Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is an awareness day focusing on digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people alive today who live with disabilities or impairments.[1] It is marked annually on the third Thursday of May.[2]

Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Also calledGAAD
Observed byworldwide
TypeInternational
SignificanceEducate people about accessibility
DateThird Thursday in May
2022 dateMay 19  (2022-05-19)
2023 dateMay 18  (2023-05-18)
2024 dateMay 16  (2024-05-16)
2025 dateMay 15  (2025-05-15)
Started byJoe Devon, Jennison Asuncion

In 2018, in addition to a number of virtual events marking GAAD, there were events open to the public in at least nineteen countries on six continents.[3]

According to the Global Accessibility Awareness Day website, "The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) access or inclusion and people with different disabilities."[4] Local Global Accessibility Awareness Day events sometimes showcase how people with disabilities use the web and digital products using assistive technologies, or assist people creating technology products in taking into consideration the needs of certain disabilities.[3]

Global Accessibility Awareness Day launched in May 2012. It was inspired by a blog post from November 2011[5][6] by Los Angeles-based web developer Joe Devon. Devon worked with Jennison Asuncion, an accessibility professional from Toronto, to co-found GAAD.

Events

Examples of local Global Accessibility Awareness Day events include:

  • Since 2012 the Los Angeles Accessibility and Inclusive Design Group, led by Joseph O'Connor has organized a GAAD event.[7]
  • Minnesota IT Services has encouraged employees to perform their jobs for 15 minutes without using a mouse.[8][9]
  • In 2015, a one-day conference was hosted in Ottawa by OpenConcept Consulting, to celebrate GAAD.[10]
  • In 2016, a one-day conference was hosted by Carleton University and organized by A11yYOW, Ottawa's accessibility Meetup.[11]
  • In 2017, Apple released a series of videos and organized a concert as part of a week-long series of events marking Global Accessibility Awareness Day.[12][13]
  • In 2017, the University of California, San Francisco offered a website accessibility testing clinic.[14]
  • In 2017, a GAAD event in Ottawa featured speakers from Carleton University, the Canadian government and the Ottawa area.[15]
  • In 2018, there were a series of events planned in Hyderabad[16] and Bangalore, India.[17]
  • In 2018, an evening event was hosted in Ottawa by OpenConcept Consulting and we had a live chat with participants in Accessibility Twin Cities, who were also celebrating GAAD.[18]
  • In 2020, the Government Digital Service in the United Kingdom ran a day of online-only events to raise awareness of digital accessibility.[19]

See also

References
  1. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day highlights need for developer education". SD Times. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  2. "About". Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  3. Asuncion, Jennison. "2018 Events". globalaccessibilityawarenessday.org. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  4. Asuncion, Jennison. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day". Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  5. "About". GAAD. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  6. "CHALLENGE: Accessibility know-how needs to go mainstream with developers. NOW". MySQLTalk.com. 2011-11-27. Archived from the original on 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  7. "Remembering Joseph O'Connor (1953 – 2020)". blacktelephone.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-11. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  8. "nomousechallenge". MN IT Services. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  9. "The #NoMouse Challenge". nomouse.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  10. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2015". Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2015-05-21 – via Flickr.
  11. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2016". Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2016-05-19 – via Flickr.
  12. "Apple highlights Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 18 with "Designed for everyone" video series". AppleInsider. 17 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  13. "Apple holds Stevie Wonder concert on campus in honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day". 9to5Mac. 2017-05-19. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  14. "Drop-In: UCSF Website Accessibility Testing Clinic". calendars.library.ucsf.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  15. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2017". Meetup. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  16. "aXe Hackathon - Deque India celebrates GAAD 2018 on May 17th at Hyderabad". Deque Systems. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  17. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day India". Global Accessibility Awareness Day India. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  18. "Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2018". Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2018-05-21 – via Flickr.
  19. "What happened on Global Accessibility Awareness Day at GDS - Government Digital Service". gds.blog.gov.uk. 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
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