Importance of Innovating for All on Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2022

The belief that every user deserves a first-rate digital experience on the web led to the creation of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which aims to get more people talking, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion, as well as the world’s nearly one billion people with disabilities. 
 
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) has been a catalyst for change since its beginning in 2011, increasing awareness and inspiring hundreds of thousands of conversations, activities, and actions in favour of constructing a more inclusive society. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have Joe Devon and Jennison Asuncion, the founders of GAAD, as friends and accessible partners. They share my philosophy that making an experience more inclusive results in a better experience for everyone. 
 
This is Comcast’s north star, and it has driven our product development for more than a decade. We’re on a mission to create experiences that can connect all people to the moments that matter, from groundbreaking innovations like Xfinity’s Adaptive Remote Web App, which was named TIME Magazine’s “Best New Invention” in 2019, to creating the industry’s first talking guide, to ensuring our core experiences like our apps and global technology platform have accessibility built in from the ground up. The hundreds of professionals who develop and construct products, services, and experiences for millions of people around the world are at the heart of this effort. That’s why I’m ecstatic to announce that we’re launching a thorough inclusive design training programme. 
 
This labour never stops, and it takes a village to accomplish it. So, in honor of GAAD’s mission of getting more people talking, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion, we gathered Joe and Jennison, the two founders of GAAD, Mike Shebanek, the Head of Accessibility at Meta, and Theresa Murzyn, the Lead User Experience Researcher for Accessibility at Comcast, to share their insights and learnings about how designing and operating with an inclusive mindset can advance digital inclusivity.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

You may watch our conversation above and read some of our panellists’ key takeaways below. 
 
Joe Devon is the co-founder and chair of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day Foundation. 
 
“We needed to come up with a way to raise awareness [about accessibility].” I assumed that if developers and designers, as well as product managers, were aware, they would be concerned, but they weren’t.” 
 
Jennison Asuncion is the co-founder and vice chair of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day Foundation. 
 
“The GAAD foundation’s purpose is to change the culture of technology and digital product creation so that accessibility is a must-have.”