From pledge to practice: Building a more inclusive open source ecosystem

Last year, GitHub took a pledge to help improve the accessibility of open source, centered on three goals:

• Empower people with disabilities to contribute to open source.
• Increase the availability and adoption of open source assistive technologies.
• Improve the accessibility of mainstream open source projects.

This pledge came with a clear responsibility: turn intention into practical, community-led action. Over the past year we’ve had the chance to work with maintainers, contributors, educators, accessibility advocates, and people with disabilities who are doing the hard, real work of building a culture of inclusion within open source communities.

This post shares our progress over the past year and two ways you can help right now.

Progress since the pledge 

Our approach has focused on programs, partnerships, and open tooling that support the pledge goals in real projects and communities.

Empowering contributors with disabilities in open source

In May 2026, we hosted the Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon at GitHub headquarters in San Francisco.

Over two days, contributors, maintainers, educators, advocates, and people with disabilities collaborated on open source assistive technology projects addressing real access barriers.

To support meaningful participation, we also hosted:

• A GitHub Learning Room with hands-on guidance for GitHub workflows, including NVDA screen reader and keyboard-only navigation
• NV Access office hours with the team behind NVDA screen reader to support project teams and troubleshooting

Accessibility Documentation

The GitHub accessibility documentation helps empower contributors with disabilities by making it easier to use GitHub products with screen readers and other assistive technologies, while also giving developers guidance for using Copilot and agents with accessibility in mind. Because people with lived experience contribute to and review these guides, the documentation reflects real-world workflows, reduces barriers to participation, and helps more contributors engage confidently in open source projects.

Supporting open source assistive technology

Hackathon contributors worked across a wide range of projects, including:

• Camera-based assistive technology for blind and low vision users
• PDF-to-accessible-format workflows
• Open wheelchair software and hardware efforts
• Accessibility-aware route planning
• Pronunciation improvements for screen readers
• Accessible gaming
• Tactile experiences for a multiline braille display
• Adaptable physical tools and accessories

You can follow ongoing updates in the Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon repository.

Improving accessibility in mainstream open source workflows

In October 2025, we hosted the first Open Source Accessibility Summit (2025) in Raleigh, NC in partnership with All Things Open.

During this one-day in-person event, we brought together members of the disability, accessibility, and open source communities to define a roadmap for improving the accessibility of open source software.

Improving Workflows

We’ve also continued to invest in practical resources and tools that help teams build accessibility into day-to-day development practices:

• Open Source Accessibility organization for shared roadmap and collaboration
• Open source accessibility best practices guide, including guidance like creating an ACCESSIBILITY.md and integrating accessibility in CI
• GitHub accessibility documentation, including guidance for using GitHub products with assistive technologies
• GitHub Accessibility Scanner, an AI-powered open source scanner that uses GitHub Actions and GitHub Copilot to find, file, and fix accessibility barriers
• Accessibility Annotation Toolkit, an open source Figma toolkit to support accessibility-focused design and handoff

These resources are meant to reduce friction by helping teams write better issues, collaborate, and integrate accessibility throughout the development process.

Two ways you can help right now

1. Register for the Open Source Accessibility Community Day (July 9, 2026)

The Open Source Accessibility Community Day is a virtual event for contributors, maintainers, accessibility practitioners, and community members who want to make open source more inclusive and accessible.

The event features demos and updates from projects that participated in the Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon, including what teams built, what they learned, and where contributors are needed next.

2. Register for the Open Source Accessibility Summit (October 19, 2026)

We’re hosting the Open Source Accessibility Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina, with All Things Open.

This year’s summit is designed to teach people how to contribute to open source while following accessibility best practices no matter their level of experience. Grounded in the lived experiences of people with disabilities, the event will create opportunities to learn directly from those perspectives while building practical skills. The goal is simple: help more people leave ready to make meaningful, accessibility-focused contributions across the open source ecosystem.

Join us

Stay connected by following the Open Source Accessibility organization and joining the Open Source Accessibility Slack.

We’re proud of the progress so far, and we’re even more excited about what we can build together next.

Written by

Maria Lamardo

@mlama007

Senior Accessibility Program Manager