Dr. Aida Essaid is the Director of the Information and Research Center - King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF), a leading applied research establishment for effective socioeconomic planning and decision making in Jordan and the Middle East which was initially launched in 1996 as part of the National Task Force for Children. She founded the Jordanian coalition; My Nationality is the Right of My Family, which advocates for the rights of Jordanian women married to foreigners to pass on their nationality to their spouses and children, and in which she now serves as a member of the Steering Committee. Her current work at the IRCKHF is aimed at closing the information gap between policy makers and global citizens on matters directly affecting the progression of civil society, particularly those concerning women, children, and other marginalized communities. The IRCKHF does this through research, education and awareness, advocacy, and access to information on the issues of equality and justice, social cohesion, and civil society empowerment.
At the IRCKHF since 2012, Aida has managed and been closely involved in various projects researching children’s rights focusing on sensitive issues, and where possible using participatory action research methods with children such as with Save the Children in Homebound Girls in Jordan 2013, or alternative care such as Kinship Care of SyrianRefugees in Jordan, and with FHI360 and USAID on Empowering Care Leavers in Jordan: Youth Deprived of Family Ties. Aida worked closely with UNICEF, UNFPA, chairing the Technical Committee for the design of a new Jordanian National Youth Survey, as the last one that had been conducted was in 2010. In 2013, with the support of Child Rights Connect, Dr. Essaid on behalf of the IRCKHF and other NGOs represented Jordanian civil society in the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child’s pre-sessional working group.
Aida was previously the Senior Coordinator of the West Asia North Africa (WANA) Forum Secretariat based in Jordan and chaired by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal. Aida was responsible for organizing efforts to bring together politicians, members of civil society, academics, and the private sector to discuss regional solutions to shared challenges. Aida served (2010-2014) as a volunteer and then as a board member for Sakeena, a Jordanian community based organization that addresses the psychological, physical, legal, and social needs of youth deprived of family care in Jordan.