This article shows that within 50 years CIUTI has developed into a reputable organization now with 40 member institutes both within and outside of Europe. In the beginning CIUTI was devoted to promoting the cooperation between its members (mobility of students and trainers; exchange of knowledge), but was also anxious to anchor translation studies at universities as a scientific discipline in its own right. The author shows that CIUTI membership is of symbolic value and provides important social capital thus being of advantage to its members in their national and international ranking. In 1994, CIUTI became an international association (association internationale) under Belgian law and then began to play a role in education matters to influence European language and translation politics in collaboration with other international organizations. This was made easier by the fact that CIUTI was registered as a NGO in Geneva in 2003. However, according to the author of this article, the internal development of CIUTI has not kept pace with the external requirements of becoming a global player. That will require changes in its decision making structure and in the disposal of its financial resources by giving the Board (Conseil) more power to implement an appropriately efficient and professional public affairs strategy. CIUTI has a difficult decision to make, either to stay on the beaten track and avoid any risks or to forge a new future for itself and accept its role as a major global player.