This article was written by OZeWAI member Ricky Onsman and was originally published on the TPGi website.
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) gets bigger and bigger every year. When Los Angeles-based web developer Joe Devon blogged back in 2011 about how Accessibility know-how needs to go mainstream with developers, he was contacted by Canadian accessibility professional Jennison Asuncion, and by the following year GAAD was a reality.
In 2024, the 13th GAAD has an established profile as a way of drawing attention to the importance of digital accessibility, not just to people with disabilities, but to everyone. This year there were 208 events and activities around the world listed on the GAAD website (and many more that weren’t).
These included in-person and online events from workshops to training sessions, celebrations, advocacy sessions, talks, lectures, videos, and webinars. Many of the latter were recorded for viewing by people who couldn’t attend them live (and, of course, it would have been impossible for anyone to attend more than a few of them), so we decided to collect links to a few of them, and add some of the more interesting videos.
They were selected on the basis that they’re free and available for viewing by anyone. Some webinars may require registration to view, and some may not yet be available but looked too good to leave out. Some of them are short, and some quite long.
The range of topics is amazing: from advocacy and awareness to coding techniques, open source, legalities, personal stories, artificial intelligence, education, awards, bitcoin, and game design. Even the White House recorded an hour long discussion.
We also selected them to give you an idea of just how global GAAD is: there’s a truly impressive range of countries represented.
It’s not meant to be a comprehensive list (it doesn’t include the many online events that were in person only, or recorded but not made publicly available, or GAAD-focused webinars that have yet to happen), and anyone is welcome to add links to others in the comments below, but here at least is our collection of 31 (!) webinars and videos recorded for GAAD 2024.
- Meet the founders of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)
Recorded 14 May
(USA) Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, chats with Joe Devon and Jennison Asuncion, the co-founders of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) about the origin, purpose, and impact of GAAD, as well as what’s trending in accessibility today. - Virtua11y
Recorded 14-16 May
(UK) Nomensa’s free, virtual accessibility and digital inclusion conference. Hear groundbreaking talks from speakers such as Derek Featherstone, Natalie Patrice Tucker, Alastair Campbell, Ronnie Hendriks, and more from the world of accessibility and inclusive design. - Ask Me Anything – GAAD Edition
Recorded 14 May
(Australia) To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Intopia is excited to host a special ‘Ask Me Anything’ webinar. This is a chance for you to have your digital accessibility questions answered by a panel of our team members, who all have first-hand experience of living with a disability. With Tess Hutley, Adem Cifcioglu, and Neil Jarvis. - The Importance of Creating Accessible Content for Learning & Development
Recorded 15 May
(Canada) A dominKnow panel discussion by industry experts from North America and the United Kingdom, clarifying each legislation and what it means for your organization. We’ll also give recommendations on how your organization can best provide barrier-free access across all digital learning experiences. - 4th Digitalization Forum
Recorded 15 May
(Germany) We will explain to you who benefits from digital accessibility. We are also talking about this with the Hessian state representative for barrier-free IT and digital participation, Prof. Dr. Meyer zu Bexten. We will show you how you can practically integrate accessibility into your everyday work and how we, as ekom21, can support you. - Open Source Accessibility NOW!
Recorded 15 May
(USA) This A11yTalks presentation outlines existing Open Source accessibility solutions while asking the question “Why aren’t there more Open Source a11y tools?” The presentation is meant to be both a survey of existing solutions and a call to action for new Open Source solutions. Web Accessibility stagnates without more Open Source A11y tools. - European Accessibility Act Compliance: What to Know and How to Prepare
Recorded 15 May
(USA) Whether your organization currently does business in the European Union (EU), or plans on tapping into the EU market, you’ll need to comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA). Join Level Access’s Chief Accessibility Officer Jon Avila and Vice President of Legal Affairs Shira Grossman as they discuss the EAA’s application to digital experiences and outline a path to compliance. - What it Means to Champion for Accessibility and Inclusion
Released 15 May
(USA) In this video, 13 disability advocates and accessibility experts share insights, highlighting why accessibility is essential for a more inclusive digital world. - Empowering Accessibility in APAC!
