do not meet the minimum technical criteria to be admitted for 
the course. It is therefore assumed that  there may not be enough qualified candidates to make it 
cost-efficient to offer those courses in French or Spanish.  
3.13.   Despite the anecdotal evidence gathered, it can legitimately be argued that some of this 
data is possibly  distorted by the fact that language barrier could have prevented many more 
technically qualified candidates from applying for the courses offered in E nglish, leading thus to a 
lower admissibility rate (i.e. candidates qualified relative to applications received) among French or WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  Spanish speaking candidates. The scar ce information gathered during this work brings  equal  
evidence in favour and against this argument.    
3.14.   For instance, d ata collected from the "Advanced SPS Course " and the "Advanced Trade 
Policy Course " (offered in all three languages on rotational basis) indicates that the admissibility 
rate for these courses is usually around 26% and 50% (English); 33% and 4 7% (French) and; 
52% and 6 4% (Spanish), respectively. These figures do not necessarily uphold the claim of a gap 
in qualified candidates bet ween English and the other two languages. Instead, they  tend to 
support the hypothesis of the la nguage barrier being possibly a discouraging factor for technically 
qualified French and Spanish speaking candidates to apply for courses in English.  
3.15.    While looking at the acceptance rate for the same courses (number of participants relative 
to the total n umber of applicants), figures change slightly  as follows:  12% and 33% ( English ); 
14% and 46% ( French ) and; 35% and 69% ( Spanish ), respectively.  This is due to the higher 
number of applicants for courses in English that may make the selection process more 
competitive.   
3.16.    Conversely, failure to gather a sufficient number of qualified candidates for the "Agriculture 
Notification Workshop" in Spanish in 2014 suggests that  the lack of sufficiently qualified candidates 
is not only a perception but an actual matter of fact . It is to be noted that admitting sub -qualified 
candidates for advanced courses is not advisable as it severely undermines the quality of the 
course.   
3.17.   In view  of the non -conclusive  evidence, the Secretariat decided to carry out a more 
thorough assessment. To this end, it selected one course among those that are currently available 
in English only to run a call for candidates for the same course in French and Sp anish. The course 
selected is the " Advanced Thematic Course on GATS". Among the courses currently offered in 
English only, t his course is  one of the few for which conditions are  passably  favourable to be 
offered in French and Spanish in the  near future.  The call for candidates will be issued  during the 
last quarter of 2017.  
3.18.   The result s of this call for candidates will allow the Secretariat to collect more accurate  data 
on the demand for this specific course  in French and Spanish  but may also confirm  or infirm  the 
trend observed for other courses. Lastly, it will allow the Secretariat to have a blueprint to run call 
for candidates for other courses as conditions become more favourable for their potential delivery 
in other languages in the future.    
3.5    Assessing h uman resources involved in WTO TA offer    
3.19.   To ensure a successful delivery  of TA activities , the intervention of a variety of Secretariat 
staff is required at all stages starting from the elaboration of the programme, issuance of 
invitations, participants' selection process that in itself involves various steps, - most of which are 
resource intensive , securing external speakers and organizing their  interventions, participants' 
logistics, delivery , and follow -up. In addition to technical staff, technical support and 
administrative staff, logistics and satellite functions such as interpreters and translators can be 
involved. As a result, any additional TA activity has an impact on staffing availability and allocation 
in virtually all  the areas of WTO work described above and not only within the operational  divisions 
leading the activity in question.  
3.20.   The experience of the "Advanced SPS Course ", one of WTO's flagship Geneva -based 
courses5, was used as a basis to evaluate  staff resources needed to en sure a successful delivery of 
an advanced course in Geneva. It was estimated that for a 3 - week course, 6 man -months are 
necessary for preparation and additional 2 man -months are necessary for delivery and immediate 
follow -up. It was also pointed out based on the comparison between  the preparatory time required 
for the "Advanced SPS Course " that lasts 15 working days and  that required  for its subsequent  
Follow -up session  that lasts 8 working days that the elasticity of preparation time is extremely low . 
i.e.  only a marginal  difference is observed between  staff time required to prepare for a 3 -week 
and that required for  a 1-week course.  
                                                 
5 As highlighted by the WTO TA external evaluation (WT/COMTD/89) . WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  3.21.   Based on these premises, it is roughly estimated that a minimum  of 5 man -months are 
required within the operational divisions to prepare, deliver and implement  follow -up actions for  a 
one-week Geneva -based advanced course. Additional staff time within the support divisions has to 
be factored in.  
4  OPTION ANALYSIS  
4.1.  The available data reveals  that the imbalance in language coverage within regular Geneva -
based courses is severe enough to  warrant  explor ing potential  corrective measures. There are 
theoretically three options to expand  course  coverage  in French and Spanish : 
a. Offering courses in French and Spanish online  
 
