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Celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day on the third Thursday in May by taking a stand for digital accessibility! This day was created to raise awareness about the importance of making sure digital content is accessible to all people, regardless of physical or mental ability. Founded in 2011, Global Accessibility Awareness Day has grown into an internationally recognized event that encourages businesses, organizations, and individuals to commit to creating more accessible online experiences for everyone. So join the movement and help make a difference!
<div class='timeline-item'><div class='timeline-left'><div class='timeline-date-text'>2011</div></div><div class='timeline-center'></div><div class='timeline-right'><div class='timeline-text timeline-text-title'>GAAD Founding</div><div class='timeline-text'>Web developer Joe Devon and Jennison Asuncion, an accessibility professional, officially launched the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).</div></div></div><div class='timeline-item'><div class='timeline-left'><div class='timeline-date-text'>2012</div></div><div class='timeline-center'></div><div class='timeline-right'><div class='timeline-text timeline-text-title'>First Official GAAD</div><div class='timeline-text'>The first official celebration of GAAD, promoting digital accessibility and inclusion for people with all types of disabilities.</div></div></div><div class='timeline-item'><div class='timeline-left'><div class='timeline-date-text'>2013</div></div><div class='timeline-center'></div><div class='timeline-right'><div class='timeline-text timeline-text-title'>Growing Participation</div><div class='timeline-text'>More professional bodies and organizations, including tech giants like Google and Microsoft, started recognizing and supporting GAAD.</div></div></div><div class='timeline-item'><div class='timeline-left'><div class='timeline-date-text'>2016</div></div><div class='timeline-center'></div><div class='timeline-right'><div class='timeline-text timeline-text-title'>Global Reach</div><div class='timeline-text'>GAAD became truly global with participation from businesses, academic institutions, and organizations across the world.</div></div></div><div class='timeline-item'><div class='timeline-left'><div class='timeline-date-text'>2019</div></div><div class='timeline-center'></div><div class='timeline-right'><div class='timeline-text timeline-text-title'>Expansive Awareness Programs</div><div class='timeline-text'>Webinars, workshops, and accessibility challenges were organized on a large scale to educate participants about digital accessibility.</div></div></div><div class='timeline-item'><div class='timeline-left'><div class='timeline-date-text'>2020</div></div><div class='timeline-center'></div><div class='timeline-right'><div class='timeline-text timeline-text-title'>Digital Accessibility Paramount</div><div class='timeline-text'>With the COVID-19 pandemic making digital access more important than ever, GAAD saw elevated levels of participation and awareness.</div></div></div>
<div id='' class='facts-item'><div id='' class='facts-header'><h3 id='' class='facts-number'>1</h3></div><div id='' class='facts-text-wrapper'><h3 id='' class='facts-title'>Organize an event</h3><p id='' class='facts-text'>Organize an event to raise awareness about the importance of accessibility. Invite speakers, host a panel discussion, or create a workshop to educate people about digital accessibility.</p></div></div><div id='' class='facts-item'><div id='' class='facts-header'><h3 id='' class='facts-number'>2</h3></div><div id='' class='facts-text-wrapper'><h3 id='' class='facts-title'>Spread the word</h3><p id='' class='facts-text'>Share content online that educates people about the importance of accessibility. Make sure your posts and stories use appropriate language, captions, and images that are accessible to everyone.</p></div></div><div id='' class='facts-item'><div id='' class='facts-header'><h3 id='' class='facts-number'>3</h3></div><div id='' class='facts-text-wrapper'><h3 id='' class='facts-title'>Volunteer</h3><p id='' class='facts-text'>Look for volunteer opportunities in your local area or online that support digital accessibility initiatives. This could include helping with accessibility audits, creating accessible websites and apps, or training people on how to create accessible content.</p></div></div><div id='' class='facts-item'><div id='' class='facts-header'><h3 id='' class='facts-number'>4</h3></div><div id='' class='facts-text-wrapper'><h3 id='' class='facts-title'>Check your own website</h3><p id='' class='facts-text'>Test your own website or digital product to make sure it is accessible to everyone. Use tools such as WAVE, Color Contrast Checker, and Siteimprove Accessibility Checker to check for any issues that could impede someone’s ability to access your content.</p></div></div><div id='' class='facts-item'><div id='' class='facts-header'><h3 id='' class='facts-number'>5</h3></div><div id='' class='facts-text-wrapper'><h3 id='' class='facts-title'>Educate yourself</h3><p id='' class='facts-text'>Take the time to learn more about digital accessibility. Read up on the different types of disabilities and how they affect people’s ability to access digital content. There are plenty of resources online that can help you understand the importance of creating accessible content.</p></div></div>
