</Global Accessibility Awareness Day>
On Thursday 16th May 2019, the IoC marked the 8th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) along with thousands of other people around the world who are passionate about accessibility. This day is a chance to think about the barriers that people with disabilities face and consider ways of making digital and tech accessible for all.
We’re proud to say that a number of our partners joined in with events, activities and research that highlighted the need for better accessibility. Here you can read about our partners work towards creating more accessible workplaces, challenging stereotypes about autism, and much more.
Our partner, Open University (OU) has celebrated GAAD for the past 3 years by promoting activities that challenge you to think about barriers to accessibility in everyday life. This year, OU encouraged their students to consider inclusive practice with a picnic, where they learned about digital access and inclusion: >> http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/opentel/global-accessibility-awareness-day/
From September, the Creative Computing Institute at University of the Arts London will be working with creative arts company and charity Heart ‘N Soul to change and challenge perceptions of people with autism and disabilities. Read more about their upcoming research at the Wellcome Collection here: https://wellcomecollection.org/pages/XBt4MBMAADNIlmtE
For the IoC chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Board, Neil Milliken, Global Accessibility Awareness Day “is a day when we can help demystify accessibility”. As Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion for Atos, Neil believes passionately that inclusion is good for both individuals and society. Find out more about Neil’s and Atos’ work towards accessibility here: https://tinyurl.com/yxo937ka
Work towards accessibility doesn’t stop after Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Our partner, The British Computing Society will be exploring how to make tech more accessible for people with disabilities at their Insights 2019 conference: https://tinyurl.com/y29qwx5v
Since our launch in 2018, the IoC has worked towards breaking down the barriers that discourage people from tech education and careers. The IoC is focused on providing a fresh and disruptive approach, we work with our partners to:
- remove the barriers that discourage people from tech education and careers,
- provide different ways to access digital education, and
- design events, courses and training that suit the lifestyles of learners.
Past Global Accessibility Awareness Day, our consortium of 33 education partners will continue to focus on diversity, inclusion and accessibility in tech, and work with industry to create accessible paths to employment.