b. Offering courses on a rotational basis in French and Spanish  
 
c. Offering course s with interpretation  
4.2.  The feasibility of  these  three options  and the advantages and disadvantages /challenges  of 
their implementation are discussed below in light of the nature of the courses in question  as well 
as the context in which WTO TA is operating.  
4.1  Offering courses in French and Spanish online  
4.3.  Online training offers some indisputable advantages to expand the language coverage of 
WTO TA. In theory it is the most cost-efficient way to reach the maximum number of participants 
at a minimum cost of deployment.  This can be a definite advantage  considering the perceived low 
level of demand from French and Spanish  speaking audience for the courses in question (no risk of 
organizing courses that would have to be cancelled for lack of participants to the detriment of the 
few registered participants). It ensures the consistency of the content and delivery and provides 
flexibility to the learners; who in the case of the courses in question  are likely to be  officials 
occupying strategic positions in their ministries and stretched with time.  However, no advanced 
training is currently available online on the e -Campus , and understandably so. D eciding to offer  
the courses under review  in French and Spanish online  would  present the following 
disadvantages/challenges:  
a. Courses  at advanced level are inherently in compatible with online training.   
Advanced training, which  is virtually  the case of  all the courses in question , is designed 
to be hands -on, with a substantial amount of group work, role plays, site visits, guided 
simulation s on databases and other statistical software, presentations by participants , 
coaching sessions,  exposure to Committees and other  official WTO  meetings,  etc. 
Despite the enhanced level of interactivity that is nowadays achievable  through  online  
training  owing to recent  developments in the e -learning technology,  it is unrealistic to 
assume that the exact same course could equally be delivered through online  and face-
to-face training.  Certainly not  with the current capabilities of the WTO e -Campus.  
b. The volatility of the material covered by some advanced courses do es not 
match the life -cycle of online training .  While the overall programme of the courses 
in question  is generally stable, the specific focus of the sessions evolve s significantly 
from one yea r to another. For instance, some courses are organized back -to-back with 
Committee meetings and course exercises  are built around  the agenda of the Committee  
which changes according to Members submissions that may be received with short notice  
(e.g. "Advanced Thematic Course on Regionalism " and "Advanced Course on Agriculture 
for LDCs "). Other courses  change themes to address emerging issues of interest to 
Members, including potential negotiation topics under consideration by Members (e.g. 
"Advanced Wo rkshop on Public Health " and "Development Dimension of the Multi -lateral 
Trading System ") or even cutting -edge research topics put forward by the course 
applicants  themselves  (e.g. "WIPO/WTO Colloquium for IP Teachers "). This makes it 
impractical and resource -intensive to elaborate a new  online  training module every year, 
and clearly  not feasible under current S ecretariat staffing constraints. It even defeats the 
cost-effectiveness  rationale behind the use  of online training  altogether . Not to mention 
the lead-time required to release an online version of a  given  course in French and WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  Spanish , which makes it  already obsolete by the time of release compared to the original 
course in English , hence perpetuating the inequality  among the  English, French and 
Spanish offering s of advanced training.  
c. Online training cannot  provide  the level of responsiveness that is expected 
from an advanced course . Courses at advanced level  should be flexible enough to 
respond to participant's needs during delivery. Several respondents reported  that despite 
a prior assessment of parti cipants' level of knowledge, specific needs and interests 
through pre -course questionnaires, it is frequent that the content of the course changes  
drastically  during the session to accommodate lo wer absorption capacity of some 
participants (e.g. in the case of courses relying on some specific computer skills such as 
"Thematic Course on Practical Guide for Trade Policy Analysis ")  or on the contrary to 
introduce new  leading -edge topics of common in terest that emerge d during the  
discussions . This level of responsiveness cannot be achieved through online training.         
4.4.  Considering the above,  it can safely be concluded that this option is not an appropriate 
solution to address the language imbalance  issue; as online versions of the 12 courses that pose a 
langue issue are unlikely to  provide the same level of proficiency and interactivity.  This option will 
hence  not be retained as a potential solution.  
4.2  Offering courses in French and Spanish on a rotational basis  
4.5.  Five out the 8 Old Geneva -based regular activities that are offered in at least two  WTO 
languages are  offered in separate language -based sessions on r otational  basis (see Annex 1) . The 
accumulated experience with these courses suggests that offering the same course in the three 
languages separately does not  necessarily  undermine the pedagogical quality of the course. This 
option  presents the following advantages:  
a. It can be more suitable  in the case of  courses for which  there is substanti al 
demand/qualified candidates from French and Spanish speaking countries  
 
