Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a global event which we celebrate annually at the UW with a full day of activities designed to raise awareness and educate the UW community about digital accessibility. On GAAD 2023 (May 18), activities included a full morning of hands-on, hybrid, “Fix Your Accessibility” Workshops and a Digital Accessibility Awards event. Over 100 people registered to participate in these activities. Additional information about the day’s events is available on the UW GAAD 2023 web page, as well as in a blog post by UW President Ana Mari Cauce, Digital accessibility benefits everyone by creating a more inclusive experience for all.
The Digital Accessibility Awards event was the first of its kind at the UW. Awards were distributed to individuals or departmental units who have demonstrated a commitment to digital accessibility over the last year. Awards honored accessibility leaders in three categories:
- 10 departments received awards for captioning 100% of the videos on their YouTube channels.
- 2 departments received “IT Accessibility Capacity Building Awards” for outstanding commitment to digital accessibility.
- 5 individuals received “IT Accessibility Trailblazer Awards” for outstanding individual commitment.
Award recipients are identified on the 2023 Digital Accessibility Awards Recipients web page, with a brief description of the work each recipient has been doing related to accessibility.
Together, the award recipients feature a broad cross-section of individuals and departments throughout the University: Center for Neurotechnology; Central for Teaching and Learning; Compliance Services; Continuum College; Department of Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies; Disability Resources for Students, The DO-IT Center; Environmental Health & Safety; Professional & Continuing Education; School of Public Health; University Marketing and Communications; UW Bothell Marketing and Communications; UW Information Technology, UW Libraries, and UW Records Management.
It’s wonderful, and critically important, that so many people throughout the UW community are dedicated to ensuring our digital resources are accessible.
Congratulations to all awards recipients and nominees!
