What was the best New Year's gift from Ukrainian top executives? The heads of ZONE3000, Capgemini Engineering and Ciklum tell us

Let me start by saying that I love reading and I’m building my own library. I’m a huge fan of the Harry Potter universe and as a child I had the entire series of books that I reread at least 3 times each (and Goblet of Fire probably 5 times). It so happened that I lost these books and sometimes I felt sad because of it, even as an adult.

A few years ago, my best friend gave me a complete collection of Harry Potter books for New Year’s Eve with a card that emphasized that «what’s yours will always be yours at any age.» To be honest, I don’t know what struck me more: the fact that I now have these books in my library, the powerful words that I now periodically say to myself as a mantra, or the feeling of peace and tranquility that finally appeared where there was sometimes the same sadness. But I know for sure that having such a best friend as mine is a gift of fate for all the holidays of my life, including New Year’s. And I sincerely wish everyone to have such people on their path!

Honestly, it’s hard to remember one special gift. It’s easy to remember the last one, because these are company gifts for all Capgemini Engineering Ukraine employees. We managed to support both colleagues who, despite everything, do their job wonderfully, and small Ukrainian businesses. Persevering and creating in Ukraine, especially if you are a small craft production, sensitive to shelling, outages, etc., is exactly about that indomitable spirit with which we associate Ukraine. As a result of our search for something good for the team, a Christmas set for the holiday table appeared with about 20 products from local businesses from all over the country. We are happy to have the opportunity to work and pay taxes in Ukraine. Supporting our own is a great bonus.

I immediately remember the end of 2021: the hot time of the first half of December, when there was still so much to do to successfully end the year. And now, in the midst of a whirlwind of tasks, I suddenly realized very clearly that I wanted my family and I to definitely celebrate the New Year 2022 in the snow-covered Carpathians.

Since the idea came, to put it mildly, not too early, it was expected that all the best options had already been booked. In particular, the one that was a priority for us, because we had already stayed there before and were very satisfied. But after my comment to the owner «Okay, please let me know if we can come up with something,» he quickly replied «Yes, we can actually come up with something. We have a newly built additional guest house. We planned to welcome the first guests in February, but if it is really necessary and you are not satisfied with the 100% readiness for life, then we will try to hurry up.»

Then the best gift for me was the opportunity to fulfill our family’s dream and celebrate the New Year in the Carpathians. The holiday was wonderful, and there was plenty of snow in the mountains. But the story continued. A month and a half later, this same house became our shelter during the first months of the full-scale war, and the owner and his family became our close friends.

The holiday is not canceled. How SoftServe, ZONE3000, Ciklum, Railsware and other IT companies entertained colleagues at corporate parties and what gifts they gave this year

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The holiday is not canceled. How SoftServe, ZONE3000, Ciklum, Railsware and other IT companies entertained colleagues at corporate parties and what gifts they gave this year

Read the country’s main IT news in our Telegram

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