Why Accessibility Matters: Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2021
10th Annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Today is the tenth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day. GAAD is a day to take time to learn more about digital accessibility, who it helps, why it matters, and what you can do to help make digital spaces more accessible and inclusive. If you want to find out a bit more about how Global Accessibility Awareness Day started, you can read Joe Devon’s blog post that started it all here or watch an interview with Co-Founder Jennison Asuncion as he explains how GAAD began.
At Quillsoft we understand the importance accessible digital spaces, and the technologies that help make all digital spaces more accessible for disabled people. We were founded by Dr. Fraser Shein in 2000 in partnership with Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Beginning as a start-up from a group of university and hospital research labs and the Ontario Rehabilitation Technology Consortium, our goal was to bring effective rehabilitation through technology into the hands of those that need it. For over twenty years Quillsoft’s focus has been on equity, inclusivity, and accessibility in education and beyond, for everyone who struggles to read, write, or communicate.
To many people the idea of assistive technology may be new, but there are over one billion people around the world that require assistive technology for them to be able to live their lives. The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people around the world that will rely on assistive technology is going to double to over two billion by the year 2030. That’s why GAAD is so important. The more we advocate, the closer we get to making all spaces, online and offline, accessible to all.
Who Does Digital Accessibility Help?
According to the WHO, there are over 1 billion people around the world living with some form of disability, and that number is “dramatically increasing … due to demographic trends and increases in chronic health conditions, among other causes.” (World Health Organization, Disability and Health) The need for accessible online spaces has become even more clear to organizations around the world over the course of the past year as many have had to pivot towards a more virtual presence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, “[t]he Web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities. Access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, is defined as a basic human right in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (World Wide Web Consortium, Intro to Web Accessibility). No matter how you look at it, accessible digital spaces are necessary for us to achieve equity in education, the workplace, and in all aspects of our lives.
Quillsoft’s Digital Accessibility Pledge
This year, we are committing to improving Quillsoft’s online home. While our website already meets standards for accessibility, we believe that there’s always room for improvement. We will give updates here on the blog about our progress. In our efforts to make Quillsoft.ca as accessible as possible, we would love to hear from you. If you have any feedback about our website, please let us know in the form below.