ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is excited to announce that registration for this year’s National Conference and Convention is now open through June 17th. ACB’s Convention is a hybrid event, with the in-person portion taking place July 5th-12th at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel in Jacksonville, FL.

Alexandria, Va., May 16, 2024 – Today ACB celebrates Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), an international day to raise awareness of the importance of digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities. ACB continues to advocate for advancements in digital accessibility across all industries and levels of government, including:

Alexandria, Va., May 4, 2024 – The American Council of the Blind (ACB) announces that the Audio Description People’s Choice Award opens for nominations on May 4, 2024. The winners will be revealed during the 2024 ACB Audio Description Awards Gala, which will take place virtually on Thursday, November 14th, at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) and athenahealth, Inc., a leading provider of network-enabled software and services for medical groups and health systems nationwide, are collaborating to design and build more inclusive and accessible experiences for blind and visually impaired patients as part of the company’s broader digital accessibility commitments. The collaboration expands athenahealth’s approach to accessibility around its patient-facing applications to be more inclusive for millions of patients.

The Audio Description Project (ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) are proud to announce the winners of the 2024 BADIE awards. Celebrating the Benefits of Audio Description In Education, the contest invites students who are blind or have low vision to watch an audio described (AD) video and write an essay evaluating the quality and usefulness of the AD.

This year’s winners are:

Grand Prize
Lyla Duffy, Washington
Review of I Am Ruby Bridges

The American Council of the Blind (ACB), the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) applaud the Biden administration for announcing a final rule requiring state and local governments to ensure that their websites and mobile applications are accessible to people with disabilities. The rule is awaiting official publication in the Federal Register.

After years of working closely with Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Disability Rights California (DRC) on accessible voting, American Council of the Blind (ACB) affiliate California Council of the Blind is leading a coalition of disability organizations in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the California Secretary of State to implement accessible electronic mechanisms for voters with print disabilities to return their vote-by-mail ballots privately and independently by the November election.

March is Women's History Month, and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) is proud to honor Dr. Margaret Rockwell Pfanstiehl (pronounced FAN-STEEL), a lifelong advocate for people who are blind or have low vision and a pioneer in the fields of accessibility and audio description.

Alexandria, Va., March 18, 2024 – Scott Thornhill took office today as the new Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind (ACB). Thornhill was voted in by the ACB Board to lead the 62-year-old organization.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be able to lead an organization with such a rich history,” said Thornhill. “The strength of ACB is a combination of our members, our supporters, and the larger blindness community that we serve. I look forward to us achieving even more impactful results in the years to come."