National Accessibility Week

From U of T’s Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture:

Celebrated since 2017 and enshrined in the Accessible Canada Act (2019), NAAW can trace its origins to National Access Awareness Week, launched 35 years ago in the wake of Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion World Tour. This two-year odyssey found Hansen covering more than 40,000 km across 34 countries to champion accessibility and raise money for spinal cord research, rehabilitative research, and wheelchair sports.

Today, NAAW both celebrates the contributions of Canadians with evident and non-evident disabilities and recognizes those who work to make public and private spaces more inclusive for everyone. The urgency of these efforts is clear: as of 2017, 1 in 5 Canadians had at least one evident or non-evident disability. And the type and scope of barriers to accessibility grow dramatically when we consider that disability can be episodic, temporary, or event-situational (for example, trying to hear in a noisy environment). Making our world more open to multiple ways of perceiving, moving, and interacting expands opportunities for us all to contribute however we can at different points in our lives—and to define success in our own ways.

Services

Institutional Accessibility Office

• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Office

Tri-campus Offices and Resources

• Accessibility Services, UTSG
• Accessibility Services, UTM
• AccessAbility Services, UTSC
• Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation, UTSG
• Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre, UTM
• Centre for Teaching and Learning, UTSC

Resources

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Report 2022
This annual report outlines the progress of the University with respect to accessibility on all three campuses; speaks to initiatives for the coming year; and demonstrates U of T’s goals and commitments to accessibility to all members working, studying or visiting the University.AODA + Universal Design Calendar
Browse the calendar to learn about (and register for) upcoming training and events offered by the AODA Office.

Materials for accessible communication
As of January 1, 2021, under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), all public sector organizations must ensure their Internet websites and web content adhere to Level AA standard as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

Training & Consultation
U of T’s AODA Office provides the community with a range of trainings as well as consultation on website accessibility. Training topics include accessibility and procurement, accessibility and language, and accessibility and social media.

Commitments and Accessibility Standards
Read about employment accommodations, accommodations for students, emergency procedure, U of T’s service animals guideline, and more.