The conference was a part of the programme of Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (May – November 2014) and was opened by the Minister of Education of Azerbaijan, Dr Mikayl Chingiz oğlu Jabbarov, and gathered the Deputy Ministers of Education of Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia, the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan as well as ministry representatives from Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. The European Students Union and the European Training Foundation were also represented and the Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Malena Mård, spoke at the opening session.

The conference focused on the implementation of the goals and policies of the European Higher Education Area in the participating countries, in particular qualifications frameworks, quality assurance and transparency/ethics in education.