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14-May-2025 | Events

Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Why Digital Inclusion Matters

At SYC, we believe everyone should be able to access support without barriers, online and in the community.

This Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), we’re reflecting on the role digital inclusion plays in helping people find the services, resources, and information they need to thrive. More than one billion people worldwide live with disabilities or impairments, and for many, the way a website is designed can mean the difference between access and exclusion.

Over the past year, we’ve been proud to offer the Recite Me accessibility toolbar on our website. This tool gives people more control over how they experience our content, whether that’s adjusting colours and fonts, translating pages into another language, or having text read aloud.

Here’s what that’s looked like so far:
• Over 1,100 people used the Recite Me toolbar on our website
• They accessed more than 3,100 pages with accessibility features
• Most people used screen readers (84%), along with tools for styling changes, translation and reading support
• The toolbar was used across different browsers, on both desktop and mobile devices

These numbers are a great reminder that accessibility tools matter and that people are using them.

Behind the scenes, we’ve also been growing our understanding. Our Marketing and Communications team recently completed digital accessibility training through Recite Me. The course gave us valuable insight into how people with different access needs experience online content, and how we can design and write more inclusively. This learning is already shaping the way we build and share information.

Because accessibility isn’t just about compliance, it’s about making sure no one is left out of the conversation, no matter how they engage with us. We know there’s still more to do, but we’re committed to learning and improving.

To learn more about Global Accessibility Awareness Day, visit: https://accessibility.day