António Silva Mendes is director for Youth and Sport at the Directorate-General Education and Culture in the European Commission. In this role, he is responsible for maximizing the potential and well-being of young people and to develop the European dimension in sport. Dr. Silva Mendes began his career at the European Commission in 1990 at the Directorate-General Enterprise, where he took part in international negotiations. Prior to that, he served as director at the Ministry of Industry in Lisbon. Dr. Silva Mendes studied mechanical engineering at the University of Lisbon and was professor at the same University for ten years afterwards.