- Massachusetts Office on Disability
May 18th, 2023 marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), an international movement to raise awareness of digital accessibility and the disability community.
“Digital accessibility is the next frontier in building a more accessible, inclusive world,” shares Mary Mahon McCauley, Executive Director at the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD), “As the digital world becomes increasingly prevalent and important in our lives, it’s critical that people with disabilities have equal access to all it has to offer.”
As a state agency charged with creating a more accessible Commonwealth, MOD’s work has had a growing focus on digital accessibility over the last few years. MOD’s November 2022 Quarterly Tea on Digital Accessibility, a virtual training for the general public, addressed frequently asked questions about digital accessibility, including why it’s important, what's required, and fundamentals of ensuring accessibility in your digital communications.
MOD’s website includes other free digital accessibility resources, such as our Foundational principles to help make electronic documents accessible and Best practices for hosting accessible web-based meetings guidance pages.
MOD also offers free digital accessibility consulting services for Executive Branch agencies of the Commonwealth, including guidance on understanding obligations under Enterprise Information Technology Accessibility Policy, planning for procurement, and small-scale AT/IT assistance to test the accessibility of electronic documents, trainings, websites, or software
In March 2021, MOD convened an Information Technology/Assistive Technology Working Group to improve accessibility and consistency in accessibility practices in Commonwealth IT resources. The group is composed of members from across the executive branch of state government, drawing from a range of secretariats and agencies. Members also bring a diversity of subject matter expertise, including information technology, assisted technology, state procurement, training, and contract law.
GAAD is celebrated on the third Thursday of each May and was started in 2011 by Los Angeles-based web developer Joe Devon.