Recorded 16 May
(India) At Deque Systems, we’re thrilled to invite you to the most anticipated event of the year. Prepare to be inspired, educated, and empowered by thought leaders, industry experts, and accessibility advocates. - Integrate Accessibility into Your Organization
Recorded 16 May
(USA) Join TPGi presenters: David Sloan, Chief Accessibility Officer, David Swallow, Principal UX Consultant & Ian Lloyd, Principal Accessibility Engineer. Learn from our team of experts how to integrate accessibility into your organization. Our 2-hour event is carefully designed to provide a supportive environment for organizations seeking education on digital accessibility best practices or searching for guidance on how to start their accessibility journey. - Improving Accessibility through Leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs)
Recorded 16 May
(USA) Leveraging LLMs to automate accessibility tasks represents a transformative advancement in digital inclusion efforts. These powerful models can replace manual accessibility work by generating image descriptions, providing real-time closed captions, and seamlessly translating content into multiple languages, reducing the burden on content creators, designers, developers, accessibility, and quality assurance teams. A11yTalks with Sheri Byrne-Haber. - Improving product tile navigation using landmarks
Recorded 16 May
(Australia) According to WebAIM’s latest screen reader survey, after years in decline, the use of landmarks is increasing. But can these seldom used elements become more useful? yes! with small tweaks landmarks can become more effective to enhance page navigation. Ross Mullen for A11y Bytes Sydney. - Achieving Near Perfect Web Accessibility
Recorded 16 May
(Australia) Catch up with this special Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) webinar where Acquia was joined by the team at The Salvation Army to hear how they’ve tackled website accessibility. - The Digital Accessibility Dilemma: Ensuring Real Progress in the European Landscape
Recorded 16 May
(UK) Join Acquia for a fireside chat between Acquia’s Lars Sørensen and Sam Padmore and Marcus Deglos from Capgemini for a discussion on the progress that European organizations have made, what still needs to happen, and thoughts on how to push the envelope on more inclusive digital experiences after the 2025 deadline. - Web Accessibility Q&A: Simplicity, Testing, and Remediation
Recorded 16 May
(USA) Lullabot hosted an enlightening discussion that explores the common web accessibility issues people face every day. Along with DubBot, Providence College, and Iowa’s Department for the Blind, we covered the transformative impact of small actions, the importance of proper accessibility testing with diverse users, and remediation concerns. - What is Digital Accessibility? / Why Digital Access is Access for All
Released 16 May
(Australia) The Centre for Accessibility has released two new videos for GAAD that provide critical insights into the importance of accessible digital experiences, catering to both individuals navigating digital spaces and business owners looking to make their platforms more inclusive. - A Practical Introduction to Disability Awareness
Recorded 16 May
(USA) 3Play Media is happy to be joined by Catarina Rivera, MSEd, MPH, CPACC for a session that will offer a practical introduction to disability and ableism. Catarina will share common microaggressions, how to avoid them, and simple strategies for how to be more inclusive for both colleagues and customers. - Getting Your Accessibility House in Order
Recorded 16 May
(Ireland) We will be joined by Trevor Boland, Assistive Technology Officer at DCU, for “Getting your Accessibility House in order: an acronym that embeds Accessibility into your inclusion practices”. Trevor Boland advocates for inclusion in education via Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accessibility, and Assistive Technology (AT). - Mainstream Tech, Inclusive Impact: Advancing What Matters
Recorded 16 May
(France) Learn more about how to foster digital accessibility and digital inclusion via the usage of mainstream technologies from accessibility experts and partners as well as diverse end users in dialogue and showcasing concrete examples during this virtual event. - Colour Accessibility: Best Practices and Common Mistakes
Recorded 16 May
(Australia) Vision Australia is hosting a free webinar to dive into the world of colour accessibility to help make the digital world work for everyone. This 45 minute session will include an exclusive Q&A with one of Australia’s leading experts on inclusive design and accessible communications, Josh Crawford. - Accessibility Awareness Webinar
Recorded 16 May
(International) Since many of us get confused between ‘Access’ to Internet and ‘Accessibility’ which is more related to providing a barrier free environment to disabled, this Internet Society seminar holds the key to Accessibility, how to develop Accessible content, and how to validate and test the Accessibility of the content. This two hour seminar will also have an interactive Q&A session in the end to clarify any apprehensions or doubts the audience may have related to Accessibility. - Accessibility in Action Awards Presentation 2024
Recorded 16 May
(Australia) ADCET was delighted to announce the 2024 winners of our annual Accessibility in Action Awards. These awards recognise passion, innovation, good practice and leadership in accessibility, and are held in recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). This year, ADCET was proud to introduce The Trevor Allan Award for Excellence in Disability Inclusion and Accessibility, which is bestowed upon an individual who has demonstrated a sustained and unwavering commitment to promoting accessibility and inclusion for students with disability. - Be My Eyes Accessibility with GPT-4o
Released 17 May
(UK) Follow Andy’s adventures around London with OpenAI’s new GPT-4o model, as tested by BeMyEyes. - iD & Me: ORCID & Accessibility
Recorded 17 May
(USA) Join us for this webinar with ORCID Senior UX Designer Dan Dineen to learn about the process of identifying areas in need of improvement, the work that has been done thus far, and the ongoing journey ORCID is committed to undertaking to ensure ORCID is accessible to all. - The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Digital Accessibility: How to Win More Customers, Boost Retention, and Increase Loyalty
- What is accessibility and why is it important?Recorded 17 May
(Slovakia) Find out why accessibility is key and how it applies to your business. After presentations by Andrej Nemeček and Peter Teplický, you can join a panel discussion about real-life experiences and the importance of accessibility from a business perspective. - GAAD 1403 Webinar
Recorded 17 May
(Iran) The webinar features two presentations on applying practical knowledge to designing accessible products and services for older users and a panel discussing economic opportunities in the field of accessibility. - STEM Accessibility in the Indian Education SystemRecorded 17 May
(India) In this panel discussion, Vision Empower’s partners delve into the challenges of making STEM education accessible and the work they are doing to transform the educational landscape for students with visual impairment. - Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024 Kick Off Session
Recorded 17 May
In this kick-off call, Bitcoin Design did a quick round of introductions, Christoph gave an intro to accessibility, Mo an overview of our prior testing efforts, and Czino a presentation on the technical side of web accessibility. - Accessibility Assessment of Sclash for GAAD
Recorded 17 May
Easy Surf & Games Accessibility Hub combined to assess Sclash, a 2D Samurai sword fighting game developed by Bevel Bakery. This video has the Top 5 recommendations, with the full Accessibility Assessment linked to in the comments. - White House Global Accessibility Awareness Day Convening
Recorded 17 May
(USA) The White House convened a Town Hall to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Recorded 17 May
(USA) Catch up on Acquia’s fireside chat between Jennifer Griffin Smith, Matt Wettmore, and Lars Sørensen as they take an honest look at the challenges of tackling digital accessibility at an organizational level, how technology can be both a benefit and a pitfall, and how an accessibility focus can help you grow your business.
Please add any more GAAD 2024 webinars and videos in the comments.
Originally published: Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024: On-Demand Webinars and Videos.