| Global Accessibility Awareness Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also called | GAAD |
| Observed by | worldwide |
| Type | International |
| Significance | Educate people about accessibility |
| Date | Third Thursday in May |
| 2023 date | May 18 (2023-05-18) |
| 2024 date | May 16 (2024-05-16) |
| 2025 date | May 15 (2025-05-15) |
| 2026 date | May 21 (2026-05-21) |
| Started by | Joe Devon, Jennison Asuncion |
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a consciousness-raising 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]
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.
Examples of local Global Accessibility Awareness Day events include:
