This article addresses the relationship between translation, intercultural communication and international development practice as encountered in the field. Through tracing parallel developments in the academic fields of translation studies and intercultural communication studies, it highlights the move from static concepts of language, nation, and culture to the fluid exchange spaces of multilingual and intercultural encounters. In-the-field examples of international development challenges are examined and discussed in the light of these theoretical shifts. The article proposes (a) that both fields of study can learn from each other, (b) that translation training should account for the messy intercultural spaces of contact zones, and (c) that guidance on intercultural practice be further developed to benefit those working in the field.