Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day with the GAAD Foundation
by Liz Kagan, Wheelhouse Group
May 20th is the celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) – a day to consider the digital workplace experience from the perspective of people with disabilities.
The world has never been more technologically savvy, yet accessibility remains a critical barrier to providing first-rate digital content, products and services to people who have visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments.
Digital access for people with disabilities is more important than ever as the number of remote workers, which peaked during the pandemic, remains at an all-time high. And there are signs that even post-COVID, telework will continue to be the norm.
For ten years, GAAD has helped organizations understand and access the benefits offered by an organizational commitment to inclusion and accessibility. So, on its 10th anniversary, it is an honor to celebrate the formation of the GAAD Foundation, whose inspiring mission is “to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement.”
Through the GAAD Foundation, co-founders Jennison Asuncion and Joe Devon, who also co-founded Global Accessibility and Awareness Day in 2012, expand their commitment to raising awareness about digital access and inclusion worldwide.
One of the goals of the GAAD Foundation is to inspire action not only on May 20th, but from this day forward through its programs that encourage, educate and recognize all organizations accessibility and inclusion efforts that foster an accessible workplace of the future.
Wheelhouse Group is so proud of our role in launching the non-profit GAAD Foundation. This work, along with the work we drive within the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) and the Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship (PIA), is breathing life into the idea that together, we can create a future that works for everyone.
Liz Kagan
Consultant, Wheelhouse Group
Liz Kagan is a Wheelhouse Group consultant with 25+ years of experience providing project management, stakeholder engagement and communications support for the Federal government and the private sector. She currently supports the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) Foundation, the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) and the Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship (PIA). In these roles, she promotes collaboration, policy and actions that make accessibility a core requirement for technology and digital product development, increasing inclusion and opportunities for people with disabilities.
