To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Minnesota IT Services' (MNIT) Office of Accessibility (OoA) hosted a virtual event featuring a conversation between a screen reader user and a digital map creator. The event offered a firsthand look at the barriers many users encounter when accessing web maps with assistive technology and showcased how intentional design can make digital mapping experiences more accessible and inclusive for all.

We extend our sincere thanks to Lolly Lijewski, retired Digital Accessibility Coordinator and audio description consultant, and Jason Ewert, GIS Application Analyst, MNIT Partnering with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), for sharing their expertise, perspectives, and experiences. Their thoughtful conversation made for an engaging and insightful session that highlighted both the challenges and opportunities of creating more accessible digital mapping experiences.

Below you'll find the event recording, transcript, Q&A, and key resources from the session.

As part of this GAAD event review, we published another article that dives deeper into this event's key takeaways—including highlights from the demonstration and insights on how screen reader users navigate maps: Making Maps Accessible with WCAG 2.1: What We Learned, and Where to Go Next.

Watch or read the event's conversation

GAAD Event: Navigating Maps with a Screen Reader – A Conversation: Watch the recording on YouTube, includes ASL and captions.

• /mnit/assets/Transcript-GAAD%20event%20Navigating%20maps%20with%20a%20screen%20reader_tcm38-753472.pdfRead the transcript for the event recording (PDF).
• View the MPCA map from the presentation (HTML).

Questions & Answers

Attendees submitted great questions during the event, most of which we weren't able to address in the presentation. We've compiled the complete list and you can read the answers from the presenters and the Office of Accessibility.

Resources for creating more accessible maps

Esri

• Esri: Builds ArcGIS, the world's leading GIS mapping software.
• Introduction to ArcGIS Experience Builder Accessibility web page.
• Accessibility Conformance Report for ArcGIS Experience Builder (PDF).
• Demo video: Building Accessible Web Apps with ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript and Calcite.
• Blog: Build Accessibility into your Web Maps with ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript.
• A prototype app to test adding keyboard interaction from Esri's a11y-map Github.
• Search "accessible" in the Esri blog.

State of Minnesota

MNIT Office of Accessibility

• Map Accessibility page: Static Maps, Interactive Maps, Map Design.
  • Map Quick Reference Cards: quick reminders from map accessibility pages.
• Article: Making Maps Accessible to Screen Readers.
• Article: Building accessible maps with Esri’s Experience Builder.

MPCA

ExB templates:

• MPCA Simple Map template.
• MPCA simple map template - sidebar widgets.
• MPCA scrolling sections template.

Adding hot keys to maps:

• The Environmental Review Projects Interactive Map.
• Cumulative impacts mapping and analysis platform (draft 2026).
• Industrial Stormwater Special and Impaired Waters Search Tool.

External

• Great Lakes ADA Accessibility Online: Brandon Biggs' presentation on digital maps, from the Great Lakes ADA Accessible Technology series.
• A11y Collective: The Complete guide to ARIA Lice Regions for Developers blog.
• Worldwide Web Consortium's (W3C): Understnading WCAG 2.1 SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content page.
• Cornell University’s arxiv: Systematically Evaluating Equivalent Purpose for Digital Maps.

Thank you for celebrating GAAD with us

Thank you to everyone who joined the event—it was one of the largest live audiences the OoA has ever hosted, and we had attendees from across Minnesota and around the country. We also appreciate the thoughtful questions and perspectives shared throughout the session. As we continue improving digital accessibility across Minnesota, these discussions—and your partnership—help drive meaningful progress toward more inclusive digital experiences for everyone.