The University of Chicago

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024

Thursday, May 16, is the 13th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), focusing on digital equality for the one billion people in the world living with a disability. Creating an accessible digital environment supports the full participation of all members of the campus community in the academic, research, and work life of the University.

This year, the Center for Digital Accessibility (CDA) is celebrating GAAD with a series of activities.

GAAD 2024 sessions and activities

Accommodations may be requested when registering for each session or post-registration by emailing digitalaccessibility@uchicago.edu.

Ivy+ GAAD 2024 Accessibility Event (virtual)

Tuesday, April 30
11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Join us and our Ivy+ peer institutions during GAAD to share information about strengthening digital inclusion. Topics include accessibility practices in the design process, do-it-yourself accessibility testing, lightning talks on implementing institutional best practices to enable progress, and a Q&A session on emerging digital accessibility topics for higher education institutions. Learn how you can take action to create a more accessible digital experience.

Hosted by: Stanford University

Digital Accessibility Advocate Celebration (hybrid)

Thursday, May 2
2–2:45 p.m.; optional networking 2:45–3:30 p.m.
Regenstein Library TechBar or on Zoom
The CDA and more than 50 Digital Accessibility Advocates will celebrate one academic year of learning, sharing, and promoting digital inclusion across campus. We are so proud of the progress being made. For in-person attendees of this hybrid event, cupcakes will be served. If you’re not an Advocate, we would love to have you join us to learn more about becoming part of this network of committed peers.

DIY activity: test your site’s responsiveness

Week of May 6
We encourage members of the University community to test the responsiveness of their websites. While most modern sites are already responsive, it’s important to make sure that content isn’t lost as the page layout reflows. Using your browser’s zoom feature (Ctrl and + on Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS or ⌘ and + on Mac), zoom up to 400%, which is roughly equivalent to viewing the page on a mobile or small screen device. As you go, check that the layout adapts properly, no content is lost, and horizontal scrolling isn’t necessary. Additional quick tips on how to use your keyboard to navigate the web can be found on the CDA’s Testing for Accessibility page.

Sharing Stories of Progress (virtual)

Friday, May 17
10–10:45 a.m.
We applaud people across UChicago who have strengthened the accessibility of their digital materials (websites, courses, documents, videos, emails, and more) or created more inclusive processes. Join us as we share success stories from across the University with the following panelists:

Liz Braun Rush
Executive Director for Strategic Communications, Division of the Social Sciences

The Division of Social Sciences engaged with a vendor to design new web templates and websites for all SSD departments, centers, and programs, replacing a system that was 10 years old. Accessibility was among the top priorities for this comprehensive effort. Learn more about their strategies and efforts throughout the project and beyond.

Bridget Madden, Associate Director, Visual Resources Center, Department of Art History
Zespo, Program Coordinator, Open Practice Committee, Department of Visual Arts

The Department of Visual Arts is collaborating with the Department of Art History to make the Open Practice Committee archive of artist, critic, and curator event recordings more accessible. Learn more about their efforts to create high-quality transcripts of event recordings.

Eric Steltenpohl
Associate Director, Digital Marketing, Harris School of Public Policy

The Harris School of Public Policy Marketing and IT departments launched a site refresh in December 2023. Learn more about how their efforts to improve the site’s design and functionality also substantially improved accessibility.

Additional stories of progress will be posted on the Intranet and shared during the presentation.

Digital Accessibility and Neurodiversity (virtual)

Wednesday, May 22
10–10:45 a.m.
People who are neurodiverse represent one of the largest segments of the disability community. Join us as we discuss how to strengthen our digital experience to remove barriers for people who are neurodiverse, including people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, and more.

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