Arriving in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, enroute to yet another overseas conference.

Here's half the delegates at the ice-breaking event before the 40th ESIB
Board Meeting kicked off the next day.

Plenary session... left-to-right, front row: Malta (Anna), Switzerland (Philip), Denmark (Robert). Middle row: Serbia (Ana and Aleksandar), Croatia (Lea and Vanja). Back row: France (Raphael), Ireland (Rory), Germany (Anya and Heiner), and UK (me!).

After dinner, left-to-right: delegates from... Poland; me; empty seat
belonging to Iva from Bulgaria; Latvia; Georgia; Kosova; and Bosnia.

Cabinet room where many late hours were spent thrashing out language and arguing over ideology, in an intensive policy working group on the future of HE of which I was a member.

The venue was a special bunker facility of the Slovak Parliament, in a secure compound at Papernicka, 40km north-east of Bratislava in stunning forested hills. Very nice place, good food, free beer.