The development of conference interpreting in Croatia can be traced back to the late 1950s. At that time, interpreters were not institutionally organized. Simultaneous and consecutive interpretation was required for single lectures, seminars and conferences, most of them concerning politics, science and the arts. The meetings were held in tourist centres, which gradually developed into important conference venues (Dubrovnik, Cavtat, Opatija).

Organized simultaneous and consecutive interpreting in this region dates back to the 1960s, when the Association of Conference Interpreters of Serbia was established in Belgrade. The Association soon grew into the Yugoslav Association, with members primarily from Zagreb and Belgrade, who interpreted throughout the former Yugoslavia. As the number of international gatherings grew, the number of qualified conference interpreters also increased, and the need arose to organize interpreters’ associations at the level of the former federal republics.

The first such association was established in Slovenia, and soon afterwards, at the initiative of Vladimir Ivir and Janko Paravić, the Association of Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpreters was established in Croatia on 23 December 1974. This is today’s Croatian Society of Conference Interpreters.

The founder members of the Association were (in alphabetical order): Vera Andrassy, Vesna Grbin, Dalia Grin, Vladimir Ivir, Živka Jurak, Jagoda and Višnja Lukavac, Marija Marušić, Neda and Janko Paravić, Mladen Raukar, Jere Tarle and Gabrijela Vidan.

The following members were elected to the Steering Committee: Janko Paravić, president; Gabriela Vidan, secretary; and Jagoda Lukavac, treasurer. A Supervisory Board was also elected (Vesna Grbin, Dalia Grin, Marija Marušić), as was a Court of Honour (Živka Jurak, Vladimir Ivir, Jere Tarle).