During the CIG course I did not even dream about it, but then the dream happened and soon came true.
The Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) course I attended at the end of June this year was held in the magnificent environment of the manorial estate Novi Dvori in Zaprešić, a town close to the Croatian capital, Zagreb. The owner of Novi Dvori was the most famous Croatian ban, Josip Jelačić.
After completing this exciting, full of energy, wonderful and useful course, a written homework was required for obtaining the certificate. Although we could choose any topic, my decision was to ‘stay’ in the Novi Dvori, which, although I had known since childhood, I literally fell in love with.
Usually when it comes to manorial estates and castles somehow men are most often in the foreground. For that reason, I chose women in Ban Jelačić’s Novi Dvori as a topic. The women who had their home there, and who gladly accepted and hosted others into that home. Women who were also benefactors – such as the ban’s wife, Sofija, the ban’s sister, Anka, and Hanika the castle’s cook.
Over the next two weeks, I put everything down on paper, and wrote my homework according to all IE criteria and sent it to my trainer. Thanks to the excellent feedback I received, I started to think about turning my homework into reality. And it happened: I offered the idea to the Tourist Board of the city of Zaprešić and they accepted it!
In mid-October, in Novi Dvori, ‘Ban Jelačić’s Days’ were held on his birthday. A wonderful tradition that has been successfully running for years. My tour called ‘Women in Novi Dvori of Ban Jelačić’ also got its place there. The excellent reactions of the people who were involved in this tour made me feel satisfied and happy.
Therefore, I would like to thank Toni Ganjto, director of the Tourist Board Zaprešić, as well as our trainer, Ivana Zrilić, for their support and encouragement. I am joyful and proud to have had the opportunity to interpret at least part of the heritage of my beautiful country. And that so soon after the course.
Marina Krivošić has been a certified tourist guide for Zagreb city and Zagreb County since 2009 and works as a freelance tourist guide in Croatia. She became an IE Certified Interpretive Guide in June 2020. Marina can be contacted at: marina.krivosic@gmail.com.
To cite this article:
Krivošić, Marina (2020) ‘How my CIG homework turned into reality‘. In Interpret Europe Newsletter 4-2020, 21.
Available online: https://www.interpret-europe.net/fileadmin/Documents/publications/Newsletters/IE_newsletter_2020_4_winter.pdf
