About - GAAD

Third Thursday of Each May is Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Provide feedback on our translations or contribute a new translation.
The idea of a Global Accessibility Awareness Day started with a single blog post written by a Los Angeles-based web developer, Joe Devon. See Joe’s Blog post that served as the inspiration for Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Jennison Asuncion, an accessibility professional from Toronto, discovered Joe’s blog post purely by accident thanks to randomly coming across a tweet from Joe.
After reading it, he immediately contacted Joe (via Twitter) and they joined forces, leveraging their extensive and respective networks to realize the event.
Watch Jennison Asuncion explain Global Accessibility Awareness Day, its origin and its intent in this interview by Dr. Jonathan Hassell.
Joe Devon is a technology entrepreneur and web accessibility advocate. He co-founded Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) and serves as the Chair of the GAAD Foundation, focusing on promoting digital accessibility and inclusive design. Joe also explores AI’s potential to revolutionize digital accessibility, developing AI solutions to enhance online experiences for people with disabilities.
From Canada to the US, Jennison Asuncion has had a long career in Digital Accessibility. He spent seven years at the Royal Bank of Canada working with their internal teams and vendors to ensure they meet the bank’s IT accessibility standards. At LinkedIn, he manages a team of software engineers who focus on enabling the global workforce of professionals with disabilities to be more productive and successful. He founded the Bay Area Accessibility and Inclusive Design meetup, co-founded Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and has an impressive array of awards, from being decorated by Queen Elizabeth II with the Diamond Jubilee Medal, to the 2018 Stephen Garff Marriott Award.
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a program of the GAAD Foundation.
Copyright © 2026 Global Accessibility Awareness Day. All rights reserved.