Introduction
GAAD stands for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an annual event observed on the third Thursday of May. It's a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of digital accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.
About the Archive
Today, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we at Scribely reflect on the power of images to shape understanding and bridge divides.
Iconic photographs that have captured pivotal moments in the fight for equality: activists marching for civil rights, groundbreaking assistive technologies being introduced, or communities uniting to create a more inclusive world. These images are more than snapshots. They serve as vital records of history, offering lessons and inspiration for generations to come.
At Scribely, our mission to make visual content accessible through image descriptions becomes even more meaningful when we consider the importance of preserving these moments, especially those that document the progress of disability advocacy and accessibility awareness.
Without proper descriptions, these powerful images may remain out of reach for individuals who rely on alternative formats to access visual content. And without preserving context, the story will be lost. People who are blind or visually impaired, screen reader users, and those with cognitive differences deserve equal access to the history and meaning behind these visuals.
To help close this gap, we’ve created detailed image descriptions for a curated collection of historic photos. Introducing: Access in Focus: A Disability Rights Image Archive. This project contributes to building an accessible digital archive where everyone, not just some, can discover, experience, and learn from key moments in disability history. These descriptions are more than just text; they provide clarity, meaning, and context to ensure that the stories behind the images are preserved and understood by all.
By writing high-quality, reusable descriptions, Scribely also empowers content creators to meet accessibility standards more easily. Whether for educational materials, articles, museum exhibits, or digital campaigns, these images, now paired with inclusive descriptions, can be repurposed across platforms without losing accessibility and critical information. This approach helps make accessibility a built-in part of content creation, not an afterthought.
We believe preserving and sharing these images in accessible formats is a shared responsibility. When we include image descriptions, we do more than improve usability: we ensure that vital narratives of advocacy, resilience, and inclusion are available to everyone.
Access in Focus: A Disability Rights Image Archive
Scribely's curated digital archive of the disability rights movement, featuring accessible image descriptions and contextual metadata for research, education, and advocacy.
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