From Recognition to Policy Influence: Ethics in Business Award 2025
The Ethics in Business Award 2025, held under the theme “Future Forward: Celebrating Champions of Localized and Sustainable Growth,” as part of the Future Forward: Unlocking Sustainable Local Opportunities project, positions ethical business leadership as a strategic contributor to Jordan’s economic resilience and sustainable development. The report, “From Recognition to Policy Influence,” examines how the Award can evolve beyond recognition to encourage responsible business practices and contribute to wider institutional and policy change. It highlights the links between good governance, decent work, local value chains, ethical finance, and business competitiveness, while identifying the structural barriers that continue to limit MSMEs’ ability to adopt these practices. Looking ahead, the report calls for stronger incentives, targeted support for MSMEs, structured monitoring, and sustained dialogue among the private sector, civil society, financial institutions, and policymakers—moving ethical leadership from voluntary commitment toward a more embedded feature of Jordan’s economic development.
Intersecting Risks and Rights: Child Protection and Legal Protection Needs in Jordan
Needs Assessment Report | 2026 This needs assessment, published by ARDD’s Renaissance Strategic Center (RSC) and Terre des Hommes Italy (TdH Italy), examines child protection and legal protection concerns affecting vulnerable refugee and host community populations in Amman, Ma’an, Mafraq, and Zarqa. Grounded in a mixed-methods research approach, the assessment draws on household surveys, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and analysis of data generated through ongoing interventions. It provides an evidence-based understanding of intersecting protection risks and legal barriers to inform programming, policy development, and advocacy. The findings reveal persistent and interconnected protection challenges driven by economic hardship, limited access to civil documentation, psychosocial distress, and the adoption of negative coping mechanisms. Children face heightened risks of violence, exploitation, neglect, and barriers to education and essential services, particularly in households with limited legal awareness or lacking valid civil documentation. Legal protection gaps further exacerbate vulnerabilities by restricting access to rights, justice, and essential services. The assessment underscores the need for integrated child protection and legal assistance interventions that strengthen prevention, case management, and community-based protection mechanisms while reinforcing coordination with national systems and service providers. By highlighting the intersection of child protection and legal protection needs, the report seeks to support more coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable responses that place the rights and well-being of children and vulnerable populations at the center of humanitarian and development efforts in Jordan.
Local Governance Comparative Approaches Series Seminar Two: Current Transformations in Governance
Local Governance Comparative Approaches Seminar 2 – Current Transformations On 13 May 2026, the Renaissance Strategic Centre at ARDD, in collaboration with ODI Global, convened the second session of the Local Governance Comparative Approaches Seminar Series. The second seminar discussed the nature of current transformations in governance, examining case studies of new governance models: (with)in the state; alongside the state; and (with)out the state. The examples of Lebanon, Myanmar and Georgia were used to investigate how activists create change when working within existing state systems, or when building new systems of local governance away from the central state. The requirements of these contexts differ greatly, but participants identified common themes, including the need for capacity building, generational differences, and the question of legitimacy. RSC is pleased to share the Summary Report of Seminar 2, “Comparing Forms of Local Governance in the Presence, or Absence, of the State”. This report brings together the key contributions and findings from the seminar, summarising participant discussions from Lebanon, Myanmar and Georgia. Read the full Summary: From Mobilization to Governance Local Governance – Renaissance Strategic Center.com Seminar 3 will be held at the beginning of July, concluding the initial phase of this seminar series and will examine the broader themes that have emerged throughout the series, including the role of the international state system, diaspora communities, and the need for transitional justice. Please also find below the link to the Summary Report for Seminar 1 “From Mobilization to Governance”.
