He is a sociologist and is currently Director of the Center for Applied Community Studies (CECA), a non profit organization financially supported by Inter-American foundation of the United States involved in the development of programs for popular participation. He is responsible for designing and coordinating the "Program for Popular Participation" of the government's National Plan for Development. He is particularly interested in the relations between the training of the underprivileged population and its capacity to solve its own problems and to satisfy its prime necessities.

Mr. Samper holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology (1972) from the Universidad Javeriana and a Certificate in Strategic Planning (1986) from Northern Illinois University. He also undertook studies in economics at the Universidad de los Andes from 1973 to1976.