b. It facilitates the same level of interactivity as in English -only courses mainly through  
eliminating the language barrier that can detract from participants' confidence in 
engaging during a course delivered i n a language other than their own.   
4.6.   However, for this solution to be effective, a fine balance between demand and offer  in the 
three languages has t o be struck . This can be achieved through striving to find the appropriate 
rotation cycle . For the "Advanced Trade Poli cy Course " and the "Advanced SPS C ourse " the 
balance  was found to be for English to be covered twice in each cycle . For other courses a strict 
alternation seems to work just fine. Therefore, when languages are offered separately, the rotation 
has to be decided on a course -by-course basis.   
4.7.  Despite these positive experiences, offering the courses in question  in the thr ee languages 
separately is neither necessarily feasible or/nor  advisable  in all cases.  The following 
disadv antages/challenges  were reported:  
a.  Mainta ining the same level of offer in English . It was reported for most  of the 
courses in question  that the current offer in English is the minimum necessary to  
painstakingly  match the demand  in this language  while being  the overall  maximum that 
can be delivered  with the current  staffing  level (in some cases there is twice as much 
qualified candidates than the number of seats available6). Therefore, in the current 
staffing situation, offering the se courses in French  and Spanish on a rotational basis  with 
English  would have to be in lieu of the course s in English (i.e. instead of one course in 
English per year as is currently the case for most courses, it would have to be once 
every three years).  This would have a staggering impact on the capacity to match the 
demand from English speaking audienc e. Alternatively, to avoid "Robbing Peter to p ay 
Paul", additional staff should be allocated to  TA delivery .   
                                                 
6 Data collected from the English sessions of the  "Advanced Trade Policy Course"  in 2017  and the 
"Advanced SPS Course" in 2015  indicated that the seats available could  only absorb  60% and 43%  of the 
qualified candidates, respectively . WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 10 - 
 
  b. Limited  language capabilities among trainers.  For exactly half of  the courses in 
question , it was reported that it is strictly impossible  to deliver the  exact same  courses 
in French and Spanish due the highly specialized trainers required, be it Secretariat staff 
or external experts.     
c. Pedagogic constraints . A number of pedagogic constraints were highlighted by 
respondents, few of which constitute outright "deal  breakers" for some courses. To 
understand these constraints, it is important to remember the rather strictly regional 
spread of the French and Spanish languages7. The consequence of this geographical 
distribution is that  courses  offered in French and Spanish  separately  tend to gather 
participants  from the same (one)  region ; which is not the case for courses in English . 
Respondents argued that this:  
i. Defeats the very purpose of a global course  that is by nature aimed  to foster  cross-
fertilization between regions and build relationships  among officials operating in 
different regional contexts. Separate courses will hence disfavour participants from 
French and Spanish speaking regions while participants in Engli sh courses w ould still 
enjoy a high level of inter -regional interaction.     
ii. Would require a dapting some parts of the course (e.g. simulations and case studies ), 
which would otherwise seem irrelevant in a context of a course where virtually only 
one region is represented. While this tailor -made approach is desirable, it limits the 
exposure of participants at this advanced level to cases that may still affect them i n 
the prevailing context of global value -chain s. It was also suggested that if a decision 
was made to offer  a course in separate language -based sessions, then  consideration 
should be given to holding it in the relevant region in cases where  presence in 
Geneva is not necessary .  
iii. Would even  destroy the premises on which  a course can be built e.g.  the "Advanced 
Course on Regionalism " is primarily  intended to showcase the differences between 
RTAs (hence various regions)  and to enable participants to consider various options 
when negotiating RTAs.  Offering it by language is thus not advisable . 
4.8.  Based on the responses to the questionnaires and after due consideration of the specific 
context of each of the 12 Old courses  that pose a language challenge with at leas t one language , it 
was concluded that only 6 of these courses  (Annex 4)  can reasonably be  proposed as potential 
candidates for offering in separate sessions , with the caveat that additional resources be allocated , 
and that the number of qualified French and Spanish speaking candidates  for the courses  meets 
the cost -effectiveness threshold. Half of these courses seem to be equally compatible  with 
interpretation (Annex  4).  
4.3  Offering courses with interpretation  
4.9.  Interpretation  has rarely  been used in the delivery of WTO TA  so far . Yet, a yearly proportion 
of 7% of face -to-face activities over the period 2012 -2016 was provided with interpretation  in at 
least two of the three WTO languages (and in most cases in all three languages)8. 
4.10.   Three  out the 9 Geneva -based Old regular activities that do not pose a language issue  are 
offered with simultaneous interpretation (Annex 1). These courses have a commonality which is 
that they are all lecture -based, in a workshop set -up, with a large number of participants  
(sometimes exceeding 100 participants) and they require less one -on-one interaction between the 
trainers and the student . In general terms, simultaneous interpretation offers the following 
advantages:  
a. It can be more suitable  in the case of courses for which there is significantly less 
demand/qualified candidates from French and Spanish speaking countries ; 
 
