Margarita Yordanova

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

I come from a mid-class family from a small town in Bulgaria. With a degree in Economics and fluent German at 22, I started my tech career in the private sector. Then, I went to study human rights in a Danish United Nationﾒs Peace Messenger college when I discovered my strong desire to become an international criminal lawyer and pursue a career in human rights. The support of my family was crucial. It allowed me to study and acquire my later experience in forensics, law enforcement and legal practice. The diversity of my academic and professional assignments, as well as my aspirations to apply my tech and legal skills and knowledge in my desired field, brought me to my current role.

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

My favorite assignment has been a project on developing the geospatial intelligence capabilities within my organization. This is an ongoing project which I initiated, deploy, and manage. Its purpose is to develop the in-house capacity on using geospatial information technology to advance the activities mandated to be carried out by my organization.

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

Career in technology does not require technical skills. It requires soft skills such as creativity and problem solving. If you are a doctor, an architect, a scientist or a lawyer, technology is a fundamental and inseparable part. It will motivate you to improve, to be more innovative and you will never get bored.