GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) Foundation

I was recently in a webinar on accessibility testing and all of the questions about "blind and low vision users" were about screen reader use. But here's the thing: people with visual disabilities use a variety of tools and tactics, and might not be using screen readers at all. For instance: 1. Enlarging the font or the webpage, sometimes using the mobile version of a website even on a computer. (Is your design optimized for mobile? Can it stand up to enlarged fonts?) 2. Magnification. Some people use a program like ZoomText, or some use zoom/magnifying features available through the operating system. There are also features like hover zoom where you can hover over text and see it at a larger size. (Consider barriers such as pop-ups that can't easily be closed or images of text that can't stand up to magnification.) 3. Text-to-voice. A browser plug in that reads the text on a page isn't the same thing as a screen reader like NVDA or VoiceOver, which can access things like alt text or other navigation options. (If you're relying on alt text to make images of flattened text accessible, you're still excluding these users.) 4. Display or system settings. Not just light and dark mode, but things like enlarged or heavier weight text, tinting the screen, high contrast mode. (Are you using enough contrast? Do images with transparent backgrounds get lost in different modes?) Of course, this list isn't exhaustive - but there is a lot happening between "sighted" versus "blind and using a screen reader" and it often gets overlooked. #Accessibility #UX #WebDesign #a11y #disability

?? Hi everyone! As your friendly Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) and advocate for inclusivity, I'm thrilled to share a list of FREE Accessibility Courses to help you build more inclusive digital experiences. ??? Whether you're a developer, designer, content creator, or just curious about accessibility, these courses are a great starting point: 1. Digital Accessibility Foundations - Free Online Course By: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Link: https://lnkd.in/g5RSFFXc Learn the basics of accessibility, perfect for developers, designers, and project managers. 2. An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design By: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera Link: https://lnkd.in/dSvGQ4bZ Explore core principles of accessibility and inclusive design. Financial aid is available. 3. Introduction to Web Accessibility By: edX, W3C Link: https://lnkd.in/dsVrnePW This course provides an introduction to accessibility, covering essential concepts for creating accessible web content. 4. UX Foundations: Accessibility By: LinkedIn Learning Link: https://lnkd.in/d2WxHuUD Learn how to design inclusive user experiences. (Free with LinkedIn Learning's trial.) ?? Accessibility is more than just a legal requirement—it’s a moral responsibility. Let’s work together to make the web a better place for everyone. Share this post to help spread accessibility awareness! #Accessibility #InclusiveDesign #WCAG #WebDevelopment #FreeCourses

How do you get digital accessibility change to happen? Kicking off the final day of #TechSharePro, our expert panellists have their say: David R Williams of Sony: "You need to have top down support, people behind you, people giving you budget. People saying it's the right thing to do. From an organisation perspective on messaging we have 10,000 employees across 24 countries. The importance of accessibility within the sustainability agenda is being pushed out in webcasts continuously." Jennison Asuncion, co-founder of GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) Foundation: "Accessibility is not an all-or-nothing situation. We all work in this field, we are all very passionate about wanting to make everything accessibility right now, immediately. But the reality is...we need to be ready to accept that we might not get everything done right away and that's okay... I often hear some of my peers talk about how frustrated they are that they have to keep explaining and reexplaining fundamental accessibility topics. Well, the reality is and it's been talked about already up here on stage, is that most people aren't taught this in school and frankly, most people in the main either don't have first-hand experience with disability, or are uncomfortable around it, or any of that combination. And so when you go into a room for the first time, understanding where people's perspectives are, reading the room and trying to understand where they are and not pounding the table and expecting people to just follow you, is really going to be the way to go." #TSP2024 #A11y #GAAD #DigitalInclusion