                                                 
7 Latin America and the Caribbean for Spanish, North and West Africa, and some Indian Ocean countries 
for French, English for Asia -Pacific, East -Africa, Middle -East and CEECAC regions . 
8 WT/COMTD/W/225 . WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 11 - 
 
  b. It offers the possibility to deliver the exact same course content in the three languages, 
as the same experts can be used even if they do not speak French and Spanish ; and  
 
c. It addresses  to a certain extent9 the regional divide that can arise when offering the 
courses in each language separately  (see 4.7 above) .      
4.11.   Despite these advantages, interpretation does pose some challenges that make  it difficult to 
implement in some cases and clearly not feasible nor advisable for some of the courses 
considered. The following constraints  were reported:  
a. Longer duration required to cover the same content. In principle,  one team of 
interpreters can only work fo r two three -hour sessions a day  with a 90 -minute break in -
between  (i.e. 6 hours a day). Most of the courses considered run for 8 hours a day, not 
to mention going over -time frequently. This means that with interpretation, there is 25% 
less time  available every day to cover the course material. Two solutions can be 
envisaged:  (i) using two teams of interpreters instead of one to cover the 8+ hours of 
course daily; or (ii) expand ing the number of days of the course  by 25%. Both options 
have seriou s cost implications, the latter involving more staff time as well.  
b.  Staffing constraints within the WTO . Offering courses with interpretation requires 
the allocation of additional staff resources for various reasons:  
i. Offering a course with interpretation  would mean dividing the seats available for 
training among English -speaking and the other participants. This reduces the current 
offer for English -speaking public10. The keep the same level of offer for this public, 
more sessions would be needed, requiring  additional staff resources . 
ii. As described above,  the duration of the courses may need to be expanded to cover 
the course material, requiring additional trainer  time.  
iii. Offering interpretation may require additional support staff time.  
c. Logistical challenges. Respondents reported a number of hurdles linked to the 
organization, delivery and follow -up of the courses:  
i. When courses rely on trainers who speak English to deliver a course with 
interpretation in French or Spanish, the se are required to submit all the material in 
advance to be able to share it with interpreters and more importantly , to translate it 
and make it available to French or Spanish speaking  participants. This is extremel y 
difficult when the course relies  on exter nal experts who are by definition high in 
demand and short of time . 
ii.  Scheduling courses with interpretation would have to take into account the peak 
periods where availability of external interpreters can be limited due to high demand.  
iii. Participants' selec tion process  becomes more challenging as trainers (who speak 
English only) usually select participants based on their submissions (e.g. responses 
to questionnaires, research papers, individual project concept note s, etc.). This 
means that  the selection pro cess would have to start earlier to account for 
translation time. Occasionally, back and forth communication is needed between the 
trainer and the potential candidate to expand on some aspects of their application. 
This would be difficult due to  the language barrier. Also, selection would have to take 
into account an additional factor to discriminate among equally qualified candidates, 
                                                 
9 For TA activities that consist in actual training co urses (i.e. other than seminars) and are not lecture 
based, it is advised that interpretation be provided in only 2 languages at a time .  
10 Although this reduction may not be as dramatic as when offering the courses in 3 languages 
separately. For instance,    considering a scenario where the rotation is based on a strict annual alternation 
between English, French and Spanish, only one third of the current size of English speaking audience is catered 
for every three -year cycle. Conversely, in a three -year cyc le, half of this audience is catered for in a scenario 
where interpretation is offered from English to French and Spanish, successively each year.  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 12 - 
 
  which i s the language balance. This makes an already complex process, even more 
so.  
d. Pedagogic constraints . Pedagogi c constraints are by far the most prominent concerns 
raised by the respondents  with regard to interpretation . These include:  
i. Difficulty to implement group -work. For 75% of the courses that pose a language 
issue, respondents considered it extremely challen ging or even impossible to 
implement group -work and other practical exercises with interpretation. For most of 
these courses, the maximum number of participants per group is 5-6 participants, 
which sums up to as many as 5-6 groups  per session . For some courses practical 
exercises are even done by participants individually including the use of software and 
databases. Group work for most courses may constitute no less than 60% of the 
programme and requires the  assistance of a facilitator.  Handli ng this with 
interpretation seems considerably challenging.  Other challenges  reported linked to 
implementing group -work with interpretation are included in Annex 5 . 
ii. Difficulty to implement follow -up actions.   Some courses require follow -up with 
participant s after the course. It is difficult for trainers who speak English only to 
follow -up with participants of another language who attended the course with 
interpretation.   
iii. Visual aids and learning supports.  Some parts of the courses use charts and other 
visual aids on the screen or databases and software for which the interface is only 
available in English. It would be challenging for participants to listen to 
commentaries in their own language while referring to visuals in English.  
4.12.   Against this backdrop, the analysis concluded that 9 out of  12 Old courses that pose a 
language challenge with at least one language  could  in principle be offered  with interpretation , 
provided additional resources are allocated and that the number of quali fied French and Spanish 
speaking candidates for the courses meets the cost -effectiveness  threshold . Three of these courses 
can equally be eligible  for offering in language -based separate sessions  (Annex 4).  
4.13.   It should be noted that while interpretation was deemed possible in theory for these 9 
courses, respondents expressed strong reservations with regard to the level of quality achiev able 
using interpretation for such highly specialized courses.  As demonstrated by the analysis above 
and in Annex 5, a significant rearrangement of the courses would be required to overcome some of 
the challenges inherent to interpretation.  Therefore, a ssuming human and financial  constraints are 
addressed, the perfor mance of these courses with interpretation will have to be pilot -tested on a 
course -by-course basis to find the right delivery format.   
4.14.   To this end, the Secretariat undertook to pilot test  two of the New courses "Thematic Course 
on Agriculture for LDCs " and "Government Procurement Agreement Academy" with interpretation 
in English and French on 16 -19 October 2017  for the former and in all the three languages for the 
latter on  20-24 November 2017 . Beyond pilot -testing the performance of th ese particular course s 
with interpretation , this pilot will help assessing more accurately the technical feasibility of 
interpretation as a solution for language diversification in an advanced training set -up; and if 
successful will be used as a showcase to r elieve some of the reservations put forward  by the 
survey respondents.  
5  CONCLUSIONS  AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS  
5.1.  The a nalysis of the three possible options for language diversification in Geneva -based 
course s concludes that only two  out of the three  options  considered  can be retained as potential 
solutions:  
a. To offer the same course in French and Spanish; or  
b. To offer interpretation into French and/or Spanish during the courses held in English.   
5.2.  The analysis also identified which courses are potentially more compatible with which option.  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 13 - 
 