Harvesting Opportunity: Impact and Sustainability of Season’s Markets in Jordan From Local Markets to Sustainable Livelihoods
The Season’s Market initiative demonstrates how inclusive, low-barrier local markets can become practical pathways for sustainable livelihoods, economic inclusion, and stronger market access for refugees, women, informal workers, and home-based entrepreneurs in Jordan. Implemented by the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in collaboration with the Renaissance Strategic Center (RSC), under the project Future Forward: Unlocking Sustainable Local Opportunities, with support from the Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP), the initiative provides evidence that locally driven economic models can turn skills, creativity, and community knowledge into income-generating opportunities. About the Report This report assesses the impact of ARDD’s Season’s Market initiative across six seasonal bazaars held in Amman between 2024 and 2025. Drawing on vendor surveys and focus group discussions, it examines how organized local markets contribute to income generation, business development, market access, and social and professional networking. While the findings are based on a pilot sample, they offer important insights into the potential of seasonal markets as scalable and sustainable livelihood platforms. Key Findings The report shows that Season’s Markets created tangible economic and social outcomes for participating vendors: 92% reported the bazaar as a primary source of income during participation. 100% reported increased sales during the bazaars. 92% gained access to new customers or markets. 100% established valuable business contacts. 92% reported improvements in products, sales methods, or customer engagement. 58% experienced a significant increase in sales. These findings highlight the value of local markets not only as spaces for trade, but as platforms for confidence-building, business growth, and inclusive economic participation. Why It Matters In Jordan, many refugees, women, informal workers, and home-based entrepreneurs face barriers to entering the formal labor market. These barriers are often not linked to a lack of skills, but to limited access to regulated, affordable, and supportive economic platforms. Season’s Markets help bridge this gap by providing accessible spaces where vendors can sell, test products, build customer relationships, improve business practices, and connect with wider networks. From Pilot to Policy The report argues that local markets should be recognized as more than temporary livelihood interventions. With supportive policies, flexible licensing, simplified procedures, and institutional investment, seasonal markets can become sustainable economic tools that contribute to inclusive local development. The findings call for greater investment in community-based livelihood models that are rooted in local realities and capable of being expanded across Jordan. Recommendations The report offers recommendations for policymakers, donors, civil society, and the private sector, including: Integrating local markets into livelihood and economic inclusion strategies. Supporting flexible regulatory and licensing frameworks. Investing in market infrastructure and vendor capacity-building. Expanding seasonal market models beyond Amman. Strengthening partnerships between vendors, civil society, donors, and the private sector. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Regional Development and Protection Program (RDPP III) for Jordan and Lebanon, which is supported by Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of ARDD and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the RDPP or its donors.
What Future for Localization in Jordan? Reflections and Strategic Directions (2019–2028)
Localization has become one of the defining debates shaping the future of development and humanitarian action worldwide. In Jordan, years of policy commitments, dialogue, and partnership-building have contributed to growing recognition of the role of local and national actors in responding to humanitarian needs and advancing sustainable development. Yet important questions remain regarding leadership, decision-making, financing, and the extent to which localization has translated from aspiration into practice. This publication examines the state of localization in Jordan between 2019 and 2028, reflecting on progress achieved, persistent challenges, and emerging opportunities in a rapidly changing aid landscape. Drawing on a national baseline survey, stakeholder consultations, interviews, and a review of key initiatives and experiences, the report explores how localization is understood, implemented, and experienced by different actors across Jordan. Beyond assessing the current situation, the publication adopts a forward-looking perspective. It considers possible future scenarios for localization in the context of shifting donor priorities, evolving humanitarian needs, growing pressures on civil society, and increasing calls for locally led development. The analysis highlights the importance of equitable partnerships, quality funding, local leadership, and enabling policy environments as critical foundations for a more sustainable and effective ecosystem. Developed as part of ARDD’s localization agenda by the Renaissance Strategic Center (RSC) in collaboration with the Jordan National NGOs Forum (JONAF) and the Global Mentoring Initiative (GMI), this publication forms part of the Future Forward: Unlocking Sustainable Local Opportunities project, implemented with support from the Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP). The report seeks to contribute to ongoing dialogue among policymakers, donors, civil society organizations, international actors, researchers, and practitioners on the future of localization in Jordan and the pathways toward a more locally led, equitable, and resilient development and humanitarian system. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Regional Development and Protection Program (RDPP III) for Jordan and Lebanon, which is supported by Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of ARDD and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the RDPP or its donors.