Shared the stage with some far superior Accessibility Gurus yesterday at #techsharepro2024 on panels around Making Change Happen and Accessibility Leaders of the future - thank you Mark Walker and Amy Low for the invite! Here are my key takeaways from all the day 2 sessions - the conference covered a lot... 1. Making Change Happen - as accessibility (a11y) professionals, we need to influence in all directions (especially up) and in the words of the OG GAAD change agent Jennison Asuncion "meet people where they are." 2. Your 2025 Strategy - have a plan, even if it changes along the way (as all plans do), start off with a clear direction of travel. 3. Education - We need to address the gap in integrating accessibility into education curricula, especially at universities, otherwise we're fixing this gap on the job later in careers. Basically we need more Reginé Gilberts. 4. Champs networks - keep it fresh; don't be scared to start small and grow. 5. EAA - use it as a springboard if you need to, but heed Susanna Laurin's warning, compliance should not be your end goal, human inclusivity should. 6. Burnout - something everyone in the a11y industry knows well, we don't talk enough about the emotional toll of constant frustration and pushback, a heart-warming panel from heart-warming people Gareth Ford Williams Charlie Turrell Bryn Anderson Mimouna Mahdaoui 7. Inclusive Research IS just better research and it can't be met by ticking off a checklist, but through an ethos of co-creation and feedback loops with diverse user participants. And a point Dr Shani Dhanda made so well on Day one, don't forget the importance of intersectionality throughout all of this. 8. Check out eBay's a11y annotation Figma plug in 'Include' helping designers to spec and easier for developers to understand what is required from an a11y point of view: https://lnkd.in/e27zE-6Y 9. There's a long way to go to close the digital divide in many communities, we mustn't forget not everyone has access to a digital world and we are leaving them behind. 10. Apple's Sarah Herrlinger reminding us that a11y is truly life-changing innovation and we need to remember it can be exciting and creative. Finally, reflecting with some far more established leaders in this field than me, from Google Christopher Patnoe, Microsoft Hector Minto, HSBC Mali Fernando MBE and Skyscanner Heather Hepburn, the difference between managers and leaders. Leaders influence and guide others - and anyone working in accessibility can exhibit that skill, regardless of grade, we just need the courage. Caption: 2 images of Romana on panels at TechSharePro 2024. Further image detail in the image text description/alt text.

Accessibility Tip of the Day 280: More accessibility checklists! I've shared a few accessibility checklists in the past. Here's another one that I created back in 2020: https://lnkd.in/gBGWenPq I organized mine by component type or area of concern. So, for example, you can check a bunch of considerations for a button you just added to your page, or some form inputs, or a video element. This hopefully helps narrow down all the WCAG success criteria to just the few points that may be relevant to what you're actively working on. #accessibility #a11y #accessibilityTipOfTheDay

Are you someone whose job primarily focuses on making technology or digital products accessible and usable to people with disabilities? The GAAD Foundation is partnering with WebAIM to collect and share anonymized salary and other job-related data through the first annual Global Digital Accessibility Salary Survey (GDASS). The goal is to inform both organizations investing or ready to invest in accessibility, as well as the people who make technology or digital products accessible as they start or progress in their careers. Complete the survey at https://lnkd.in/dXASz8HJ

The last 4 days I was in Luxembourg, on Thursday I gave a presentation about manually and automatically testing the accessibility of mobile apps. I also listened with great interest to the other three presentations on digital accessibility in Luxembourg. Three key take aways for me are: 1. After 4 years of legislation, none of the governmental apps are "fully accessible" when following the testing procedures of EN 301 549. 2. When citizens raise their concerns about digital accessibility, mobile apps are the number one topic. 3. Commercial companies can immediately get fined for up to 15.000 euros starting 28 June 2025 when they do not cooperate after a report of inaccessibility. Companies can get fined up to 1 million euro's if they do not significantly improve their accessibility. In my own presentation, I highlighted the challenges of manual and automated testing. The software we have created at Abra B.V. allows us to manually and automatically check if an app is accessible. We are happy to help you make your app accessible!

Tuesday 19 November. Check your calendar. You're free right? Well that's great, come to this Accessibility event hosted by Tencent Games and Ukie's #RaiseTheGame initiative. ?? What can I expect? - The most absolutely inspiring and knowledgeable pros in the UK (oh and me) talking and presenting on their experience working in accessibility across charity, industry and academia. - An insightful panel discussion with q&a opportunity. - Networking! Snacks! ?? Who should attend? - Games industry professionals, students, charity workers or people thinking about getting into the industry - Anyone working in accessibility across any industry. ? When, where, how? - It's free! - Hosted by Tencent at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL - 19th November, 13:00 - 17:30 - The venue is wheelchair friendly and BSL interpretation is available throughout the event. Attendees will have access to a quiet room space. Sign up for free:

If you couldn't watch the talk I gave about design systems and accessibility at "Quality Forge by TestDevLab" you can now watch in YouTube. https://lnkd.in/dXWbbwNj #a11y #accessibility #DesignSystems #TestDevLab #QualityForge

Wearing my GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) Foundation hat, I'm thrilled to be back in London ahead of speaking at TechShare Pro 2024 and catching-up with digital accessibility-minded folk on this side of the globe. CC: AbilityNet #TSP2024