  5.3.  Decision to implement either of the two solutions or both should consider the following 
factors:  
a. Level of demand for the courses in the three languages .  This factor is essential to 
ensure that future decision to implement any of the two solutions is conditional on and 
commensurate to the actual level of demand for the same courses in French and 
Spanish .  What is the threshold below which it would be ineffective to hold a  course in a 
different language or to offer interpretation in another language? This would have to be 
determined upfront. Besides,  decision should consider that offering French and Spanish 
cannot be done in replacement of activities offered in English (giv en that the current 
offer in English is often not even enough to  cover the demand), it would have to be done 
over and above the current offer (to avoid  detrimental displacement effect).   
b. Cost implications of each solution.  Regardless of the option considered, the analysis  
demonstrates that language diversification would inevitably entail increased TA 
spending . It was roughly estimated that offering all the 12  Old regular courses  that pose 
a language issue in French and Span ish would cost over 1 Mo CHF per year (exclusive of 
the one -off cost related to the creation of at least one additional training room).  Annex 6 
introduces  a cost simulation for a full-scale implementation  scenario describing the 
various rubrics  of the recurring costs.  It should be noted that this estimate is 
conservative as it only accounts for training costs to cover the demand from French and 
Spanish speaking audiences, and not additional  costs that would be incurred to deliver 
additional  training ses sions for English speaking audience to maintain the current  level of 
offer to this public.   The analysis  provides substantive details on the expected  
expenditure items for each solution , which  helps making an informed decision on the 
way forward. Major exp enditure areas to consider include:  
i. Training facilities  and equipment  on the WTO campus.  Irrespective of the 
option selected, n ew training facilities would have to be created to accommodate the 
expanded offer .  To implement the interpretation option, t he existing interpretation 
equipment would have to be  tested and upgraded, and additional  equipment would 
have to be procured  for the new facilities . 
ii. Cost of travel and accommodation for participants . Regardless of the option, 
language diversification will i nflate the  costs related to travel and DSA for 
participants attending the courses. More training sessions would mean a greater  
number of TA Beneficiaries  (hence more expenses)  and expanding the course 
duration  -even without  additional sessions to compensate for reduced offer in 
English - would still surge the cost of accommodation of participants  and experts .  
iii. Cost of human resources.  The analysis highlights that none of the solutions can be 
implemented without allocation of a dditional human resources .  While each of the 
solutions may vary slightly in the number  and the functions of the additional human 
resources required, they still entail serious implications. For instance, both would 
require additional expert time11, addition al technical staff resources, translation 
services although at variable degree s depending on the solution , and   additional 
administrative and support staff time. The only notable difference is that selecting 
interpretation as a solution would have to  also consider interpreters ' costs and 
availability .  
c. Technical feasibility.  While the analysis provided a general idea on which solution 
could apply to which course, it also raised a number of red flags with regard to the level 
of performance that is possibly achievable  with each of the solution s. There is a limit to 
what is feasible in terms of language diversification while maintaining the integrity of the 
courses in question  and their current quality. There is clearly no one -size-fits-all recipe 
and this fin e limit would have to be considered on a course -by-course basis.   
5.4.  Given the cost implications of language diversification and the inability of the  Secretariat to 
absorb most of these costs in the current context of budget freeze, priorities would have to be 
                                                 
