In February 2017, Utah Global Diplomacy welcomed members of E-Government programs from Turkmenistan. Among our International Visitors was Ms. Natalya Babakulyeva, head of the Department of Information Technologies at the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. She is responsible for overseeing the computerization of the ministry’s internal processes and some of its services to citizens, including administering the national pension fund. During her time in Utah she hoped to learn about effective and efficient e-government systems that enhance transparency and improve government services at the local level.
During their visit, Natalya and her colleagues met with representatives from the Salt Lake City Open Government Initiative, Utah Department of Technology Services, Department of Public Safety and Utah State Legislature. Natalya reported to Utah Global Diplomacy that these meetings with managers and specialists in the information technology field were “interesting and useful and made a significant contribution to my worldview and had a practical impact on my work.”
Meeting with Professional Resource Nole Walkingshaw, Salt Lake City Open Government Initiative
She expresses gratitude to each of these resources for sharing extensive insight, especially the State Economic Development Office, which supports the creation and growth of business in the state and described to the group various online tools such as the state economic development map. She also thanks the staff of the Utah Senate for reviewing the Senate Cloud. She found this to be an interesting, interactive online portal that facilitates the dialogue of citizens with officials and other citizens through social media.
Meeting with Utah Senate Representatives
In her closing remarks to Utah Global Diplomacy, Natalya shared, “A visit to your state was a significant event in my life, which expanded my knowledge of e-government development, organization of management processes, and also made it possible to get acquainted with the sights of the city of Salt Lake City and its environs and meet hardworking and highly professional representatives of state institutions and organizations.”
Meeting with Sherrie Swensen, Salt Lake County Clerk
Sherrie Swensen, Salt Lake County Clerk
We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Natalya and members of the E-Government programs and wish them the best in their endeavors to improve communication technologies within Turkmenistan.
