How to put the Certified Interpretive Writer (CIW) skills into use – An idea from Zagreb.
Is there a future for interpretive writers? All of us interpreters, and especially interpretive writers, are facing huge challenges and threats as artificial intelligence tools develop rapidly. It probably comes down to a choice: Do we want to support creative professionals and their expression, or not? Luckily enough, there are a lot of us who do. And, since we are creative, we will always have ideas and new projects. If we respect human effort and incorporate it into our projects, we still have some hope.
What is there to see in the Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb) area? Novi Zagreb is part of Croatia’s capital, built during the socialist era. Of all of the places you could visit in Croatia, why on Earth would you go and see the Novi Zagreb neighbourhood? Curiosity! If there is a place not on the tourist trail, that residents are fond of, there will be someone who wants to understand what there is to love about it.
And now, let’s combine the two charismatic underdogs: Novi Zagreb and interpretive writers. This September, an Interpret Europe training course for Certified Interpretive Writers (CIW) will take place in the Novi Zagreb neighbourhood, on the grounds of the Zagreb fair, once a place where you could see Sputnik and Apollo up close, and now a photogenic spot if you like urban decay. The training is a part of the project, The New Shore vol 2. Last year’s first edition of the project comprised several interpretive walking tours of the area for the locals. Participants exchanged thoughts and stories, and, based on their contributions, a map for a self-guided tour was created. The resulting New Shore map can be found at: www.secret-zagreb.com.
This year, the new edition of the project takes a leap forward. An alternative guidebook will be published, containing self-guided walks crafted as part of the certification process after the CIW course. At least that’s the plan. Of course, we cannot force the participants to find inspiration in Novi Zagreb, but if they do and their home assignments show sufficient quality, they might be included in the booklet.
Two CIW trainers, Ivana Jagić Boljat and Iva Silla, came up with this idea during a brainstorming walk around the Bundek lake in Novi Zagreb several years ago. How about thinking about CIW as a part of a project that could have a goal to publish a book with self-guided tours – as the CIW homework? A participatory guidebook that brings together different stakeholders and different perspectives? After several attempts to secure funding to help us realise such a book, we finally have an opportunity to try it. The idea has changed a bit: the book now contains several ‘chapters’, and the CIW self-guided walks are just one of them. Another chapter will feature fictional stories inspired by the area, to show that tourism and art can work together, that interpretation blends perfectly with artistic expression, and the specific knowledge, viewpoints, and unique human styles are not so easy to replace.
Both editions of The New Shore project are financially supported by The City of Zagreb, proving once again that heritage interpretation can be implemented in various ways, that various institutions recognise its benefits, and that an independent jury is ready to invest in our plan. Let’s hope we have positive updates by the end of the year, and let’s cheer that the walk around the lake will come full circle with a creative guidebook that unveils the spirit of the lake’s surroundings. Will the CIW help increase the visibility of an under-visited area? We hope you, too, will cheer for the underdogs!
Find out more about IE’s training courses and sign up for one near you: https://interpret-europe.net/training/ie-courses/ie-training-courses/
Iva Silla is an experience designer and the owner of Secret Zagreb tours and activities. She is an active Interpret Europe certified trainer. Last year, she published her first book, In the Footsteps of Secret Zagreb, using the guidelines of interpretive writing. Contact her at: iva@questoftales.com.
To cite this article: Silla, Iva (2026) “Interpretive writers at The New Shore”, Interpret Europe Newsletter Summer 2026, pp. 19–20. Available online: Interpret Europe Newsletter Summer 2026.