11 Some courses can involve up to 10 paid speakers . WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 14 - 
 
  established for a gradual implementation within the limits of the budget  annually  available for TA 
activities . Annex 7 introduces a break -down o f the estimated cost  per week of course . It aims to  
facilitate priority - setting taking  by providing ballpark figures on what would cost to implement an 
additional week of training using such or such language diversification solution.  
6  PROPOSED NEXT STEPS  
6.1.  Members are invited to consider the proposed solutions and their related cost implications 
and provide guidance to the Secretariat on the way forward.  
6.2.  Should Members decide to implement language diversification options as proposed  above  and 
provide soluti ons to address budgetary constraints,  including guidance on prioritization,  the 
Secretariat will phase -in implementation as follows:  
a. Assessing the d emand for each course  individually . The Secretariat will take stock 
of the call for candidates  planned to take place during the last quarter of 2017 
(explained in Section 3.4) and will subsequently carry -out the same exercise for the 
remaining courses by order of readiness12. 
b. Pilot-testing technical feasibility . Courses for which sufficient demand for French 
and/or Spanish is confirmed, the technical feasibility will be pilot -tested to verify the 
performance of the course delivered with the relevant language coverage solution. 
Lessons learned from the pilot course s scheduled to take place with interpretation i n the 
last quarter of 2017 (explained in Section 4.3) will be taken into account in the 
subsequent pilots.  
c. Implementation of language diversification . Courses for which both demand and 
technical feasibility are established  will be part of the Geneva -based offer in three 
languages  by order of priority  and their implementation will be monitored and adjusted 
as required.    
d. Monitoring language diversification i n New courses . The Secretariat will monitor 
the implementation of the three  New courses that may pose a language issue and will 
assess the relevant option for offering them in French and Spanish should they be 
confirmed as part of the regular Geneva -based course offer.     
e. Mainstreaming language diversification in future course offer. The Secretariat will 
ensure that for any proposed new product in the regular Geneva -based offer, language 
diversification is assessed from the outset.  
6.3.  The Secretariat will endeavour to report regularly on progress made in implementation of 
language diversi fication.  
  
                                                 
12 It should be noted that among the courses that pose a l anguage issue, three can only be considered if 
agreement is reached with the co -organizing organization namely WIPO and WHO (see Section 3.3) .  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  Annex 1 - List of 2017 G eneva -Based Activities  
Activity  Language 
offered  Language 
arrangement  
   
Old Courses    
Advanced Trade Policy Course  En, Fr, Sp  Separate sessions  
Advanced SPS Course and Follow -up En, Fr, Sp  Separate sessions  
Thematic SPS Workshop  En, Fr, Sp  Interpretation  
Workshop on LDC priority needs in Intellectual Property  En, Fr, Sp  Interpretation  
Introduction Day  En, Fr, Sp  Interpretation  
Seminar for Journalists  En, Fr, Sp  Separate sessions  
Introduction Course for LDCs En, Fr  Separate sessions  
Advanced Thematic Course on WTO Dispute Settlement   En, Sp  Separate sessions  
Advanced Thematic Course on Trade in Services for Acceding 
Governments  En 
- 
Advanced Thematic Course on Trade in Goods for Acceding 
Governments  En 
- 
Development Dimension of the MTS and Enhancing LDC 
Participation  En 
- 
Advanced Workshop on Agriculture Notifications  En - 
Thematic Course on Practical Guide for Trade Policy Analysis  En - 
WIPO/WTO Colloquium for IP Teachers  En  
WIPO/WTO Advanced Course on IPRs for Government 
Officials  En 
- 
Advanced Workshop on Public Health  En - 
Symposium on TRIPS for Capital -based Officials  En  
Advanced Thematic Course on TBT and follow -up En - 
Advanced Thematic course on Trade and Environment  En - 
Advanced Thematic Course on Regionalism  En - 
Advanced Thematic course on the GATS  En  - 
   
New Courses    
Thematic Course on Agriculture for LDCs  En, Fr  Interpretation  
Workshop on Standards, Regulations and Health  En - 
Course on Trade in Value -added and Global Value Chains 
with Focus on Africa  En 
- 
GPA Academy  En, Fr, Sp  Interpretation  
Workshop for Intellectual Property Judges  En - 
 
  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  Annex 2 – Relevance of the language issue for OLD Courses Not offered in ALL 3 
Languages   
Activity  Relevance of the language  
  
Courses with no language issue   
Introduction Course for LDCs  
 Currently offered in English and 
French . This course is not relevant for 
Spanish*  
Advanced Thematic Course on Trade in Services for 
Acceding Governments  
 Currently o ffered in English only . This 
course is not  relevant for French and 
Spanish** 
Advanced Thematic Course on Trade in Goods for 
Acceding Governments  
 Currently offered in English only. This 
course is not   relevant for French and 
Spanish** 
 
Courses currently lacking French language   
Development Dimension of the MTS and Enhancing LDC 
Participation  Currently offered in English only. This 
course is not relevant for Spanish* 
Advanced Thematic Course on WTO Dispute Settlement   Currently offered  in English and 
Spanish  
 
Courses currently lacking both French and Spanish  
Advanced Workshop on Agriculture Notifications  
Thematic Course on Practical Guide for Trade Policy Analysis  
WIPO/WTO Colloquium for IP Teachers  
WIPO/WTO Advanced Course on IPRs for Government   Officials  
Advanced Workshop on Public Health  
Symposium on TRIPS for Capital -based Officials  
Advanced Thematic Course on TBT and follow -up 
Advanced Thematic course on Trade and Environment  
Advanced Thematic Course on Regionalism  
Advanced Thematic course on the GATS  
 
