Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is May 15. GAAD spotlights the importance of digital access for more than one billion people worldwide living with disabilities.
At NC State, this day is a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to build a digital environment where every individual can thrive, regardless of ability.
Why Accessibility Matters
Higher education is a gateway to opportunity and innovation. But when physical spaces, digital tools and instructional materials aren’t accessible, they become barriers instead of bridges for our community.
When accessing digital content, people with disabilities face challenges such as:
- Documents that are unreadable by access technology
- Multimedia without verbal descriptions, accurate captions or transcripts
- Forms missing form field labels
- Webpages and mobile apps with poor color contrast, unlabeled buttons or text that can’t be resized
Accessibility is a Shared Responsibility
Ensuring digital access is not up to one office or individual — it’s a campuswide responsibility to create a culture of access.
- Faculty can make sure course content is accessible by using document accessibility checkers and reviewing multimedia content for auditory and visual descriptions and accurate closed captioning.
- IT teams can vet digital tools for accessibility, promote inclusive design practices and follow accessible procurement guidelines.
- Administrators can embed digital accessibility training into performance plans and new employee checklists.
- Students can be advocates for their needs and allies to their peers by learning and applying digital accessibility practices to their communications and coursework.
How to Celebrate GAAD
- Watch the 7-minute video Understanding Digital Accessibility: Your Legal Responsibility at NC State.
- Take the self-paced Digital Accessibility Basics course.
- Audit your websites and Moodle content for accessibility gaps.
- Register for Join the Journey: Creating Accessible Multimedia, the fifth annual GAAD virtual conference. This free conference will be held June 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Nominate an individual for the Accessibility Champion Award to celebrate their dedication to accessibility at NC State. Learn more about the award.
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