Yerevan office of EY (Ernst and Young), a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, organized an Apricot Party last week, on June 24-26 for EY employees of Armenian descent from EY offices all over the world, as well as for those, who have business ties with Armenia.

EY Country Managing Partner for Armenia, Eric Hayrapetyan told Banks.am that some of this year’s participants are Armenians, and the rest are people of other nationalities, who have close ties with Armenia.

“Although the event initially aimed to unify our Armenian employees from different EY offices, we decided to introduce Armenia also to those, who work closely with Armenia ” he said.

The event, organized for the fourth year in a row, has become a warm family gathering. The employees and guests of Apricot Party celebrated this year by visiting Sevan, Dilijan, Geghard and Haghartsin monasteries, and Matenadaran, getting familiar with Armenian values, culture and history through national music and dances. Eric Hayrapetyan describes the first visit to homeland as “a spiritual repatriation” for the Armenians who haven’t been in the country before.


Participants of Apricot Party at Geghard, after planing apricot trees

“More than 212 000 people work at our company in 150 countries. It is impossible to know them all, but we find out at such occasions that we have Armenian employees in Australia, USA or elsewhere, in particular, some of them have never been to Armenia. After the visit, they begin following the situation in the country for sure,” Eric Hayrapetyan observed.

The guests of the company also visited UWC Dilijan College, which Eric Hayrapetyan considers one of the most impressive elements of the event’s program.

“We are very proud and amazed to see what people can achieve when they have a dream and show great dedication to it. Our company’s tagline is “Building a better working world”, and any work we do eventually contribute to a better working world. However, we are not going to stop - our country needs a progress in development, and we try to help to deal with this issue.

Of course, we should make our country a better place, but at the same time we need to show every best thing it has. Apricot Party is also a big project that contributes to the expansion of our network of business contacts and partners,” he said.


Participants of Apricot Party at Yerevan Brandy Factory

Head of EY CIS TAS (Transaction Advisory Services) Valuation Services, Partner Hakob Sargsyan stated that tradition of Apricot Party is going to be continued and the 5th anniversary will be marked next year.

“We need to give enough enthusiasm and devotion to the ideas we consider important. Armenia has many friends, we just need to make them believe in these ideas too. It is obvious, that we should unite all Armenians around these ideas first, and then the friends of Armenia. These events create a warm atmosphere between Armenian ideas and ideas of our friends,” he said.

Speaking about EY’s latest initiative, “IT Outsourcing and Investment conference” organized on June 22 in Yerevan, and participation in other initiatives, Hakob Sargsyan noticed that the only way for Armenia to develop and become stronger is to utilize the talent and potential of its youth.

For Chairman of the Management Committee and EY CIS Managing Partner Joe Watt, this is not the first participation in Apricot Party.

“I came to Armenia for the first time on a business visit, then my friend Hakob suggested to come to the party. It was an interesting experience for me, so I returned this year,” he told.

“Although Armenia is a small country, there is much to see here. I am impressed by the history of Armenia, its nature and cuisine, as well as people. Of course, you can read the history, but there is nothing better than to see it with your own eyes, standing in a medieval church. I would like to visit again and spend more time in the open country. For instance, take a few days long trip to Dilijan forests,” he said.


Armenian dances in Dilijan

Joe Watt believes that good ecology is an attractive feature of Armenia.

“I think that other cultures tried to conquer Armenian lands because of the resources. The majority of people don’t realize the importance of ecology yet, and here it can have a constructive role in development of the country.

I see that there is also a strong interest towards technologies here. I came back recently from California and noticed here that the competitors of large companies with thousands of employees are the small ones, where very clever people with good ideas work. Some of the smartest people on the planet are from Armenia, and some of them work at EY. I would point out two unrelated but very profitable spheres for development of Armenia - environment protection and technologies,” Joe Watt observed.

Tax Partner at EY Los Angeles Office Edith Yavarian participates in Apricot Party for the first time, and her latest visit to Armenia was 13 years ago.

“Armenia has developed in many different directions since my last visit, and it’s amazing. It’s also wonderful to see that this event unites people from different corners of the world and introduces everyone to our culture and history. I think that Apricot Party is a really great idea.

It also creates a network between our partners all over the world. I had discussions with my Armenian partners on how to improve business here by changing the people’s mindset first. I am inspired by the idea that EY Armenia can be expanded. I hope that I’ll have an opportunity to visit again in the next few years,” Edith Yavarian said.

Mariam Manoyan