Wilmer Felipe Pulido Vargas

Wilmer is a driven, enthusiastic and dedicated international development practitioner and researcher with over 19 years of experience in Latin America, Europe and The Middle East, in over 40 countries. Successful in engaging a variety of stakeholders including international government agencies and NGOs. Highly knowledgeable in international and Canadian issues and policies related to education, Aboriginal knowledge and culture, immigration and refugee settlement. 

He completed his MA in Public Policy and International Affairs from the University of Ottawa. His life-long interest in the international arena stems from his personal and professional experiences, which touch on values, ethical behaviour and pure deeds, and the belief that “the world is but one country and mankind its citizens”. He is interested in the advocacy of education as a critical and essential reality of this time and the education of children is among the wealthiest principles of all the divine teachings (The Baha’i Faith, 2021). Being Venezuelan and having visited most Latin American countries, he has come to understand some of the root causes of the vicious cycle of poverty, inequality and prejudice that so dramatically affect children and the Indigenous peoples of Latin America. 

Wilmer has In-depth knowledge of Aboriginal perspectives and contexts that are responsive to Aboriginal child, youth and family service needs and an excellent reputation for promoting a coordinated, holistic and integrated social policy agenda that is supportive and respectful of the diversity of Aboriginal cultures and worldviews and for developing consensus in a complex multi and bilateral stakeholder environment. 

Since his university years, Wilmer has had a passion for service and teaching. His main focus in reading society and formulating a vision with higher degrees of accuracy has become an explicit element of his methodology of learning. Every teaching opportunity (teacher for children and youth at formal and informal environments in over 30 countries) and every service project in which Wilmer have participated, represents a favourable juncture to augment the understanding of the nature and state of society, its challenges, the institutions operating in it, the forces influencing it and the capacities of its people. 

To further his understanding of changing patterns of societal integration, Wilmer likes to analyze the complex interplay of social structures, culture and individuals' attitudes and behaviours across time and place. His approach is by looking at the interplay of changing dynamics of individual lives (attitudes, capabilities, and behaviour) against a backdrop of political and social integration (changing demographics, social structures, cultures and institutions). 

Wilmer is married with three children under the age of nine and is a member of Rotary International, International Environmental Forum, The Ruhi Institute, Red Cross International and the Junior Chamber International. Extra-professional interests and activities include chess, swimming, table tennis, Latin dance, body flow/yoga and community service.

Wilmer is fluent in English and Spanish (oral and written), intermediate in Portuguese and beginner in French.