St. Paul, MN: Governor Tim Walz proclaims May 21 to be Digital Accessibility Awareness Day for Minnesota. Minnesotans rely on state government for accurate information and critical services, especially in times of crisis. As people rely more on digital connections for their everyday lives, digital content, websites, and services need to be made with accessibility in mind. Minnesota IT Services’ (MNIT) Office of Accessibility is charged with overseeing the implementation of accessibility standards for all executive branch employees and employers. MNIT uses digital accessibility to make information more useful and usable, and joins the world in to celebrate digital accessibility in conjunction with Global Accessibility Awareness Day. 

“It is critical that we always recognize the need for inclusion and accessible services. Every day, Minnesotans think about how to bring the outside world – our families, friends, hobbies, entertainment, education – into our homes, and how to engage with them in meaningful and productive ways. In state government, we know the need for inclusive design is clear. The Office of Accessibility and MNIT, in partnership with agencies across the state, are focused on building Minnesota’s systems with inclusivity in mind.”

Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Tarek Tomes

To showcase the state’s role in digital accessibility, MNIT’s Office of Accessibility conducted a live interview event: “Stories of Inclusion: State Government Accessibility.” The event emphasized how the State of Minnesota ensures digital accessibility for Minnesotans and state workers across state agencies. 

“The concept of full inclusion is embedded in the Governor's ‘One Minnesota’. We are better prepared than most to ensure inclusion in times of crisis because digital accessibility has been state law for ten years. These stories highlighted the myriad ways state agencies work every day to ensure that all state services are available to all Minnesotans.”

Minnesota Chief Information Accessibility Officer Jay Wyant

The event, “Stories of Inclusion: State Government Accessibility,” focused on:

• The Minnesota Department of Health and its work providing critical information for decision makers and the public on COVID-19.
• The Department of Employment and Economic Development’s State Services for the Blind, who recently launched a Radio Talking Book app.
• Department of Revenue’s Employee Development Services and their accessibility standards for e-learning training design and development.  

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About Minnesota IT Services

Minnesota IT Services, led by the state’s Chief Information Officer, is the Information Technology agency for Minnesota’s executive branch, providing enterprise and local IT services to over 70 agencies, boards and commissions. MNIT employs more than 2,000 people across 90 physical locations. Together, we build, maintain, and secure the State’s IT infrastructure, applications, projects and services. MNIT sets IT strategy, direction, policies and standards for enterprise IT leadership and planning. We also serve Minnesotans by connecting all 87 counties, 300 cities, and 200 public higher education campuses across the state on the MNET network. Through public-private partnerships, our team proactively protects the state’s information systems and the private data of 5.5 million Minnesotans.