Today, February 20, is World Day of Social Justice, as designated by the United Nations. The pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of the UN’s global mission to promote development and human dignity. And here at Knowbility, social justice is also part of what fuels our mission to help make the Internet and other technologies accessible to people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hearing impaired, and those who have mobility impairments and cognitive or learning disabilities. Our goal is to create a barrier-free world of information technology so that people with disabilities can fully participate in the business, educational and cultural marketplace – and that is, most definitely, a part of promoting social justice.

A white-haired man in front of a very large computer screen, reading a Wikipedia article with the text zoomed in very close. Above the photo is a quote that reads, 'Being able to fully participate in the business, educational, and cultural marketplace: that is, most definitely, a part of promoting social justice.' Knowbility logo: World Day of Social Justice.

While globalization and the information age have created opportunities and benefits for many, people with disabilities and people using assistive technologies are often, even usually, left out. As the UN’s International Labour Organization notes in its document, The Need for Social Justice, profitability and stock markets have recovered from the most recent recession in the majority of countries and executive pay is on the rise. But millions of people are being left out of not only this recovery and booming markets, but the workforce as a whole, regardless of current economic conditions, and inequality breeds poverty and social instability – even conflict.

On this day of World Day of Social Justice, we hope to remind every organization promoting social inclusion, including digital inclusion, as well as social justice, that website accessibility needs to be a part of their work and commitment as well.

Here are some terrific videos to hear first hand from various people why accessibility is so important:

You can see more videos at the Knowbility YouTube Channel.