* With the exception of Equatorial Guinea, all WTO Members and Observers that are LDCs have either English 
or Spanish as their working language in WTO .  
** These courses are specifically designed for acceding countries, which are predominantly English -speaking. 
Out of 21 Observers, only 2 are French -speaking and 1 is Spanish -speaking. This makes it not cost -efficient to 
consider offering the courses in French or Spanish be it separately or with interpretation .  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 17 - 
 
  Annex 3 – Analysis of Possible language coverage in  the NEW Regular Courses  
a. Workshop on Standards, Regulations and Health . This course was offered for the 
first time in 2017 in English only. While the course was judged successful on its first 
iteration and was originally designed to be offered on regular basis, there is no certainty 
on whether staff resources will allow its delivery in the near future even in English. If 
offered again in English in the future then it can potentially be added to the list of 
courses that lack both French and Spanish.  
 
b. Course on Trade in Value -added and Global Value Chains with Focus on Africa.  
This course  is organized for the first time in September 2017 in English. If successful, 
this course is intended to be offered on regular basis. Given its focus on Africa, this 
course is only relevant for English and French -speaking countries. Therefore it  may add 
to the list of courses that lack French.    
 
c. Thematic Course on Agriculture for LDCs . This course  is offered for the first time in 
October 2017. Interpretation will be provided on pilot basis in English and French - the 
two languages relevant for L DCs. If successful, consideration may be given to continuing 
its offer with interpretation. In which case, this course would be added to the list of 
courses that do not pose a language issue.  
 
d. Workshop f or Intellectual Property Judges . This course  is tentatively planned to 
take place during the last quarter of 2017 in English but are not yet at a stage where its 
relevance to the language coverage issue or its future regular offer can be anticipated 
with a sufficient degree of certainty.   
 
e. The Government Procurement Agreement Academy . This course is offered for the 
first time in November  2017. Interpretation will be provided on pilot basis  in all three 
languages. If successful, consideration may be given to continuing its offer with 
interpretati on. In which case, this course would be added to the list of courses that do 
not pose a language issue.  
 
 
  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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  Annex 4 – Feasible Language diversification option for OLD Courses Not offered in ALL 3 
Languages  
Activity  Language option1 
Advanced Thematic Course on WTO Dispute Settlement  
 Separate sessions  
Advanced Thematic Course on TBT and Follow -up 
 Separate sessions  
Advanced Thematic Course on Trade and Environment  Separate sessions  
Thematic Course on Practical Guide for Trade Policy Analysis  
 Interpretation  
WIPO/WTO Colloquium for IP Teachers  
 Interpretation  
WIPO/WTO Advanced Course on IPRs for Government Officials  
 Interpretation  
Advanced Workshop on Public Health  Interpretation  
Symposium on TRIPS for Capital -based Officials  Interpretation  
Advanced Thematic Course on Regionalism  Interpretation  
Advanced Workshop on Agriculture Notifications  
 Interpretation/ Separate 
sessions  
Advanced Thematic Course on the GATS  Separate sessions/ 
Interpretation  
Development Dimension of the  MTS and Enhancing LDC 
Participation   Interpretation / Separate 
sessions  
 
 
                                                 
1 When more than one option is possible, these are listed in order of preference . WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
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Annex 5 – Considerations and Reported Challenges linked to Interpretation  
a. A team of  four interpreters is needed for a course delivered in two languages and si x 
interpreters for a course delivered in three languages .  
 
b. While interpretation in two languages is recommended for an actual  training -course 
set-up, this means that offering courses with interpretation would involve a 
succession of English -French and English -Spanish courses.  
 
c.  One third of WTO TA activities proposed for delivery with interpretation would be 
advantageously delivered in all three languages simultaneously . These are mostly 
lecture based courses; a format that lends  itself to interpretation in three languages.  
 
d. It was considered that interpretation would be challenging for some courses that are 
extremely technical by nature (i.e. using econometric concepts) as interpreters 
would need to be provided with so me sort of glossary of terminology in the three 
languages. These are not readily available.  
 
e. As interpreters are paid CHF 740 per person per day, interpretation for a bi -lingual 
course would cost approximately CHF 3,000 per day and CHF 15,000 per week.  
 
f. The sole WTO training room is already fully booked and its interpretation facilities 
would need maintenance and an upgrade.  Other training facilities would need to be 
identified.  
 
g. To enhance the flexibility of interpretation provision, it is recommended t hat 
personal  devices (headset receivers, Lavaliere microphones, etc.) be procured. This 
would make it easier  to deliver interpretation  for instance  when the courses include 
breakout1 sessions in  separate  training rooms not equipped with fixed interpretatio n 
infrastructure . 
 
