Read about Maja Gacic

What brought you to a career in technology at the United Nations?

In recent years, the UN has been putting more and more effort and knowledge into enabling the best digitization of the Organization, data-driven and tech-enabled Peacekeeping. Technology is not my main occupation, as currently I'm serving as Deputy Senior Police Advisor and Police Deputy Chief of JOC in UNFICYP, and my background is Policing and Security, but in order to perform these types of jobs, knowledge in the field of technology is necessary and mandatory. On a daily basis, I'm supervising several Platforms such as UNITE AWARE, FSS, UMOJA, I-Need, Reporting system, etc., which help me to fulfill the Mission Mandate.

What has been your favorite technology project or initiative at the United Nations and why? What was your contribution?

My role in UNFICYP and my daily duties and responsibilities don't include Individual projects, but in an Integrated manner, together with the Military and Civil Affairs component, I took the lead in launching the project UNITE AWARE/Situational Awareness in December 2022. This platform consists of several different sub-platforms for such as creating Patrol Plans, an Improved Reporting System (SAGE), Visualization and analysis of Information from Reports, Mapping, Datahub, etc. The launch of this project and the introduction of technology in the area of ​​reporting enabled us to better understand the situation on the ground, quick reaction in cases where the Mission Mandate is violated, better use of all resources and the most important quality of work and safety and security of all UNFICYP Staff members. UNFICYP CCTV System is directly connected with the Integrated Joint Operation Center, where, with the improvement of technology, we have a live broadcast from all Sectors, which helps to have security awareness on a high level. One of my favorite platforms is Power-BI, which consists of all the necessary information useful for future work planning, data comparison and analysis, projected use of resources in accordance with the needs of the mission and events on the ground and better reporting.

What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?

Same advice that I'm always giving when there is a necessity to encourage women to join the Police service, the Military or UN Peacekeeping Missions. There is no job or field that women can't perform in the same or even better manner than men. Equality starts from your own thinking and behavior and History shows that women are brave enough to fight against prejudices and build their careers in all spheres, no matter how much they are dominated by men. The IT field requires brains, not muscles.

Note: Maja Gacic is no longer serving with the United Nations. Her contributions, however, remain part of the UN Women in Tech campaign archive.