Southern European countries are beginning a debate about intercultural communication. These countries are now being confronted with the social, legal, educational and linguistic problems posed by new circumstances and must develop initiatives to overcome them. In reference to Community Interpreting and Translating (CI&T), an analysis of the situation reveals that there are many different settings in which CI&T practitioners are needed. These practitioners or third parties may be grouped into official or “professional”, and non-official or “volunteer” intermediaries. This paper describes the role of practitioners within Spain’s national debate: first, after an overview of the changes that Spanish society has undergone, the various roles of interlinguistic mediators are described; second, results are revealed from a survey conducted in health care services; third, some alternatives are set for the integration of practitioners as part of the mediation process, along with varying degrees of recognition; and fourth, some future perspectives and general conclusions are presented.