Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) with Deque
May 15th, 2025
Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a great way to learn about accessibility. Join Deque’s free, virtual events to celebrate this accessibility holiday!
What is GAAD?
May 15th, 2025 marks the 14th annual celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). GAAD started with a single blog post written by a Los Angeles-based web developer, Joe Devon, and Jennison Asuncion, an accessibility professional from Toronto. This accessibility holiday is a global event that helps drive awareness for those who are new to accessibility.
Deque is excited to bring participants of GAAD a variety of free, virtual events to drive awareness for building inclusive technology and digital accessibility. Be sure to also check out our Deque University Scholarship for People with Disabilities and free tools and resources!
Tips for making the most of GAAD
Celebrate your success and progress
Every accessibility bug removed makes a difference. Take the time to celebrate and reflect on all the accessibility barriers you’ve removed or prevented. Share your success far and wide. As more folks are exposed to your progress, your movement will expand.
Evangelize digital accessibility
GAAD is the biggest “accessibility holiday” of the year. Use it wisely to expose new audiences to this critically important work. Awareness is still one of the biggest blockers in this industry and this is your opportunity to educate your network.
Extend training
Using GAAD to drive training deadlines is a highly effective strategy across many organizations. Bring your colleagues to an event of your own, coordinate webinar watch parties or pay a Pro to offer formalized training.
Try new tools and processes
Digital accessibility is continuously evolving. The maturity of tools and accessibility practices has improved vastly, even in the past year. Consider using GAAD as a driving force to try something new to improve your coverage, culture or efficiency.
Free training
Accessibility Fundamentals Bootcamp
Accessibility Fundamentals Bootcamp
Accessibility Fundamentals Bootcamp
Free tools
Accessibility Browser Extension
Color Contrast Analyzer
Generative AI Chatbot Axe Assistant
Deque University Scholarship for People with Disabilities
Deque’s online accessibility courses are FREE for individuals with disabilities. We do this to reduce barriers to people with disabilities in education and in the workplace, and to encourage people with disabilities to enter accessibility-related professions. If you have a disability, you qualify for a scholarship to access to Deque’s in-depth web accessibility curriculum for a full year (normally $250) at no cost!
