Accessibility Advisory Committee

Everyone has the right to an accessible city.

In 2021, the Accessibility Advisory Committee came to us to raise the profile of their social media conversations.

The AAC’s mandate is to provide guidance to Edmonton City Council about how to make our city a more accessible place. Recognizing that there are many different facets of accessibility — the built environment, technology, culture, communication and beyond — we worked with the committee to develop a foundational communications strategy that helps them to articulate what it means to be an accessible city, and that provides a framework for engaging with the public on such a huge topic.

It was originally conceived that the AAC Committee Members themselves would produce the social media content, so on top of the foundational strategy, we produced a number of educational materials to help guide their efforts, and we started by playing an editorial role in the development of their social content.

However, after a couple of short months, it was determined by the Committee that the time commitment required to do social media well was an unfair burden to place on volunteers. Therefore, we were tapped to manage their Facebook and Twitter accounts on a daily basis.

We’ve seen significant growth on both platforms, both in numbers of followers and in engagement, with key conversations breaking ground on a wide variety of accessibility topics. From championing the voices of disability advocates to challenging ableism and beyond, we host world-changing conversations every day.

And true to our commitment to do “nothing about us without us,” this account is written and managed by a neurodivergent team member, who is, herself, a vocal disability advocate.