What is digital accessibility?
What is Global Accessibility Awareness Day? Thursday 16th May is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). This is an awareness day focusing on the inclusive practice of making digital products accessible. Increasing the usability and accessibility of digital products like websites, mobile applications, and other online tools is vital as everyone needs to have access to the same information regardless of ability or disability. The awareness day was launched in May 2012 by Los Angeles based web developer Joe Devon and has attracted the attention of companies including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple, who work constantly to create and develop accessibility features on their platforms.
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There are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK, which is around 1 in 5 people of the population.
Digital accessibility is the practice of removing barriers on any digital platform such as websites and apps, thus making them as user friendly as possible. Ensuring that everyone can access, navigate, and interact with these digital products in some way. Someone with a disability must be able to experience web-based services, content and other digital products with the same effective outcome as those without disabilities. Digital accessible platforms can also help people without disabilities. For example,
people using mobile phones or those with slower internet connections will benefit from an accessible website or digital product. It is essential that websites and technologies are designed with good user experience principles so people can: • Understand and interact with the web • Contribute to the web
Accessibility is essential for some, but useful for all.
Access to information, including the web, is defined as a basic human right by the United Nations.
How it all began... The story of GAAD originates from a single blog post in 2011 penned by co-founder Joe Devon. In the post, the GAAD co-founder discussed many ways the tech industry and web development are underdeveloped when it comes to accessible design.
In this article, Devon challenged everyone, including himself, to think deeper and more deliberately about how a more accessible internet can look. The post proclaimed the third Thursday of May as the official Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and so it all began.
After witnessing his father struggle with complicated banking sites due to impaired vision and hearing, Devon was inspired to write the article titled GAAD: CHALLENGE: Accessibility knowhow needs to go mainstream with developers.
GAAD continues to lead tech down a more accessible pathway for internet users, as well as educate tech leaders and teachers on how to encourage more accessible workspaces and classrooms for all.
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