Representatives from 38 countries, UN and EU bodies' members attended the meeting. One representative from IBC, Ms. Ana Oprişan, attended the conference in Lyon , having contributions in the “Literacy for excluded groups – Literacy among the Roma”. The session started with an overview on the situation of the Roma in Europe and their literacy needs. Then, the country experiences on education policies and literacy among the Roma people were discussed, with the participation of Roma and non Roma representatives from countries as Romania , Spain , Bulgaria , as well as Turkey . Other participants from Turkey were the representatives of The General Directorate of Apprenticeship and Non-Formal Education of the Turkish Ministry of National Education and one representative of Bingol Culture Association in Turkey .

Aiming at the establishment of a European area of lifelong learning, the conference expected to empower citizens to meet the challenges of the knowledge-based society  at the same time that it contributes to meeting the goals and ambitions of the European Union and the accession countries to be more prosperous, inclusive, tolerant and democratic.

Even if it is often assumed that Europe has achieved basic education for all, the recent statistics and national studies however point to the decline in standards as well as uneven access to basic skills opportunities especially to a number of disadvantaged groups. Therefore, the meeting organized under the UNLD - United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012) was a good opportunity for the participants to review the policies and practices in the region not only to cull lessons and improve practices in the region, but also to share with other regions in the world.