On Saturday, August 30, 2025, the Chief Director, Mr. Sumails Ewumtomah Abudu, delivered a compelling speech on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Ali Adolf John Mburudiba at the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy, and Bible Translation (GILLBT) 52nd Annual General Meeting. The event, held at the GILLBT Conference Hall in Tamale, brought together esteemed guests, partners, and stakeholders to celebrate the organization’s impactful work.
Mr. Abudu began by expressing his profound appreciation for GILLBT’s dedication to Bible translation, language development, and literacy. Over the past 63 years, GILLBT has been a beacon of light, not only in translating the Bible but also in promoting language development and literacy across Ghana. The organization’s work has been instrumental in empowering communities, particularly in the Northern Regions, by providing them with the tools and resources necessary to read and write in their native languages.
The Chief Director highlighted GILLBT’s remarkable achievements, including the development of 47 previously undocumented languages in Ghana. Through its intellectual and academic endeavors, GILLBT has become the largest contributor to the documentation and analysis of Ghana’s minority languages, providing invaluable resources to the University of Ghana and the nation at large. Furthermore, GILLBT’s commitment to community empowerment is evident in its self-managed literacy programs, which have enrolled up to 30,000 learners annually, with an impressive graduation success rate of about 90 percent.
Mr. Abudu also acknowledged GILLBT’s role as a reliable partner to the Government of Ghana. The organization’s collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to translate the 1992 abridged constitution into 24 languages and review it in six other languages has been instrumental in educating Ghanaians about their rights and responsibilities. Additionally, GILLBT’s partnership with the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) to translate the “Rights of the Ghanaian Child and Ghanaian Woman” into selected languages has provided crucial legal and social information to vulnerable populations.
The Chief Director emphasized that GILLBT is not just a Bible translation organization but a key partner in national development, civic education, and cultural preservation. He urged all present to continue supporting GILLBT’s noble mission, recognizing the importance of partnership between the Church and the organization in ensuring that the transformative message of God’s Word is accessible to every Ghanaian.
Through his words, the Chief Director has underscored the importance of partnership between the government and organizations like GILLBT in driving national development.