Education: Shaping Character and Identity Unlocking Girls’ Leadership Potential
Jordan has made significant progress in girls’ education. Girls consistently outperform boys in literacy, school completion, and academic achievement, and the country has achieved near-universal enrollment in basic education. Yet these educational gains have not translated into equal participation in public life. Women remain underrepresented in politics, leadership positions, and the labor market, where female participation has remained between 13–15% in recent years. This raises a critical question: why does educational success not translate into leadership, agency, and participation for girls and young women? This report examines how teachers, school environments, curricula, extracurricular activities, and family engagement shape leadership opportunities for girls and young women in Jordan. Drawing on mixed-methods research conducted in public schools in Amman and Mafraq, the study explores both the role teachers play in encouraging leadership and the broader structural barriers that limit these efforts. The findings show that teachers play a significant role in fostering confidence, participation, responsibility, and public speaking skills among students, particularly girls. Many teachers use active learning methods and classroom responsibilities, such as the “little teacher” approach, to encourage leadership and participation. However, these efforts are constrained by overcrowded classrooms, administrative burdens, limited resources, and the pressure of the Tawjihi examination system, which prioritizes memorization and curriculum completion over creativity, participation, and skill development. The research also demonstrates that gendered expectations continue to shape classroom interactions and perceptions of leadership. Girls are often associated with modesty, obedience, and emotional sensitivity, while boys are linked to assertiveness and authority. Although many teachers actively encourage girls’ participation, these broader stereotypes continue to influence how leadership is understood and practiced within schools. The curriculum itself remains limited in its ability to cultivate leadership skills. Teachers and students alike described the curriculum as overly exam-oriented and lacking strong, culturally relevant female role models. Leadership development therefore depends largely on individual teachers rather than systematic educational approaches. At the same time, important disparities exist between schools and regions. Students in underserved areas, particularly in Mafraq, face limited access to libraries, theaters, extracurricular activities, and psychosocial support services, restricting opportunities for participation and self-development. The report further highlights the importance of family engagement. Previous and current findings show weak and inconsistent communication between schools and families, particularly beyond the early years of schooling. In many cases, teachers are left to negotiate individually with parents to secure girls’ participation in activities and leadership opportunities. The report argues that strengthening girls’ leadership requires moving beyond narrow understandings of academic achievement toward a broader vision of education as a space for shaping character, confidence, participation, and social responsibility. Supporting girls’ leadership cannot depend on teachers alone. It requires investment in the wider educational environment, including curriculum reform, psychosocial support services, extracurricular activities, equitable resource distribution, and stronger parent-school partnerships. Key recommendations include reducing administrative burdens on teachers, reforming aspects of the Tawjihi system, expanding gender-responsive teacher training, increasing the representation of women in school curricula, investing in extracurricular and leadership programs, strengthening psychosocial support services, and improving communication between schools and families. Ultimately, the gap between girls’ academic success and their underrepresentation in public life is not merely an educational issue, but a broader societal challenge. Without addressing the structural conditions that limit girls’ opportunities to develop confidence and leadership, the education system risks losing the potential of an entire generation of young women.
The Only Constant is Change: Jordanian Youth on Driving Social Change
This report examines how Jordanian youth understand, experience, and navigate social change, focusing on their aspirations, perceived roles, and the structures that enable or constrain meaningful transformation. It is the third study produced under the New Generation – GenG program and builds on four years of research, policy engagement, and youth-led advocacy. The GenG program aims to foster gender-just and violence-free societies through youth leadership, civic engagement, and policy influence. Drawing on mixed qualitative and quantitative methods—including surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, desk reviews, and Policy Labs—the research explores: Youth aspirations for a better future in Jordan The role young people see for themselves in driving social change The institutional, social, and economic structures shaping youth agency The findings highlight three core areas youth identify as critical for change: education reform, economic justice, and meaningful political participation. While young people strongly value collective action, the study reveals a persistent gap between awareness-raising and structural engagement, driven by economic disenfranchisement, institutional mistrust, and shrinking civic space. The report concludes with actionable recommendations directed at government institutions, political parties, civil society organizations, and community leaders. These recommendations emphasize bridging education and labor market needs, strengthening youth-inclusive governance, fostering intergenerational dialogue, enhancing digital and media literacy, and developing long-term, non-exploitative partnerships with youth. This research contributes to a growing evidence base positioning youth not as passive beneficiaries, but as strategic actors navigating complex realities in pursuit of inclusive and sustainable social change.
