Be an a11y. Accessible design is better for everyone.

Our 2026 Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) Campaign

A collaboration between the NYS Digital Accessibility and NYS Design System Teams

Doug Bartow
5 min read time

Our dedicated NYS Design System Team partnered with the Digital Accessibility Team at NYS ITS to develop a first-of-its-kind 2026 Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) campaign and live public demonstration. Together, we set out to address a fundamental challenge: increasing awareness of the needs of people with disabilities while encouraging the adoption of accessible design practices across New York State government websites and web applications.

At the Empire State Concourse in Albany, NY, on May 21, 2026, members of the NYS Digital Accessibility team engage with visitors at the GAAD tables and exhibit.
An exhibit set up in the Empire State concourse invited passersby to experience life on the web as people with disabilities do every day.  Team members guided the digital experiences, answered questions, and handed out brochures and stickers to promote the annual GAAD campaign.

Be an a11y

Our "Be an a11y" awareness campaign launched in May 2026 and combined compelling messaging with an engaging visual identity. The campaign included a dedicated landing page, a foldout brochure and poster, digital communications, a diverse collection of downloadable a11y posters, promotional sticker sets, and supporting outreach materials that reached employees across multiple New York State agencies and office locations.

The term "a11y" is a widely recognized abbreviation for "accessibility"—there are 11 letters between the a and the y. Using this familiar shorthand helped create a memorable campaign that introduced accessibility in an approachable way while encouraging conversations across the State workforce.

A monitor attached to the ceiling of the Empire State concourse shows a 'Be an A11y' campaign banner reading 'Be an a11y. Accessible design is better for everyone. Learn more: on.ny.gov/a11y'
The A11y team worked closely with the ITS Comms Team to maximize our exposure and build interest in the campaign and live event. This included advertising in advance of the event on the monitor system in the Empire State Concourse, as well as ITS social media streams.

Event and engagement

To coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we hosted an in-person event on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in the Empire State Plaza Concourse. Visitors experienced live demonstrations presented by members of the Digital Accessibility Team, explored interactive accessibility simulations, and received educational materials and campaign giveaways. By presenting accessibility in an engaging and memorable way, the initiative helped shift the conversation beyond simply meeting compliance requirements toward creating inclusive, user-centered digital experiences that benefit everyone.

People gather at an exhibit table. Michele Bruno, digital accessibility team lead, stands at a table which includes brochures and stickers, a sign-up sheet, and a disability simulator on a laptop.
Visitors at the event took away a11y stickers and brochures that included QR codes to find more accessibility information via the NYS Design System website. People also signed up to receive more information and pass along more specific questions for the Digital Accessibility team.
A series of poster designs are laid out in a grid. The designs were created to promote accessibility in New York State.
The Digital Innovation Team's designers created 30 unique NYS a11y posters that were made available as free digital downloads through our accessibility campaign page — encouraging employees to promote inclusive design throughout their agencies while reinforcing that accessibility is everyone's responsibility.
A11y team member Ethan Ligon demonstrates at a table how a screen reader works for a group of passersby.
Ethan Ligon, a member of the NYS Digital Accessibility Team, demonstrates to visitors how a person who is blind navigates the web using a screen reader. The software reads web content aloud, enabling low-vision users to browse websites, complete forms, and perform everyday online tasks independently.

Disability simulators

Two interactive laptop stations welcomed visitors to our Empire State Plaza Concourse exhibit as part of our Global Disability Awareness Day event.

With the press of a "Start" button, each simulator immersed participants in the experience of navigating the web with either low vision or a physical disability, helping them better understand the barriers many users encounter and the importance of accessible design.

Team members invited passersby to step up to the interactive simulators and try navigating the web under real disability constraints, experiencing firsthand the difference between a well-coded site and a broken one.

The team created two simulators:

  • Physical Disability: One demonstration simulated a physical disability such as rheumatoid arthritis. People were unable to use the mouse entirely. Users had to rely on keyboard shortcuts, including arrows, tab, and spacebar just to read and act. Horizontal scrolling became a repeated obstacle, forcing users to hunt for the right shortcut just to find and enter information.
    Try the physical disability simulator

  • Low Vision: The second demonstration simulated a low vision user. The simulator blew up 14-point text by 400% to 70-point text and flipped the screen to white text on black. Text ran off the page, forcing long horizontal scrolls. In the "fail" example, right-aligned radio buttons disappeared off-screen, leaving users with no idea an action was even required.
    Try the low vision simulator

Promotional and informational materials

The A11y brochure and stickers are shown, with 1 sticker featuring a hand showing a peace sign, and three more with the word 'a11y' featured.

Visitors took home a pocket-sized guide to digital accessibility at New York State along with a set of four collectible “Be an a11y” stickers created by the Digital Innovation Team’s graphic designers. Each piece encouraged continued learning by directing users to the campaign website and additional accessibility resources on the NYS Design System reference site.

A flattened New York State Digital Accessibility campaign brochure features photos of people with disabilities and diverse users alongside messages promoting accessible design. Panels highlight topics including accessibility, inclusion, brain work differently, people matter more, captions and transcripts, and 'Be an a11y. Accessible design is better for everyone.' Additionally, A bright yellow accessibility awareness poster shows a large hand making a peace sign with the word 'a11y' inside the hand. The poster includes New York State Office of Information Technology Services branding and a QR code linking accessibility resources.
Our Digital Accessibility Pocket Guide brochure folds into a conveniently sized handout while unfolding into a large educational poster on the reverse side, allowing it to serve as both an event takeaway piece and a displayable workplace reminder of accessibility best practices.
Five posters include these statements: 'a11y is short for accessibility,' 'Not everyone sees your site,' 'Some people can't use a mouse,' 'Brains work differently,' and 'Celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act.'
A series of NYS Accessibility Facts posters was displayed on easels throughout our Empire State Plaza Concourse exhibit. The colorful displays attracted passersby, sparked conversations, and highlighted practical accessibility tips and interesting facts that encouraged visitors to stop, learn, and ask questions.

Our team is responsible for ensuring digital accessibility at our agency, and we are always looking for additional training. So, when we saw the chance for hands-on discussions with our colleagues from the Digital Accessibility and NYS Design System teams, we jumped on it.

We came away with a new understanding of screen reader best practices, experience with simulators, and the chance to connect with others in the field as we all work toward digital accessibility. The Be an a11y awareness campaign provides invaluable tools that underscore the importance of digital accessibility. And a11y events like this one present information in an engaging and powerful way that attendees (like our team) will take back with them, share with others, and put into practice.

- Laura Fallon
Assistant Public Information Officer, Office of Communications
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Making an impact, now and in the future

The enthusiastic response to both the awareness campaign and the live event established Global Accessibility Awareness Day as a meaningful statewide opportunity to continue advancing digital accessibility awareness and adoption. By combining education, interactive experiences, and practical resources, the initiative demonstrated how digital accessibility can become a shared responsibility across New York State government.

Building on this momentum, we look forward to expanding the campaign and celebrating the next Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 20, 2027. We hope to see you there.

Event photos: Jesse Gardner

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Last updated: August 5, 2026