It started with a blog post by a California-based web developer in 2011. Since 2012, institutions and technology companies around the world have marked Global Accessibility Awareness Day on the third Thursday of each May.
This year, Global Accessibility Awareness Day — or GAAD for short — is being celebrated on May 19, 2023.
GAAD draws attention to the need to make sure digital assets, including websites, video, audio, and social media, are accessible to everyone, including people with limited vision, hearing, or mobility.
As the Internet becomes ever more important to education, information, data collection, health care, employment, and collaboration, the need for inclusion of everyone becomes more apparent.
GAAD is a global day to shine a light on efforts to ensure that all users — including those living with disabilities — are able to obtain the same successful outcomes using web-based services as those without impairments. The University of Pittsburgh is committed to ensuring equal access by making its websites and all other electronic and information technology accessible to all users.
Ways to celebrate GAAD
- Learn ways to make your social media and website more accessible. Check out the Social Media Accessibility Toolkit and this website maintained by the Perkins School for the Blind, How to Celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day Every Day.
- Update PowerPoint slides, PDFs, and other documents to make them more accessible.
- Find an online event where you can hear stories and learn more about making online media more accessible
Find more tools and resources
GAAD’s website offers links to training, tools, and cross-platform apps to help you evaluate your current social media and web presence, and update them to make them more accessible.
Below are a few of our favorites:
- GAAD for Good 2023: Built without barriers Siteimprove 10am-1pm
- Supporting A Technical and Cultural Shift To Accessibility, Whatever Your Resources TPGI 12-1pm
- Web Accessibility Q&A: Overcoming Excuses and Misconceptions Dubbot 1-2pm
- The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Accessibility Allyant 1-2pm
Accessibility Awareness from University of Pittsburgh on Vimeo.