How TFGBV Impacts the Democratic Participation of Young Women: Jordan as a Case Study
Digital spaces have become vital arenas for democratic participation in Jordan, particularly for young women who face structural exclusion from traditional public life. Yet these same spaces are increasingly weaponized through Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), a growing form of harm that undermines women’s safety, voice, and political agency. This research is conducted as part of the New Generation Project (GenG), an initiative focused on strengthening youth civic engagement, inclusive participation, and democratic governance. Within this framework, the study examines how TFGBV functions as a mechanism of democratic exclusion, systematically pushing young women out of online public spaces and into silence. Drawing on mixed-methods research, including surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, and expert consultations, the study documents how online harassment, blackmail, defamation, and digital shaming intersect with social norms of honor and stigma to produce severe offline consequences, ranging from psychological harm to withdrawal from education, activism, and political life. The findings reveal a powerful “chilling effect”: fear of violence leads young women to self-censor, anonymize their identities, or disengage entirely from digital platforms that are central to modern civic participation. In this way, TFGBV is not only a gender-based violence issue, but a democratic one, eroding digital citizenship and deepening existing political inequalities. The report also maps legislative, institutional, and sociocultural barriers to reporting TFGBV in Jordan and offers actionable, multi-level recommendations for government institutions, the justice sector, civil society, digital platforms, and communities. It calls for gender-sensitive legal reform, survivor-centered reporting mechanisms, decentralized support services, and long-term social change to protect women’s rights online and safeguard the democratic potential of digital spaces. This study aims to contribute to national and regional debates on youth, gender, digital governance, and democratic participation, reinforcing ARDD’s commitment to amplifying young people’s voices and advancing inclusive, rights-based democracies in the digital age.
Gatekeepers and Enablers – Fathers, Brothers, and Girls’ Leadership in Jordan and Egypt
In both Jordan and Egypt, fathers and brothers play a pivotal role in fostering girls’ and young women’s leadership in the Arab world. According to the survey, 99% of respondents – including fathers, brothers, and girls from Jordan and Egypt – recognized the father’s role as important in supporting girls and young women to assume leadership positions within their families and communities, with 91% describing it as very important. Similarly, 83% of participants identified the role of brothers as either very important (56%) or important (28%), while a small proportion remained neutral (13%) or considered it not important (2%). Fathers, in particular, are seen as key guiding figures in their daughters’ professional development, providing both financial support and mentorship, especially in education and career advancement. In the in-depth individual interviews, all fathers (5/5) emphasized that they encourage their daughters to take on leadership roles within the family, with the goal of becoming self-reliant and financially independent. A main sphere of support provided by male family members is the investment in girls’ educational journeys. As confirmed by all girls during individual interviews (18), their fathers cover university fees and actively support additional educational opportunities, such as trainings and workshops, contributing to build girls’ independence and self-confidence. Nonetheless, while male figures provide considerable support, challenges remain for their engagement in women’s leadership. Social and cultural norms continue to shape men’s perceptions of women’s roles and capacities. For instance, only a minority of fathers expressed support for their daughters’ freedom to travel for study or work reasons, citing among the concerns potential social judgment from community members. Moreover, interviews with brothers reflected social stereotypes as they reiterated the belief that, to assume leadership positions, women should “set aside their emotions,” or work in socially accepted fields, such as education. As societal norms gradually evolve, fathers and brothers often find themselves mediating between traditional expectations and emerging realities. By involving their daughters in decision-making processes and supporting their economic independence, fathers and brothers can play a pivotal role as intermediaries, bridging traditional social norms with more equitable divisions of roles within the family and society. According to the research, in contexts where social and cultural norms continue to restrict women’s opportunities, particularly in rural areas, fathers often serve as key allies, supporting young women in pursuing educational and leadership opportunities.
Evolving Perspective: Leadership Qualities among Young Men and Women in Jordan
What does leadership mean to young women and men in Jordan today—and how are they redefining it in the face of societal norms and challenges? As part of the New Generation (GenG) program, ARDD conducted action research to explore youth perceptions of leadership, with a particular focus on gender dynamics, civic engagement, and the role of social capital. The study reveals both persistent barriers and promising change. While traditional expectations continue to shape attitudes toward leadership, youth are increasingly emphasizing qualities such as empathy, inclusivity, cooperation, and ethical decision-making. The findings also highlight the importance of female role models, intergenerational dialogue, and civic participation as key drivers of more inclusive leadership. This research contributes to the growing movement for gender justice and youth empowerment. It calls for new models of leadership that go beyond stereotypes, embrace diversity, and enable young women and men alike to play an active role in building fairer, more participatory, and more just societies.