This article attempts to cover the history of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) from its beginnings in the early fifties to present day challenges and recent developments. As AIIC evolved and its membership increased to about 2,500 members around the world, so did its complexity. Its evolution mirrors the coming of age of a profession with the concomitant challenges that every profession and professional organization must face today: safeguarding standards of quality, maintaining and improving working conditions, the forces of deregulation and changes brought about by new technologies. AIIC can look back on solid accomplishments covering most every facet of the profession, its achievements serving professional interpreters around the world, whether they are members of AIIC or not.