Aidan commenced as Inclusion Specialist with Plan International on July 1st 2014. He leads Plan’s efforts to embed the principle of inclusion and non-discrimination in its work and meet organisational commitments on Tackling Exclusion, as outlined in One Plan One Goal strategy and the CCCD standards. This work builds on and connects with Plan’s on-going work on gender equality.  Aidan has been instrumental in promoting disability across the organisation since 2011 when he joined Plan Ireland. He is a founding member of Plan International’s Disability Inclusion Working Group and has actively encouraged exchange of good practice on disability programming, contributed to research on the rights of children with disabilities and helped profile Plan through advocacy work in Ireland and internationally.

Aidan has extensive experience in local and international development at grassroots and management level. Before joining Plan, he was Director of International Service Ireland (ISI), an NGO that focused specifically on providing technical support on organisational strengthening, economic empowerment and advocacy to Disabled People’s Organisations in West Africa and South America. He spent eight years working with grassroots indigenous organisations and local authorities in Central America with the Irish government and UNDP, empowering ethnic groups to claim to right to land, education, healthcare and active participation in local development processes.