h. Some report ed challenges /consideration  related to the organization the group -work 
include :  
 
i. Group size and composition .  Two situations are possible: (a) forming 
groups by language which may cause disparity in the size of the groups and 
defeats the purpose of cross -regional interaction sought by mixing the 
languages. In this case  interpretation will only be required for th e facilitator; 
or (b) mixing languages in the groups, which would require  a team of 
interpreters  for each group to operate . This is impossible when  5-6 groups 
are formed during the course.  
 
ii. Time allocated to group work.  When groups are formed of mixed 
languages and group deliberations rely on interpretation. Personal devices 
that allow simultaneous interpretation are necessary to avoid extending the 
time required for group work to account for subsequent interpretation.  
 
iii. Density of the course content and over-time work . For at least one 
third of the courses suggested for interpretation, it was reported that, given 
the course's density, a substantial part of group -work is carried out by 
participants after the course hours for debriefing in the plenary the n ext day. 
This is impossible to achieve when the groups involve partici pants from 
different languages.  
                                                 
1 Breakout sessions are distin ct from group -work in that they usually involve larger number of 
participants and are organized by theme (or by language in the case of the workshop on notifications for 
instance) in the format of ask -the-expert or a debate .  WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 20 - 
 
Annex 6 – Estimated Additional  YEARLY  Expenditure for Language Diversification  FOR all 
12 courses1 
Non-recurring costs : 
Cost of creation of at least one additional training room  TBD 
Mobile interpretation devices (for break -out sessions as 
necessary)  ~100.000 CHF  
Recurring costs :2 
Staff resources in technical divisions3  ~214.625 CHF/year  
Additional  support staff4 ~18.959 CHF/year  
Additional honorarium for  external trainers due to 
extension of cost duration  for courses with interpretation5  ~16.380 CHF/year  
Cost of interpretation6 ~168.264 CHF/year  
Additional DSA for experts and participants7  ~173.880 CHF/year  
Total running costs for additional 1 session of each course 
offered in Fr or Sp separately8   ~ 519.333  CHF/year  
Total Running costs  ~ 1.109.462 CHF/year  
Notes:  
 
 This cost estimate does not include expenditure that would be related to  offering additional sessions in 
English to maintain the current level of offer . 
 
 It is based on the assumption that the courses in question  will be available with the same regularity in 
the future . As such,  it does not account for additional resources tha t may be required to maintain the 
statut quo (e.g. for TBT and Trade& Environment courses) .   
                                                 
1 Costs are calculated on the basis of the 12 courses being offered either in separate sessions or with 
interpretation according to the proposed option in Annex 4. Courses for which two options are possible were 
considered for the preferred option . 
2 Miscellaneous costs related to prof essional translation of documents and additional support staff time 
for preparation are not included but may apply . 
3 Includes :  7 man -months/course per additional session for courses offered in separate sessions and  
for which the need was expressed; and  0.25 man -month per course for courses offered with interpretation to 
cover additional preparatory times, costed at  highest level of pensionable remuneration for G7 staff (salary 
scale 2017) .    
4 Considered only for courses with interpretation. 3 man -months are required to ensure smooth 
implementation of interpretation cost at the lowest level of pensionable remuneration for G4 staff (salary scale 
2017) .   
5 Some courses use more external speakers than others, an average of 2 experts was retained for each 
course .  
6 Based on a team of 4 interpreters for interpretation in two languages only (En and Fr/Sp).  Another 
50% extra costs will be necessary to offer co urses in the three languages .  
7 Calculated on the basis of 30 participants per course. It should be noted that regardless of the 
extension required beyond 5 working days, additional 2 days of DSA apply to cover the week -end. 
8 This cost is based on the hi story of expenses recorded for each of the courses considered for offering 
in separate languages and include cost of experts. it accounts for one additional session every year delivered in 
either French or Spanish .   WT/COMTD/W/229  
 
- 21 - 
 
Annex 7 – Additional  Costs per Week of course  
Courses offered in separate sessions  
Average running cost per week of course  ~86.556 CHF  
Staff resources in technical divisions  ~ 80.485 CHF1 
Total cost for one additional one week session   ~ 167.040 CHF 
Cour ses offered with interpretation  
Staff resources in technical divisions  ~3.354 CHF2 
Additional support staff  ~5.366 CHF3 
Additional honorarium for  external trainers4   ~2.400 CHF 
Cost of interpretation5 ~14.800 CHF 
Additional DSA for experts and participants6  ~33.120 CHF 
Total cost for one week course offered with 
interpretation  ~ 59.039 CHF 
 
 
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1 This cost is not an arithmetic averag e but rather the time estimated to be required for preparation, 
delivery and follow -up for a one -week- course, and which equals  6 man -month calculated on the basis 
explained in Annex 6.  
2 Estimated at 0.25 man -month calculated on the basis explained in An nex 6.  
3 On the basis explained in Annex 6.  
4 Additional two working days to cover the increase in the  course duration for a one -week course, on 
the basis of 2 experts per course.  
5 Based on a team of 4 interpreters for interpretation in two languages onl y (En and Fr/Sp). Another 
50% extra costs will be necessary to offer courses in the three languages.  
6 On the basis of 30 participants per course.