“I believe inspiration comes from knowledge, and knowledge comes from everywhere”

Ilija Talev, Policy Specialist, Public Finance, UNICEF NYHQ

Tell us a bit about your background.  

I was born and raised in Macedonia. I left my country when I was 16 to study abroad and returned 12 years later, with a bachelor’s degree in political economy, a master’s in European politics and policies and a Ph.D. in governance and children’s rights.

I joined UNICEF Macedonia in 2009 as a national Social Policy Officer, where I stayed until 2014 when, thanks to the NETI programme, I became a Social Policy Specialist in the Belize Country Office. I spent three wonderful years there working on social protection and public finance for children, and supporting the Representative in the management of the office in absence of a Deputy Representative post. From there, I moved to my current post in New York HQ, where I work as a policy specialist in the area of Public Finance for children. I have been at my post just over a year now, and I have had the privilege to work with some of the greatest minds and most dedicated professionals in the organization, from whom I have learned a lot.