<div id='' class='whywelove-item'><div id='' class='whywelove-letter-cont'><div class='whywelove-letter'>A</div></div><div id='why-we-love-main-cont'><h3 id='' class='whywelove-title'>It promotes inclusion and equal access</h3><p id='' class='whywelove-text'>Global Accessibility Awareness Day serves as a reminder that all people have the right to access and understand information, no matter their abilities or disabilities. Making sure online content is accessible will help ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in digital spaces.</p></div></div><div id='' class='whywelove-item'><div id='' class='whywelove-letter-cont'><div class='whywelove-letter'>B</div></div><div id='why-we-love-main-cont'><h3 id='' class='whywelove-title'>It raises awareness of design considerations</h3><p id='' class='whywelove-text'>In addition to reminding us of the importance of accessibility, Global Accessibility Awareness Day also helps raise awareness of specific design considerations we need to take into account when creating digital products. This includes making sure text is high contrast and large enough to be read easily, selecting suitable font sizes, and providing alternative labels for images when appropriate.</p></div></div><div id='' class='whywelove-item'><div id='' class='whywelove-letter-cont'><div class='whywelove-letter'>C</div></div><div id='why-we-love-main-cont'><h3 id='' class='whywelove-title'>It encourages innovation & creativity</h3><p id='' class='whywelove-text'>Having a better understanding of what constitutes good accessibility can open the door for more innovation and creativity. People with disabilities deserve to enjoy the same experiences as those without them, so it's up to designers and developers to make sure they're designing applications with that objective in mind.</p></div></div>
<div class='facts-item'><div class='facts-number-wrapper'><p class='facts-number'>1</p></div><div class='facts-core-content'><h3 class='facts-title'>The GAAD Pledge Encourages Commitment to Digital Accessibility</h3><p class='facts-content'>Introduced by Jennison Asuncion and Joe Devon, the GAAD Pledge is a commitment that organizations or developers make to ensure at least one of their digital properties becomes fully accessible.</p></div></div><div class='facts-item'><div class='facts-number-wrapper'><p class='facts-number'>2</p></div><div class='facts-core-content'><h3 class='facts-title'>Accessibility Guidelines Exist to Standardize Online Inclusion</h3><p class='facts-content'>The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provides specific standards that help make web content more accessible for people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, and many more.</p></div></div><div class='facts-item'><div class='facts-number-wrapper'><p class='facts-number'>3</p></div><div class='facts-core-content'><h3 class='facts-title'>Accessible Websites can Reach a Larger Audience</h3><p class='facts-content'>Around 15% of the global population experience some form of disability. Designing for accessibility means reaching a wider audience, including this significant percentage of potential users.</p></div></div><div class='facts-item'><div class='facts-number-wrapper'><p class='facts-number'>4</p></div><div class='facts-core-content'><h3 class='facts-title'>Accessible Web Design Can Improve SEO</h3><p class='facts-content'>Many best practices for digital accessibility, like clear headings, closed captions, and alternative text for images, align with SEO principles. Thus, better accessibility could lead to improved search engine rankings.</p></div></div><div class='facts-item'><div class='facts-number-wrapper'><p class='facts-number'>5</p></div><div class='facts-core-content'><h3 class='facts-title'>Web Developers Often Overlook Digital Accessibility</h3><p class='facts-content'>A WebAIM study found that 97.8% of home pages tested had detectable WCAG 2 failures. GAAD works to inversely change this by educating developers about best practices.</p></div></div>
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