Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is an annual initiative that shines a spotlight on the importance of digital access and inclusion for the more than 1.3 billion people worldwide living with disabilities. Since its inception, GAAD has grown into a global movement, educating and inspiring technology professionals to build a more accessible digital world.
To understand the roots of GAAD and the progress made since its launch, we spoke with Jennison Asuncion, a digital accessibility advocate from Toronto and co-founder of the initiative. He shared his personal journey, the impact of GAAD, and how the tech industry and disabled communities can work together to shape a more inclusive digital future.
Who is Jennison Asuncion?
From Canada to the U.S., Jennison Asuncion has built an influential career in digital accessibility. He began his professional journey at the Royal Bank of Canada, ensuring that internal teams and vendors adhered to IT accessibility standards. Today, he leads a team of software engineers at LinkedIn, focused on empowering professionals with disabilities to thrive in the workforce.
Jennison is also the founder of the Bay Area Accessibility and Inclusive Design Meetup and a recipient of several prestigious accolades, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2018 Stephen Garff Marriott Award.
His drive for accessibility stems from lived experience with sight loss. Reflecting on the evolution of assistive technology, Jennison shared:
“I have been blind almost since birth, so access to technology (i.e., especially what is happening on screen and the environment around me visually) has been a concern of mine from early on in school. I’ve used refreshable Braille displays, computers with screen-reading software, as well as an iPhone with the VoiceOver screen-reading software.”
The purpose of GAAD
GAAD began with a spark – a single blog post by Los Angeles-based developer Joe Devon, which Jennison stumbled upon through a tweet. This serendipitous moment led to a powerful partnership and the birth of GAAD.
Although Joe does not identify as disabled, he also has benefited from digital accessibility with age-related sight loss, so he needs larger fonts and higher colour contrast. Dark mode websites make him dizzy as well. His dad originally inspired Joe to create GAAD, and he had the same issues – he didn’t identify as disabled, but could barely hear, and his vision was bad. This shows that digital accessibility can benefit everybody and not just the disabled.
Explaining the motivation behind the initiative, Jennison stated:
“The goal is to raise awareness among everyday technology professionals, around the world, on issues of digital accessibility and inclusion by and for people with disabilities.”
Participation in GAAD is open and dynamic:
“The best way to get involved is to either hold or participate in any number of events and activities on or around May 15. Check out our events page for a list of many of the GAAD events and activities around the world.”
GAAD’s global impact
Now in its 14th year, GAAD has blossomed into a catalyst for change across tech industries, drawing attention to the often-overlooked issue of digital inclusion. Jennison reflected on its far-reaching impact:
“Joe Devon and I are always taken by surprise at how many events take place on or around GAAD, from small nonprofits and government agencies to large tech companies. The enthusiasm to get the word out about digital accessibility and inclusion each year is always inspiring to us.
“The reality is, since digital accessibility isn’t widely taught in schools, most people working in tech still are largely unaware of the fact that there are over 1.3 billion people with disabilities out there who want or need to use the tech being built. So, the purpose behind GAAD will always be important and relevant.”
The growing role of AI has further raised the stakes:
“Of course, these days, the big topic of conversation is the proliferation of AI-driven technologies. These hold the promise of changing the way we live, work, and play, and so accessibility, alongside the inclusion and the reflection of disabilities in the large language models behind this tech, needs to be at the forefront to make sure we are not left behind.”
Building an inclusive digital experience
Creating accessible digital environments is a collaborative endeavour. Jennison emphasised the value of involving disabled individuals in every stage of tech development:
“Companies building tech need to do a better job of engaging end-users with a variety of disabilities throughout early prototyping, user research, and user testing. We need more people with disabilities pursuing careers as Engineers, Designers, and other tech professions.
“Only then can we make sure that accessibility and inclusion are thought about from the very beginning of the product development process, because people with disabilities will be in the very rooms where cutting-edge tech is being thought through and built.”
One promising initiative is the AI Model Accessibility Checker (AIMAC), created with ServiceNow:
“Additionally, we’ve released an open-source benchmark this year for AI and accessibility. It is called the AI Model Accessibility Checker (AIMAC) – a benchmark that evaluates and ranks how well coding-focused Large Language Models (LLMs) generate accessible code, in collaboration with ServiceNow.
“By encouraging accountability and improvement in AI-generated code, this project will further drive the industry toward more inclusive standards.”
The GAAD Foundation
To sustain and scale its mission, Jennison and Joe established the GAAD Foundation on GAAD’s tenth anniversary:
“Joe Devon and I launched the GAAD Foundation on the occasion of GAAD’s tenth anniversary. The mission of our nonprofit is to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement.
“Among the programs are: the annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day; the GAAD Speakers Fund, where we provide up to $3000USD to individuals wishing to speak on digital accessibility and inclusion topics at tech events; and the Gaadys, an annual award celebration where we recognize companies that demonstrate living the mission of the foundation (i.e., include accessibility as a requirement from ideation to launch of a digital product or technology).”
As technology continues to evolve, GAAD remains a vital movement, challenging tech professionals to think inclusively, act intentionally, and ensure no one is left behind in the digital age. Jennison Asuncion’s journey and advocacy offer a powerful reminder that accessibility isn’t just a feature – it’s a right, and a necessity.
To learn more and get involved, visit the GAAD website and follow GAAD on Facebook and Twitter.